1: Risks & benefits of yoga

In this very first episode, Matt introduces the objective of the podcast: to provide science-based knowledge and insights into anatomy and physiology, specifically targeted at yoga teachers and practitioners. Matt shares his background in teaching yoga since 2005, his educational qualifications, and his aim to help yoga teachers navigate the conflicting views prevalent in the yoga community by providing clear, scientific evidence.

He emphasizes the safeness and benefits of yoga compared to other physical activities, addresses common myths and misconceptions, and outlines the World Health Organization's weekly exercise guidelines.

Additionally, Matthew offers reassurance about the mild and transient nature of most yoga-related injuries, highlighting yoga's role in preventing various health issues and improving overall wellbeing. The episode aims to empower yoga teachers with the confidence and knowledge to help their students, and themselves, lead healthier, more active lives.

Download my free e-document 5 Truth Bombs to Make You a More Confident Yoga Teacher.

00:00 Welcome to the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast
01:00 The Conflicting Views in Yoga Teaching
01:42 Introducing Your Host: Matthew Huy
02:04 The Journey from Confusion to Confidence
03:10 Debunking Yoga Injury Myths
06:01 The Science-Backed Benefits of Physical Activity
08:04 Exercise Guidelines for Optimal Health
11:26 Wrapping Up and Looking Ahead

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Transcript

Saz: 0:04

Welcome to the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast, where we take a deep dive into the worlds of anatomy, physiology and science to help you feel more confident and inspired as a yoga teacher. Now here's your host, Matthew Huy.

