Man Bites Downward Facing Dog Dr Timothy McCall Takes On William Broad of The New York Times

by Nina

Mugsy, the Yoga Dog by Nina Zolotow

Could yoga make you fat (especially if you're a woman)? Does it cause hundreds of strokes per year? Sex you up so much you'll engage in unethical behavior? Did the entire discipline start out as a sex cult? If you read The New York Times you might think so. As much as I've often disagreed with him, up until now I've been diplomatic in my responses to William Broad's writings about yoga in Times and in his book The Science of Yoga. But after his recent article in which he asserted that "yoga is remarkably dangerous — for men," I felt it was time to speak up. —Dr. Timothy McCall

In his new paper “Man Bites Downward-Facing Dog,” Yoga for Healthy Aging blogger and Medical Editor for Yoga Journal Magazine, Dr. Timothy McCall responds to William Broad’s ongoing sensationalistic claims about yoga. In his post on our blog Is Yoga Really Dangerous for Men?, Timothy addressed Broad’s most recent claim that yoga is “remarkably dangerous” for men. In this new paper, he goes further and responds to other over the top claims that Broad has made previously, such as that yoga can make you fat or that the entire discipline started out as a sex cult. He also makes it clear that he is not denying that yoga injuries are a problem; and he acknowledges that he is not in disagreement with all of William Broad's assertions.

Timothy's article is on his web site, in  PDF format rather than on a web page. So if you want to read it, you’ll need to download it and view it with Adobe Acrobat. To get your copy of the paper, you can either use the link in the previous paragraph or go to Timothy's web site www.drmccall.com. I highly recommend that you go ahead and download the paper. Then feel free to pass it on to your friends. We really want to get the word out!

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Featured Pose Downward Facing Dog Variation Chair Version

by Baxter and Nina

Like Puppy pose, which we featured last week, this variation of Downward-Facing Dog is also a good variation for upper body strengthening if you have wrist and hand issues because the angle between your hand and forearm is minimized and you have a choice of two different hand positions. Placing your hands on the seat of the chair takes some of the weight off your hands (though not as much as Puppy pose) and keeps your wrists in a more neutral position.

From the hands to the hips, this pose is similar to Puppy pose so you build upper body strength while also increasing flexibility in the shoulders. Downward-Facing Dog with a chair activates the triceps muscles in the backs of your arms and the stabilizing muscles of your shoulder blades. As a side effect, if you keep your spine neutral, you also strengthen your front abdominal muscles (and who doesn’t love that). And, compared to Puppy pose, you may find that with your knees off the ground, you get a better spinal elongation. Other benefits not provided by Puppy pose include leg stretching and strengthening, which help move you toward the full pose, and increased upper body strengthening because you are bearing some weight on your hands.

Because this version is easier than a full Downward-Facing Dog pose, it is suitable for someone who is still building up enough strength to do the full pose. It is also wonderful for someone who can’t easily get up and down from the floor, or just isn’t dressed for it. Yes, it’s an excellent office or travel pose. Airport chair that is bolted to floor, anyone?

Instructions: Before coming into the pose, place your chair against the wall, with the back of the chair touching the wall so the chair doesn’t move when you come into the pose.

Start by standing in Mountain pose about two feet from the front edge of the chair. Bend your knees slightly and take an easy forward bend from your hips. Place your hands either on the chair seat with the heel of the hand catching the front edge (not dropping down below it) or with the base of your thumb on the seat and your fingers wrapped around the fingers around the sides of the seat, whichever feels best on your wrists.

Next, keeping your knees bent and your hands pressing firmly into the seat of the chair, walk your legs back, keeping your hips over your feet, until you create an even diagonal line from your arms, to your torso, and to your hips. Those of you who are tighter in the hips, hamstrings, or ankle joints, may want to walk your feet further back than your hips (like Baxter, here).

Keep your knees bent initially, and work your hands, arms and shoulders. Press your hands down and forward on the chair as you allow your rib cage to move away from your hands. Bring a sense of firmness to the muscles around your shoulder blades. Those of you who are more flexible in the legs can then straighten your legs and allow your heels to drop toward the floor (or onto it).

If you have tight shoulders, be aware of the tendency of your front lower ribs to drop or your lower back to arch dramatically to compensate. Focus instead on maintaining your torso in Mountain pose (Tadasana) alignment.

Stay in the pose for six to eight breaths and, with practice, work your way up to 1 minute.

To come out of the pose, bend your knees and slowly walk forward toward the chair. When you are a foot or two from the chair, bend both knees and moving from your hip joint come up to standing.

Cautions: If you have rotator cuff injury or a history of dislocation of the shoulder, keep your chest lifting from the floor rather than pressing down toward the floor. Back off if you feel any pain. If you have lower back problems, make sure you keep your lower back neutral (not overly arched or rounded) in the pose.

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Pet More Downward Facing Dogs Yoga Resolutions for the New Year

by Nina

Back in the Day: My Brother Danny and Our Dog Nikki

"Hear now the wisdom of Yoga, path of the Eternal and freedom from bondage.
No step is lost on this path, and no dangers are found. And even a little progress is freedom from fear." — Bhagavad Gita

When my son was in the fourth grade, he came to me with a problem. His teacher had asked him to write a list of ten possible resolutions he could make for the new year, and the thought of coming up with ten things he needed to change about himself was making him utterly miserable. But to this dedicated student, skipping the assignment was not an option. “What can I do, Mom?” he asked me sadly. “Well,” I replied, “how about if you came up with some resolutions that would be very easy and fun to keep?” “Like what?” He looked at me doubtfully. “Let’s see,” I mused, “how about something like: pet more dogs?”

He lit up with a smile and then went off in much better spirits to write a list of resolutions for his teacher (and keeping the “pet more dogs” resolution throughout the year did turn out to be a lot of fun.) I’m bringing this up now, because if you are planning on making any New Year’s resolutions regarding yoga this year, I’d advise you to take the same lighthearted approach.

If you want to start a home practice, rather than deciding to do full-length class everyday—a rather overwhelming commitment—think small. As my son did, try to come up with a resolution that will be easy to keep and fun to do. How about:

1. Do one Downward-Facing Dog pose a day five days in a row for one week. (You can pet yourself afterward.)
2. Look through a yoga book and find a picture of a pose you’ve never done and just try it. (Be sure to laugh if you get totally confused or fall out of the pose.)
3. Download a yoga nidra practice or guided relaxation onto your iPod and try it once. (You might become addicted.)
4. Clear some wall space, figure out what to use for props, and set yourself up for Legs Up the Wall pose at home. (If you decide to do again some day, you’ll be ready.)
5. Practice seated meditation for five minutes a few times in a week. (If it feels good, try it for a second week, then a third, then....)
6. Buy yourself an eye pillow and “test” it at once or twice in Corpse pose (Savasana).

Anyway, you get the idea. The thing is, that resolutions that are too challenging and time consuming are likely to fail, while any small, easy, fun steps can help you get started on the path to a home practice. That’s what happened to me: I started practicing just a few poses at home, and gradually over time my practice grew organically. But even if your practice stays small, as the Gita says: “No step is lost on this path, and no dangers are found. And even a little progress is freedom from fear.”

Readers, I’d love to hear about any yoga resolutions that you’re making for yourself or that you’d recommend for others, especially some simple and/or colorful ones.

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