by Nina
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| Baby Face by Melina Meza |
"Although modern yoga practices can be very helpful for a variety of health conditions, yoga does not cure “everything,” and even using the word “cure” with yoga is an odd idea and likely inappropriate. On the other side of this debate is the role in healing of modern Western medicine, which in many cases, can actually cure some illnesses, such as the obvious ones like bacterial infections, and which can treat, if not cure, many others, such as traumatic fractures or certain kinds of cancer to name just a few. Yet there is a strange New Age tendency to feel “ashamed” if you “have to resort” to using Western medicine that is misguided and unhelpful, and is not based on a realistic assessment of the ways in which yoga can complement Western medicine." —Dr. Baxter Bell
Recently there was a lot of controversy in the yoga blogosphere about a post written by Hemalayaa Behl Shocked about yoga teachers on meds, in which she stated that yoga teachers who were on antidepressants were taking “happy pills” rather than dealing with their issues, and in which she made her own recommendations for dealing with serious depression, including such things as practicing yoga and dancing around in your space, rather than taking medication. That post prompted a number of responses from people in the yoga community about how this blogger was ignoring the fact depression is a serious, life-threatening illness and that antidepressants are important life-saving medications not “happy pills.” In fact, the furor over her post was so great that Hemalayaa has since taken down her original post and written an apology (see RE: MY BLOG ON “YOGA TEACHERS ON ANTIDEPRESSANTS).
Although I didn’t weigh in on the original controversy (except inside my own head, of course), I thought it worthwhile bringing up today because some other bloggers used the opportunity to make a more general point about Western medicine and yoga in general. In her response post Are Yoga and Western Medicine Incompatible? Charlotte Bell mentioned that after learning that she had high blood pressure, she “doubled down on acupuncture, yoga, meditation, herbs and supplements.” But nothing helped, and in the end, she took her doctor’s advice and started taking blood pressure medication. Although her blood pressure has been stable since then, she confessed to feeling ashamed that she “needed” this medication.
“Still, there was the shame. My own belief, and that of the larger yoga culture, was that my practice must not be strong enough or committed enough.”
Eventually, advice from her friend and teacher Judith Lasater helped her to realize that “that yoga and Western medicine do not have to be at odds. The intention is the same for both: wellness.” So she came around to the attitude that I always like to promote for those times when we need to turn to Western medicine: gratitude.
“But there are some things that need Western intervention, and we are fortunate to live in a time when these methods are available.”
Matthew Renski wrote in his post Pillgate that he had a similar “confrontation” when he experienced deep vein thrombosis:
“There is no Ayurveda that could clear the blood clots from my lungs in a quick enough manner to protect my aortae. And when Charlotte goes to have her hip replaced later this month, it will be because there is no asana, acupuncture, herbs or reiki that can shave away her bone spurs and replace her cartilage with the titanium she needs.”
So today I just want to remind everyone that if you need Western medical treatment for some condition, whether that’s a hip replacement, cancer treatment, or blood pressure medication, please don’t feel ashamed. Instead, cultivate gratitude. I agree with Charlotte Bell that we’re lucky to be living in times when these treatments are available. And if you are talking with someone else who is receiving medical care, cultivate compassion—you have no idea what he or she has already tried or has been through.
It’s actually a serious problem in the yoga community that some teachers overestimate the ability of yoga to treat diseases and conditions. As Baxter said in the quote above:
“Although modern yoga practices can be very helpful for a variety of health conditions, yoga does not cure “everything”, and even using the word “cure” with yoga is an odd idea and likely inappropriate.”
In my post Yoga is a great thing but.... I discussed the limitations of yoga with regard to depression and other medical conditions in general, saying that the unrealistic claims by certain teachers resulted in feelings of shame in practitioners who need medical help, just like the ones that Charlotte Bell described. But also, if you think about it, this attitude can be even more harmful than just causing shame because what if yoga practitioners refuse Western medical treatment for a serious condition in the vain hope that yoga provides better, “more natural” solutions?
One of the reasons we started this blog, which right now has a two scientists, a medical doctor, and a physical therapist on board, is so we could conduct an ongoing reality check about yoga can and cannot do, with scientific evidence to back up our claims. Obviously we’re very enthusiastic about yoga; we all practice it, and with the exception of Brad, we’re all certified yoga teachers as well. (Although I myself am not a professional scientist or health care provider, I’m one of those people who just can help asking why and how if you tell me yoga can do such and such.) And if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, you’ll know that we believe a regular yoga practice can help us foster healthy aging by enabling us to maintain strength, flexibility, balance, agility, cardiovascular health and brain health, to reduce our stress levels, and to cultivate equanimity.
But we are also very careful to be realistic about the limitations of yoga and to respect the powerful solutions that Western medicine has to offer. Why just this week in his post Successful Yoga Therapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ram suggested that yoga was an “add-on therapy” not a replacement for Western modalities.
And for those times when you do need Western medicine, yoga can provide you something truly invaluable: contentment, which Desikachar defines as “the ability to be comfortable with what we have and what we do not have.” Ram described this in his post Coming Out; My Personal Experience with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which was about how he came to terms with having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, the diagnosis for which was made by doctors at the Mayo Clinic.
"A combination of Ayurveda, a skillful yoga practice, pranayama, and meditation has helped me to cultivate pratyhara and find my true self. These days, whether in my home practice or in the classes I teach, I experience far less pain and very few bruises. I do develop some clots occasionally but it does not bother me anymore. I have stopped questioning why I possessed this body as I have started experiencing a positive mental-emotional balance that has resulted in improved health and happiness. I love who I am!"
Although contentment with your body the way it is (and accepting with equanimity the need for Western medical treatment) is not as sexy as a promise that yoga will enable you to live to be 120 in perfect health, telling you anything other than the truth, well, now that would be a shame.
For information about cultivating contentment, see Contentment and Yoga: An Overview.
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