Matthew Huy: 0:22

Hello and welcome to the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast. I'm your host, Matthew Huy. I'm so happy to be starting this podcast as I myself have gotten so much out of podcasts. I think it's amazing that you can pop those earbuds in your ear or listen in your car and hear interviews from literally anyone in the world. And that is exactly what I want to bring to you. Particularly for yoga teachers to help you understand science better and become better and more confident yoga teachers, because there are many conflicting views out there, as I'm sure you've noticed. You might hear on one blog post how you should engage your glutes in a backbend, and then another blog post will say, you should not engage your glutes in a backbend because it'll compress the lumbar spine. Well, which one's true? Which one's right? Or you might've heard things like in Warrior poses the knee should be over the ankle or the knee should be slightly behind the ankle or in front. You know, which one is the right one? Is headstand dangerous or is it the king of all asanas? If you're a yoga teacher who wants the latest science-based knowledge on yoga, this is the podcast for you. and by the end of this very first episode, you'll have some scientific truths that will already help you be a better teacher. So as I mentioned, I'm Matthew Huy. I've been teaching yoga since 2005. I'm the co-author of the book, The Physiology of Yoga. I have a bachelor's degree in dance and a master's degree in exercise science, and my mission is to help yoga teachers feel more confident by truly understanding anatomy and physiology. I've been a yoga teacher and been studying anatomy and physiology for many years now, but I remember being a new teacher, not just of yoga, but also Pilates and dance, and I remember feeling nervous about injuring people in my classes, and I lacked the confidence in working with people with medical conditions. I always wanted to know the right way of doing a yoga pose, but I was also confused by the many differing opinions on what right was. Now having learned what I've learned through science, I feel very confident working with anyone who walks through the door regardless of their injuries, their nuances, or their medical histories. This podcast is all about you, dear yoga teacher, going through that same transformation from being confused by all of the different views and opinions out there to becoming a flourishing teacher with the latest science-based information. This podcast is right for you if you want to hear interviews with the brightest scientists, the best yoga teachers, and the foremost rehabilitation specialists. Whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one, you'll enjoy learning from this podcast. So it's pretty easy to find fear-based claims out there in the online world about the dangers of yoga, about doing this pose in a certain way and how it's gonna injure your shoulder or your hip or whatever. But the scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that yoga is one of the safest forms of movement out there. Yoga does not lead to more injury than any other form of physical activity, and that's both in experimental settings, you know, where you take a group of people, you randomize them, and some do yoga and some don't do yoga. And also in quote unquote natural settings where you know, you just interview people and ask them about their injuries. So more specifically, a systematic review and two recent observational studies have all found that yoga related serious injuries, as in those requiring discontinuation of a yoga class, they have to leave the yoga class or discontinuing one's yoga practice. Those are very rare. Instead, most yoga related injuries are mild and transient, like minor strains and sprains. You don't get the major kinds of injuries that you would get. with things like skiing where you've got high velocity, potential for high impact if you run into a tree or something or rock climbing or motorcross, you know, doing, sticking your motorbike over dirt jumps and that sort of thing, that actually can get proper injuries. We don't get those in, in yoga. Not to say that injury is impossible in yoga, no. Okay. It is possible, yes, but it's important to put it into context of other forms of physical activity, of other forms of exercise, and also to realize the benefits of exercise and yoga, which I'm going to get to in a moment. So all of those studies concluded that given yoga's benefits, there's no need to discourage yoga practice for healthy or ill people So, you know, all physical activity carries some risk of injury. After all, it's physical, but yoga appears to be one of the safest forms of physical activity you can do. We're doing it in a slow controlled way. The teacher's encouraging you to take variations as needed. it's a mindful practice. You're not competing against the, the person next to you as, as you are in a race. You're not racing to get to the ball. You know, you don't have a major goal in mind. So it's not surprising at all that yoga is one of the safest forms of physical activity out there. Here's another thing to remember, and the science is really clear on this one. Overwhelming evidence shows that being sedentary as in not moving, not exercising, significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, also called heart disease, certain cancers chronic pain, cognitive decline, diabetes, depression, obesity, osteoporosis, shortened lifespan, just dying earlier than you should have, stroke, and many other serious medical conditions. And we know exercise significantly reduces your risk of all of those things. There's been so much science on this and exercise doesn't just reduce your risk of those diseases, but it also improves your life. It doesn't just take you from a minus one to a zero, but actually to a plus one, you know, actually offers benefits to your life. We know physical activity significantly improves sleep It reduces blood pressure. Physical activity, and exercise, reduce anxiety. they improve bone strength. They improve brain health and heart health, and there are many other benefits to remaining physically active. So, helping others to be more physically active is well and truly a gift you are giving to the world. So go out with confidence, dear yoga teacher, and help make this world a better place by getting people moving. Let's not worry people and fearmonger about doing their chatturangas in this certain way. Yes, pay attention to alignment and, and you know, follow the protocols of your practice. Ashtanga is great because it is a very small box to fit in. Your elbows are like this, your knee is like that. Okay, great. It doesn't mean it's the only way of doing it. And what's most important is that people are moving, being physically active and connecting with themselves. Now if you might be asking, okay, well how much exercise do we need to get those benefits? Every few years scientists get together and they review how much exercise is needed for people to get the most benefit out of it, and they create the weekly exercise guidelines. These are created by the World Health Organization, and they have subsequently been adopted by many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and pretty much most countries. Now what are those guidelines? I'm going to quickly go through them and then I'll go into more detail about what each one specifically means. So the World Health Organization guidelines for adults in terms of how much physical activity they should get is 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week, or 75 minutes vigorous intensity activity. Plus two days of strength training. Okay, so again, that's 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity. That would include things like going for a brisk walk, cycling on a flat surface, swimming, or even a yoga practice. Probably not a yin practice that's a little bit too chilled, but you know, a Vinyasa class where you're moving, you're strengthening muscles, you're increasing your heart rate, you're mo moving all the major muscles of the body. I. That or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity. That would include things like, of course, high interval, in high intensity interval training. It's written into the name, isn't it? Cycling uphill or cycling competitively running or lots of other things. Those are just a few examples. Okay, plus two days of strength training. What is strength training? Well, most of us probably think of lifting weights, and that's a great way of building strength, but it can also just be your own body weight. Resisting your own body weight against gravity, whether that's pushups, pullups lunges, all that kind of stuff that we do in a yoga class, not pullups, obviously and in fact, the National Health Service of the uk says yoga can fulfill those two days of strength training. Now it's a whole different debate of whether yoga is enough to to be your strength training practice, but we do know that moving your body against the resistance of gravity is going to build strength. Okay? And it's probably good to supplement that with some weights by the way. Okay. The World Health Organization also recommends these two other things. Number one, reducing sitting time or sedentary time. So in other words, time of just doing nothing. Okay? So reduce your sedentary time as much as possible. And number two, remember that anything is better than nothing. So even if you can't get to that full on yoga class that day or or that high intensity training, even just going for a 10 minute walk outside is still going to have drastic benefits on your health, physical health, mental health, even spiritual health. So remember that anything is better than nothing, and really we should be encouraging others to stay physically active as much as possible. So, that wraps up episode one of the Enlightened Anatomy Podcast. I hope you've taken something from this and it's made you feel a little bit more confident and happier as a yoga teacher. Stay tuned for future episodes where again, I'll be interviewing amazing people and sharing tidbits of information, which you're just gonna totally help you as a yoga teacher, so, I invite you to now press subscribe on your podcast player so that you can make sure that you hear about future episodes and when given the option, choose to be notified for future episodes so that you can continue to hear from amazing people Thank you very much for tuning in with me and until next time, get enlightened and help others. Thank you.