Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 47
Interview
AM I think it is fair to say that flexibility has become somewhat fetishised in recent years but there is now a movement
away from this towards focusing a little more on mobility and
strength. Practicing yoga for flexibility isn’t necessarily a bad
thing but ultimately yoga is about so much more than this.
The practice allows us to turn our attention inwards, so that
they can develop deeper awareness and tune into our bodymind-spirit connection. I’m a big fan of somatic movement
practices and this has really influenced the way that I teach
and practice. Generally speaking, a somatic movement practice is one which is performed consciously with the intention of focusing on the internal experience of the movements
rather than the external appearance or result of the movements. The movements made tend to be very slow and exploratory in nature.
AM Do you think yoga should be prescribed for certain
conditions?
AM I think there is definitely place for this but there needs to
be strong evidence. The good news is that there is growing
body of research that tells us that yoga can help in the management of cardiovascular disease, stress, insomnia, depression and persistent pain to name just a few conditions. I’m
really excited to see much more research being done of the
coming years. A
REFERENCES
Bueno, A., Pilgaard, M., Hulme, A., Forsberg, P. et al. (2018) ‘Injury prevalence across
sports: a descriptive analysis on a representative sample of the Danish population.’
Injury Epidemiology 5.
Cramer, H., Quinker, D., Schumann, D., Wardle, J., Dobos, G. and Lauche, R. (2019)
‘Adverse effects of yoga: a national cross-sectional survey.’ BMC Complement
Altern Med 19, 1, 190.
Cramer, H., Ward, L., Saper, R., Fishbein, D., Dobos, G. and Lauche, R. (2015) ‘The
Safety of Yoga: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled
Trials.’ American Journal of Epidemiology 182, 4, 281–293.
Wiese, C., Keil, D., Rasmussen, A. and Olesen, R. (2019) ‘Injury in yoga asana practice:
Assessment of the risks.’ J Bodyw Mov Ther 23, 3, 479-488.
ANDREW MCGONIGLE HAS been studying anatomy for over twenty years, originally training to become a doctor and then moving away from
Western medicine to become a yoga teacher, massage therapist and anatomy teacher. He combines all of his skills and experience to teach
anatomy and physiology on Yoga Teacher Training courses internationally and runs his own online Anatomy and Physiology Applied to Yoga
courses. His new book Supporting Yoga Students with Common Injuries and Conditions: A Handbook for Yoga Teachers and Trainees was
published in March 2021. For more information visit: www.doctor-yogi.com Instagram: @doctoryogi1 Facebook: @doctoryogiandrew
www.yogaallianceprofessionals.org
AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 45
