Tampa Bay experts weigh in: Can yoga really wreck your body?

TAMPA - Linda Hutton is one of a dozen certified yoga instructors at Wendy Fit Yoga and Pilates studio in Tampa. Her power yoga class is popular.

But a recent article published in the New York Times titled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body" called into question the safety of this age old modality. 

It upset many yoga enthusiasts like studio owner Wendy O'Lenic. “The article made it sound like it was blaming the actual style of yoga and that is not what hurts people. It's like anything you do. I had a client who twisted his ankle while bowling. Do we blame bowling?"

In the article, the writer claims studies proved that yoga can cause serious injuries such as nerve damage, strokes, muscle damage, torn cartilage and even cracked ribs.  Wendy said, "I have been teaching since the 80's and I've never seen injuries like those."

But O'Lenic does believe people, especially beginners, can get lesser injuries in larger classes led by inexperienced instructors.

“If I engage these muscles in my hips, my knees are in alignment.  Now you have a more stable alignment."  

Yoga instructor Dana Santas agrees.  She showed us three ways she believes people are injured easily:

• Improper knee alignment.
• Lower back strain or hamstring injuries from improper positions
• Shoulder injuries.

So what are the keys to getting the benefit without the risk of yoga?

Wendy said, "We know you never push yourself into pain. That's the first thing we say to everybody is 'listen to your body.'  How do we know? You're the only one who knows. You have to listen to your body and you have to take responsibility for yourself."

If you’d like to try yoga, Wendy Fit is holding a free yoga day. For more info go to www.wendyfit.com .