Check yoga instructor's credentials to avoid injuries

Teaching yoga isn't regulated, so find out if teacher has certification, understands the body's limitations.

By Diane O'Donnell
STATEN ISLAND (N.Y.) ADVANCE
Monday, February 26, 2007

As more Americans are turning to upward- and downward-facing dog, bow pose and other yoga asanas to work out life's tensions, some are winding up with strained muscles, torn ligaments and more serious injuries. Part of the problem, say health experts, is well-meaning but inexperienced yoga teachers.

More than 3,700 yoga-related injuries were treated in doctors' offices, clinics and emergency rooms in 2004, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, while touting the benefits of yoga, says that checking out a teacher's credentials and knowing your body's limitations are vital to safe workouts.

"Yoga's very good for a lot of things, to help people with flexibility and strength training, but a lot of people get hurt because a lot of yoga sites or fitness places have people that may have had instruction in things like Jazzercise and they tell them, 'Why don't you be the yoga instructor?' " says Dr. Edward McDevitt, an orthopedic surgeon in Annapolis, Md., and spokesman for the academy.

Yoga is not regulated by any governing agency in the United States, but the Yoga Alliance, based in Clinton, Md., maintains a national registry of yoga teachers who have logged at least 200 hours of training.

"There are a lot of teachers out there that feel that yoga should not be regulated," says Mindy Hastings, marketing and communications coordinator for the not-for-profit registry, which boasts more than 15,000 members. "It's a very, very touchy question."

The reason for such sensitivity among yogis, says Hastings, is that there are countless approaches to the 5,000-year-old mind-body practice and many see it as more than just exercise.

"If you make certain things the criteria for being a teacher, that might not be the way to go," says Nancy Corrigan, a New York yoga teacher. "It's not always in the textbook or a class that you find your leadership skills and the voice and compassion to show someone how to get into a pose."

According to Hastings, Wisconsin has adopted the Yoga Alliance's certification standards and requirements for schools training yoga instructors within the state. Other states are also examining the issue, she says.

Hastings estimates there are hundreds of weekend teacher-training workshops through- out the country, which are not endorsed by Yoga Alliance. For Corrigan, the path to teaching and certification involved an intense month-long course in 2001 while camped out in a hut along the beachfront of Nassau in the Bahamas.

From sunrise to sunset, she lived and breathed yoga at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Camp — everything from asanas and studying the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient and sacred Sanskrit text, to anatomy and physiology, to karma yoga, a form of community service.

Today, the 44-year-old full-time yoga instructor teaches child yoga at three Montessori schools, a teen version with a Staten Island high school track team, and adult classes at three separate yoga studios.

Carmen DeJesus-Sewer, a software sales rep by day and yoga teacher by night, pursued her goal of opening her own studio through YogaFit, a national training program registered with Yoga Alliance that has taught more than 50,000 fitness professionals and yoga instructors.

Like Corrigan, DeJesus-Sewer's training covered the ABCs of becoming a yogi, but it was done in two- and three-day weekends completed over the course of four months.

Where their training differs, says DeJesus-Sewer, is in adopting certain postures recommended by fitness organizations, such as the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and the American Council on Exercise, a partner organization of YogaFit.

"YogaFit teaches all standing poses with the feet separated and hip-distance apart in the same way as if you were taking a body-conditioning or aerobics class at the gym," says the 43-year-old owner of the recently opened Yin Yang Yoga studio in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. "Traditional yoga instruction teaches you to keep your feet together."

No matter which approach you pick, notes Hastings, it's important to know the teacher's background.

"The first thing you should ask them is how often they practice, because a dedicated teacher practices regularly," says Hastings.

"Ask how long they've been practicing. Three years of practice is important prior to teaching because by then you have the experience to help others."

And since yoga teachers aren't mind readers, says McDevitt, you'll have to supply them with some background health information of your own.

"A good yoga instructor will be one that talks to each of his or her students and finds out a little bit about them," McDevitt says. Any prior injuries, such as a bad knee, shoulder or back — common yoga injury sites — should be disclosed so the teacher knows the student's capabilities and limitations.

"You're trying to help yourself with yoga," says McDeVitt, "but if you do the wrong things you'll wind up back in the orthopedist's office."

To that end, it's important for yoga teachers to make sure class time is spent on the students and not on their own practice, says Corrigan. Improper form can mean the difference between a good stretch and a torn ligament.

"You have to watch them and move throughout the classroom," she says. "You can't just sit there."

Bobbing and weaving amid sticky mats and the twisting bodies of the Susan Wagner High School boys and girls track teams during a recent yoga class, she observes their postures.

"Find your belly button and you'll find your balance," says Corrigan as the group of 15 girls and five boys attempt side plank.

Lying on her left side, 14-year-old Ashley Tirado tries to prop herself up using her left palm and left foot for support. She raises her right hand toward the ceiling, and then begins to feel unsteady.

"Oh my God, I don't think I've ever stretched that much in my life," says Tirado as she comes out of side plank pose.

For the freshman pole vaulter, Corrigan's 45-minute class has worked out the tightness in her hamstrings.

The key to a successful yoga workout, say health experts, is to recognize the body's abilities and warning signs. "If something doesn't feel right don't do it," warns McDevitt. "The old adage when I was a kid was 'no pain, no gain.' That's wrong. Pain is a very good tool that the body has to tell you that something's wrong."

This is first time I’ve felt the need to comment on a news article. This is a good article. I would like to offer that you make note of the last sentence. Just because a teacher is “certified” doesn’t mean that they are experienced. By “experienced” I don’t just mean how long they have been teaching but also how much hands on practical teaching was involved in their “certification”. Trainings are all different lengths and all have different focus. Always, always listen to your body, and don’t get caught up in any hype. Neil