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Is TV a bad teacher of yoga?
Do you sit and perform complicated yoga postures day after
day at home with only TV as your instructor? It may be time to turn the idiot
box off, as experts warn that practicing yoga through mass media without proper
guidance can do more harm than good.
"Yoga needs
very close concentration and two-way communication is essential; so the best
way to perform yoga is with an instructor. The asanas (postures) and prakriyas
(processes) somebody is imitating from TV may not be suitable for them and can
create trouble,"
Yoga is India's traditional physical and mental discipline which is associated with meditative practices.
Yoga is a Sanskrit word which is derived from the Sanskrit root 'yuj', meaning to control, to yoke or to unite. However, in general yoga is typically associated with hatha yoga and its asanas or as a form of exercise.
Manoj Kumar, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Moolchand Hospital, New Delhi, said: "There has been quite an increase in the number of people coming with injuries caused by doing yoga in inappropriate postures as they just watch it on TV and try to imitate it."
"At least three to four patients come with such complaints every week," says Kumar.
Practicing yoga through TV or DVD can create lots of problems as the person cannot get proper feedback and he can either overstretch or have too much contraction."
"The best way to practise yoga is through one-to-one interaction, so that communication can be easy and efficient. However, it is not always possible to conduct a one-to-one yoga programme; so in my opinion the ideal ratio between instructor and student would be of 30:2 (one yoga instructor, one assistant and 30 students)."
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