Quiz: Yoga & Injuries

Why talk about Yoga and injuries?

Talking about yoga and injuries is not a popular topic. We have all experienced the many benefits of yoga in our bodies and minds. Therefore, what we like to believe is that the healing power of this wonderful practice is universal. It is also very easy to find an almost unlimited number of "scientific" studies that seem to prove this assumption: yoga seems to be a low-cost and effective cure for almost any physical or mental problem.

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

This view has been questioned strongly since the 2012 article in the New York Times, written by Pulitzer Price winner (the Oscar for journalists) William J. Broad: "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body". This article has raised a heated debate about yoga in the United States. Research is starting to be done about the possible risks of yoga. Popular poses and alignment cues and certain techniques are being questioned.  2012 is not a long time ago. These new insights are only slowly beginning to change the way yoga is being instructed. Especially yoga teachers who have completed their training before 2012 continue to teach "the old way" - using what they have been taught by their teachers prior to 2012. Therefore, "the old way" is still predominant in most classes - in yoga studio, online classes on YogaGlo, you name it.

The future

What will happen in the future: the standards for education and training of yoga teachers will change significantly. YogaAlliance has already launched a project to review and update their standards.

Purpose of this online exam

In this exam you will learn some of the key facts why significant change - especially in the way yoga poses are taught - will need to happen, especially because more and more people who start doing yoga come with existing health issues.

Don't use Google!

I believe you can benefit most from going through these questions if you do not try to Google the answers in order to score high. Answer the questions according to what you believe is true right now.

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Question 1 of 4

1. In a study conducted in Australia in 2012, a total of 2'353 respondents answered the question whether they ever had an injury that may have been attributable to their yoga practice. The styles of yoga most frequently practiced by respondents were "general", "Iyengar", and "dynamic". What percentage of people answered "Yes"?

Question 1 of 4

Question 2 of 4

2. In a study published in 2016, researchers measured "yoga injuries" as the number of people per 100'000 practitioners who had to go to a hospital's emergency room due to a yoga related injury. The result was that this number increased between 2001 and 2014. What was the percentage of increase?

Question 2 of 4

Question 3 of 4

3. In a study published in 2017, researchers surveyed 354 participants from two suburban yoga studios in the New York City area. The styles of yoga most frequently offered at those yoga studios were Vinyasa and Iyengar Yoga. What percentage of participants reported that yoga caused them pain over a one-year period?

Question 3 of 4

Question 4 of 4

4. In a 2017 survey of 2'620 yoga practitioners, participants were asked: "Have you had a physical injury as a result of your yoga practice?". The styles of yoga most frequently practiced by respondents were Ashtanga, Hatha, and Vinysa/Power Yoga. What percentage of people have answered "yes"?

Question 4 of 4


 

Related Articles

Documentary: Yoga and Injuries (German)

2013 documentary (German TV) about yoga and injuries. The following video features Dr. Günter Niessen, medical doctor, orthopaedic surgeon, physical therapist, Aryuvedic doctor and yoga therapist. He talks about common injuries that brings yogis to his practice. I find the numbers he reports quite shocking .. see for yourself. Available in German language only. 

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