WARNING

Yoga could be bad for your EYES

Yoga is as effective as physiotherapy for treating back pain, it was revealed recently. But that’s not the only health benefit linked to the ancient form of exercise.

There’s been a steady flow of studies that have found it to be beneficial for a whole host of complaints. Indeed, scientists seem increasingly drawn to yoga. So far this year, studies have linked it with reduced symptoms of depression, ulcerative colitis, painful periods and PMT, and pain caused by fibromyalgia. Last year, research found it lowers blood pressure, eases asthma symptoms and even cuts the risk of dementia.

So convinced are some experts of its health benefits there’s talk of making classes available on the NHS.

Manchester gP Dr Matthew Joslin, already ‘prescribes’ one free yoga class to patients with problems such as back pain, obesity, diabetes and mental health issues. He told good Health he believes it could have a positive impact ‘on almost every health-related situation that comes into my consulting room’.

‘as well as maintaining muscle strength and joint mobility, there is a mindfulness element that really helps people cope with the stresses of modern living,’ he says.

Yoga has already been seen to bolster the health of NHS staff — in a six-month trial in North Wales in 2014, a control group not doing yoga took 43 days off for back pain or other muscular problems, yet the group doing yoga missed only two days for the same reasons.

BUT last week came the news that yoga is as likely to induce an injury as robust sports. and yoga worsened a fifth of existing injuries, said researchers at Mercy College in New York, who examined the impact of the ancient technique on 350 people. The results were published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.

So how can it be harmful and yet have so many positive effects? as far as the latter, some sceptics may question whether the benefits are all in the mind or just due to people becoming more active — but it seems the benefits go beyond this,

a review of research by a psychologist at Coventry university suggests people who do yoga release lower levels of a substance called NF-kB, which switches on production of inflammatory substances called cytokines. In short bursts, released at the right time, cytokines protect the body, but over long periods or in too high levels they turn against us.

Excessive levels of cytokines can negatively affect immunity, are associated with mood disorders such as depression, trigger pain, allergies and asthma — and are being linked to the development of many diseases of ageing, such as cancer, heart disease and alzheimer’s.

other positive effects shown to be caused by yoga, which might play a role in its healing ability, include increasing levels of the mood-boosting brain chemical serotonin. Meanwhile, researchers from Harvard and Columbia universities in the u.S. found it raised levels of the calming chemical gaBa in the brain.

But if you take it up, do it carefully. ‘Yoga has the potential to be as dangerous as, say skiing or downhill mountain biking if it’s not taught correctly, or you push your body further than it wants to go,’ says Karen Kirkness, an Edinburgh yoga teacher.

‘In my experience, people who like to take risks generally in life are often those who benefit most from good yoga practice as it helps calm their mind, but they are also those who end up hurting themselves if they don’t respect their body.’

The problem is people often aim to push their bodies as far as they can go, trying to stretch further or hold positions longer, which can be a recipe for injury.

The most common injuries from yoga are musculoskeletal — such as pulled muscles, strained wrists or slipped discs, according to doctors at the university of Duisburg-Essen, in germany, who, in 2013, researched 76 cases of medical treatment for yoga injuries.

While a variety of poses were linked to problems, the researchers did suggest the traditional lotus position (where you sit cross-legged, with each foot resting on the opposite knee, as one to be particularly careful of, as it requires a lot more flexibility in the hips, thighs and knees than most beginners possess.

another surprising area of injury was to eyesight — 12 per cent of injuries assessed by the german researchers involved damage to the veins of the eyes or worsening of existing glaucoma (where pressure inside the eye damages the optic nerve). This is because inverted poses such as headstands or shoulder stands — or even downward facing dog (where you’re on all fours, head down, bottom up rather like an inverted V), causes pressure in the eye.

‘I would advise anyone who has a pre-existing problem such as eye, back, hip, neck, wrist or bone problems to book a one-toone session with a yoga teacher before they go into a class,’ says Nahid de Belgeonne, from yoga studio good Vibes in London.

Some types of yoga might be more likely to cause problems than others. ‘I’m very cautious of Bikram yoga, which is done in an extremely hot room,’ says Karen Kirkness.

The idea behind Bikram is that the heat allows you to push the muscles further than normal, which in itself worries some experts. a 2015 study by the american Council on Exercise found that Bikram increased core temperature to an average of 39.5c degrees for men and 38.9c for women (normal core temperature is 37c) and while none of the fit, healthy subjects in the trial suffered ill effects, 40c is the point at which people start to show symptoms of heat intolerance (a precursor to heat stroke, where the body can no longer cool itself effectively).

Researchers suggested those with cardiovascular disease and diabetes should stick to yoga in non-heated rooms.

However, the level of serious injury caused by yoga is very low. a 2014 analysis of 24,000 u.S. yoga goers (published in the International Journal of Yoga) found only 1 per cent had suffered an injury serious enough to stop them doing yoga.

NOR is age a barrier: the world’s oldest yoga teacher Tao PorchonLynch is 98 and still practises daily.

as with all types of yoga, listening to the body is key — and, if traditional postures get too much, chair yoga, where moves are done in or holding a chair, has been designed to keep older people mobile.

Recently, experts at Florida atlantic university asked 131 older patients (average age 75) with osteoarthritis of the hip, ankle, knee or foot to do chair yoga for eight weeks and found not only did it reduce pain, it also aided mobility — and results lasted for three months after the volunteers stopped classes.

Karen Kirkness and Nahid de Belgeonne say there’s one rule to follow: focus on your breath.

While many of us might think the most important part of yoga is the ability to bend the body in increasingly pretzel-like postures, yoga actually combines that movement with mental stillness and calming breath.

The synchronicity of these elements gives yoga its calming and restorative power — and are clues you’re doing it right.

‘Your breath should remain steady throughout the class,’ says Karen Kirkness. If you can’t breathe as deeply, are breathing more rapidly or holding your breath, you’re trying to hard and need to drop back.

Nahid de Belgeonne agrees: ‘Listen to your body.’