Insight from Injury

If the practice of hatha yoga was meant to heal, why are so many yogis getting hurt?

By Carol Krucoff

"Do more!" the producer urged as I stretched back from my kitchen sink into Ardha Uttanasana (Half Standing Forward Bend). An article I'd written about practicing yoga while cooking had attracted the attention of a national TV show, and now a camera crew crowded into my home to film me doing "Kitchen Yoga." But the simple postures I incorporate into my dinner preparation didn't seem impressive enough. So with a TV camera pointed at my face and hot lights nearly blinding me, I lifted one foot, grabbed my big toe, and extended my leg into Utthita Padangusthasana (Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose)—and felt a sickening pop in my hamstring.

Somehow I finished the session smiling, but the next day I could barely walk. Hamstring tears heal slowly, and mine required rest and extensive physical therapy. It took me six months to be able to run again and more than a year to fully extend my leg in Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose. I learned the hard way that there is no place for showing off in yoga. But I am grateful to have recovered completely and consider the experience a small price to pay for the invaluable lessons learned, including respect for the importance of warming-up, proper sequencing, and having the right attitude.

Like me, growing number of Americans are getting injured doing yoga—an unfortunate trend touted in news stories with headlines like "The Wounded Warrior" in the Washington Post (April 16, 2002) and "Power Yoga Can Cause Powerful Aches and Pains" in the Los Angeles Times (December 13, 1998). Often media reports express surprise that this ancient healing discipline can actually cause harm, especially since many people take up yoga specifically to heal injuries. Yet like any form of physical activity, hatha yoga practice carries risks—especially for people who push themselves or are pushed by teachers to "achieve" a particular pose, explains Leslie Kaminoff, a New York yoga therapist and bodyworker, who regularly treats yogis with both acute and chronic injuries linked to improper practice.

"Some people have such faith in yoga that it overcomes their critical thinking," Kaminoff says. "They think yoga practice—or a yoga teacher—can't hurt them, which isn't true." Yoga injuries range from torn cartilage in the knees to joint problems from overly aggressive adjustments to sprained necks caused from "the domino effect" of being knocked over by classmates while doing Sirsasana (Headstand). "Many classes now are so crowded that a single person out of control can take out any number of people," notes Kaminoff, who treated a client with a neck sprain that occurred when a neighbor fell out of an inversion and knocked her into another yogi. And teaching carries its own hazards, he explains, recalling a teacher who was kicked in the face by a student she was helping, resulting in a chipped tooth, bruised face, and bloody nose.

Harsh adjustments can be especially risky for flexible people who can easily be pushed deeply into a pose without knowing that an injury may result. To counter this, Kaminoff advises knowing your own areas of strength and weakness and studying consistently with a teacher you know and trust.

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