Yoga Becomes Part of Fitness Core -- Part 1 -- Terra Wellington's Balanced Living

What you should know as a consumer of today's yoga services.
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Originally Published March 14, 2005 -- Your Wellness Guide

Yoga Becomes Part of Fitness Core
Special Consumer Wellness Series 1 of 2

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For additional information on yoga:
Part 2 in this series
Yoga Is For Everyday People

According to a just-released Yoga Journal annual survey, which comprehensively studies the yoga market in the U.S., Americans spent $2.95 billion a year on yoga classes and products in 2004. 16.5 million Americans now also practice yoga in one form or another, which is up 43 percent since 2002.

These and other statistics are astounding and show that yoga is not just a passing fad but becoming an essential part of fitness and wellness in the U.S. And while East meets West, yoga is undergoing a creative transformation, as once-standard styles are evolving into branded workouts and television personalities, and products make yoga a marketable commodity.

As a consumer, you have probably seen a yoga studio pop up at your local strip mall and yoga mats being sold at the grocery checkout. But, a word to the wise. Yoga can give you injuries and unpleasant experiences if you are not a savvy buyer of this mind-body-soul service. So, if you are one of the 25 million people out there interested in trying yoga, educate yourself on the trends, standards, and choices so that yoga can become a lifelong, beneficial friend.

Newest Trends
Baron Baptiste, yoga instructor and author of 40 Days to Personal Revolution, says “I see [yoga] morphing quite a bit. It’s now moving into a grassroots, practical way of working out -- exercising the body and obtaining emotional and mental balance. Teachers are bringing it into a context that is relevant to everyday living in the West. You see clearer language, accessibility -- and it’s adapting to people who go to the gym.”

He says that yoga is acclimating to specific populations, like seniors, pregnant women, heavier set people, teens, kids, and the superfit. This is all part of the Western modification of yoga. Baptiste also feels that yoga is offering people the opportunity to not only improve their outer selves but also inner thoughts and improve their self-esteem with an instructor that pays attention to both.

Lisa Wolfe, a personal trainer, has also seen this transformation of old to new and feels that yoga patrons “jumped on this yoga bandwagon so quickly but did not see the results they wanted. This is why there are so many hybrid classes. People loved the benefits of yoga but didn’t see the cardio and toning that they wanted from it.” As a case in point, Wolfe started using a flat resistance band with yoga poses with her clients for a new workout that she calls YogaBand, which she says increases her students’ strength.

Photo Courtesy: Baron Baptiste

Yoga Instructor Baron Baptiste says that learning yoga in a group setting can be a healthy challenge.

Although Wolfe thinks that it is okay to combine fitness methods and tools, she also cautions that consumers should be careful to judge if the fitness blending is safe and if the instructor knows what he or she is doing -- be weary of fitness gimmicks that get your attention but aren’t addressing alignment and other safety issues.

Teachers and Standards
With a rise in yoga-related injuries, Yoga Journal’s Executive Editor Mary Bolster says “The industry really isn’t regulated. There is .no third-party organization certifying yoga instructors, and there is no independent group to see if a teacher is actually qualified.” As a result, says Bolster, the student has to take responsibility for making the best instructor choice and knowing when to back off from rigorous poses if the teacher isn’t guiding.

“There is talk about regulation. It’s an ongoing debate. There are 200-hour and 500-hour programs, but they are not regulated.” Bolster would like to see universal standards and certification developed that would bring depth to yoga instruction, such as proper alignment, psychology, and anatomy. She also would like to see teachers go beyond the 200 or 500 hours and meet ongoing education requirements, which would encourage instructors who are, as she says, “attracted to the layers of yoga” -- physical, emotional, spiritual, etc.

Consumer Education
In the meantime, consumers can patron the best yoga instructors and studios by being better educated and, thereby, exercising their dollars only on quality.

When you go to a yoga studio, the instructor should pay attention to alignment teaching and your individual alignment. The best instructors will give you individual attention, even in a group setting, and will offer pose variants for different skill levels -- respecting students’ limitations. For example, the teacher would start the class with an explanation of what is to come and offer resting poses that you can use any time throughout the class if you feel tired or overworked -- this sets up an atmosphere of acceptance and no judgment. The teacher should also develop a nurturing environment that encourages you to ask questions and listen to yourself -- this helps avoid injury.

Try different yoga studios and instructors to get a feel for various styles and education levels. Stick with your gut feeling if you didn’t like an environment, class, or instructor -- don’t return. But above all, if you liked a class, go back. Yoga is meant to be a long-term practice, and most of its benefits occur with ongoing training.

Part 2 of this series takes a look at some of the best, new yoga DVDs.

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