Do yoga! But, don?t make TV your guru

BEWARE! WRONG yogic postures may land you into a trouble or slow down your health benefits, warns city’s yoga experts.

“Yoga is a practical science. Like you can’t take medicines without a doctor’s prescription, you cannot perform yogic postures without a qualified yogi,” say experts.

“An asan beneficial for some could be fatal for others. Asans must be taught and recommended, according to age, physical condition, ailment, past history of diseases, and requirements of individuals,”  says well known yoga expert Pavan Jain.  

“Many people start practising yoga by watching it on television. Sometimes, they start complaining about not getting the required benefits, or developing some other problems. It is because they are not practising yoga in a proper way,” he says. People should understand that yoga becomes technical when it is related to vital organs, nervous disorders, neurological imbalances, subtle body and spiritual experiences, he warns.

Jain says, “Consult any book on yoga and you will find it mentioned clearly that asanas should be performed under the supervision of an expert only. Why do people ignore that? advice and blame yoga instead.”

Head of Yoga and Naturopathy (Lucknow University) Dr PD Mishra says, “Wrong practise can result in health hazards. Sometimes, which could be fatal. Those suffering from heart ailments, diabetes, blood pressure, mental disorders, indigestion, stress, fatigue, neurological problems, nervous disorders must take advice of yoga experts and then perform yoga under his guidance. Anyone suffering from these disorders must not risk practising yoga by watching it on TV or CDs.”

“People forget that Yama and Niyama are the primary limbs  of yoga which form the foundation of yogic practice. Unless they are firmly followed, they should not practice postures and breathing exercises.”

Dr Umesh Shukla a faculty of yoga in Lucknow University says  “A woman of my acquaintance upset her hormonal balance doing the wrong yoga exercise by watching on television. It produced a malfunction in her adrenal glands. She was treated but it took a long time to recover.”  One Pranayama Shukla admits, “To practise pranayama without real guidance is very dangerous. Unless properly done, there is a good chance of injuring the brain. And those who practise such breathing without proper supervision can suffer.

Shukla cautions against practising Kapalbahti without supervision of a yoga Guru.