Pre-reading: the story of my life-changing journey to India and my 3,000 word paper on the benefits of yoga.

I have practiced Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga for 6 years and during that time I have learned a lot about my body. When I say a lot, I mean at age 19 I could barely touch my knees in a standing forward fold, rest in a deep squat or sit in Hero’s Pose without a mountain of bolsters behind my back. I had no idea how to breathe and chanting Aum at the top of my lungs was extremely uncomfortable. But here I am today, able to move my body as my vocation and lead a class breathing intelligently and singing all sorts of unusual sounds.

So my passion for yoga is greater than ever, but I am going to explain why this practice is not enough for the modern human.

(To be clear, I am speaking of the Western adaptation of Yoga, typically Power, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Iyengar (or anything else after the beginning of 20th century) moving between Lululemon mats and infrared heating panels.)

Stereotypes aside, here are my 5 reasons.

1. Lack of movement complexity

Once you have learned the Surya Namasakarasana (Sun Salutation) and standing postures like virabhadrasana (great warrior), ardha candrasana (half moon), or even parivrtta trikonasana (twisted triangle), the level of movement complexity is quite low. Unless like me you were fortunate enough to have your first teacher that was also a dance instructor, it is unlikely you will be stringing together complex sequences and moving the body in non-linear patterns.

One of the best ways to develop the brain is to learn new movement patterns. Contemporary dancers will learn 400 new movements in an audition setting. A typical yoga studio may repeat the same 20-50 movements for the next 3 years.

One of the best ways to develop the brain is to learn new movement patterns.

In the beginning, a yoga practitioner can only move as well as their teacher and the movement patterns of most Australian yoga teachers is well… pretty poor. For example, the advice for handstands “Kick up against the wall and start to balance away”. I spent years “Just kicking up” and that got me not very far, very slowly. A solid handstand in a yoga practice is the top of the top. In gymnastics? Well, you’re just a neophyte.

2. It’s so serious

Yoga in 5th century BC was serious and deserved to be so. These Yogi’s starved their body, manipulated their internal organs, meditated for months on end and lived in isolation all in an effort to liberate themselves from suffering. Modern Yogi practitioners however spend 1 to 5 hours per week making pretty shapes with our bodies and drinking cold pressed juices all to fit into our colourful leggings. We have it pretty darn good!

So next time you’re in warrior 2 with that stern look on your face or disgruntled that your teacher is talking about the esoteric benefits of a gratitude practice, maybe just flick yourself a smile and lighten up. It will be ok in the end. My yoga teacher in India wouldn’t go many minutes without laughing from deep down in his belly. He is one of the most joyful people I have ever met and would always make us smile in class.

3. Minimal human interaction

Humans are social creatures. We have evolved and become top of the food chain because no other animal can communicate and work together as well as we can.

I was lucky enough to have an incredible studio culture where I started yoga. Everyone knew everyone and we’d hang out outside of classes. In most studio’s however, the students live busy lives and so the usual plan looks like this: Get in, get it done, get out, go home. You may wave the teacher a thank you and good bye but that’s all the social interaction you get.

Yoga has always been a solo practice, but where’s the fun in that. Humans play together. Even animals play together. Play is a method of learning about each other through games. Partner activities allow me to learn your movement strengths and weaknesses, your personal space, your body language and it also forces me to consider and develop mine. This social interaction is an essential part of movement development.

4. It’s too soft

Yoga was designed by men for men. It was compulsory for Indian Warriors. These Warriors would perform hours upon hours of Sun Salutations to strengthen their bodies and their willpower. Yes, modern yoga increases your level of “juicy-ness” to the beat of Chet Faker’s latest album but it would leave those Indian Warriors dead on the battlefield in seconds.

It is always enjoyable for me to see the realisation that a modern Yogi has when they understand that yoga is not enough. Usually after 4 weeks of strength training, there is a newfound solidness & stability in their body, their testosterone is back to normal (good for you too, girls) and they carry themselves through this world with more confidence.

Every yoga practitioner would benefit from lifting heavy things and every weight lifter would benefit from yoga. There is a balance that needs to take place in order to feel your optimal self. The two practices enhance each other and both enhance your body, mind and spirit, but not as much if done in isolation.

5. It doesn’t prepare you for real life

There is a law in Sports Science called Specificity that says something along the lines of “You’re practice must be relevant and specific to your challenge.” Unfortunately for yoga, there is nothing else (except for yoga championships in India) that replicate it in real life.

Of course, opening up your body and being able to control it with more awareness is a necessary life skill but there are many things that are left unturned. For example, what happens when my brother invites me to play basketball with him and all I have been doing is getting sweaty on my mat. I’ll have no hand-eye coordination and that ball will leave a red mark between my eyes. If I’m asked to help my friend move house? All of a sudden I have an awkward heavy couch in my hands and I feel my lower back take the full load.

If I always have to keep my knee outside of my little toes in Warrior or my elbows never extending past my body in Chaturanga, what happens when my body is asked to do that in real life? Not good things. We need to diversify our movement practice and develop real world strength and coordination.

We are the most complex movers in the animal kingdom and must exercise this ability.

So what’s a Yogi to do?

Don’t stop your yoga practice! As I said in the beginning, for a detailed description of the benefits of yoga, refer to my other blog posts.

However, as a human being, we want to continually develop our skills. We are the most complex movers in the animal kingdom and must exercise this ability.

We must develop our strength capacity. Tools like strongman training are incredible for developing real world strength. We must play on the bars and the rings to develop pulling strength and balance. We must be able to crawl, flip and slide on the ground in non-linear complex movement patters. And we must be able to manipulate objects and other people around us to develop coordination, confidence and a sense of play.

To be monochromatic is to be bleak and boring. Diversify your movement skill-set. Lift, juggle, dance, flip, invert, fight, create, improvise. You are human and if you want to taste the full experience of one, that’s up to you.