The road between myth and fact in yoga education is paved with good intentions.
Speaking as a teacher myself, I can say with certainty that we teach yoga because we love it, and we want to be of service to our community. We want to share the gifts that yoga has to offer, and we enjoy learning. We yoga teachers generally teach what we’ve learned from our mentors and those who came before. Some of what we teach is thousands of years old. Just because it’s traditional and ancient doesn’t necessarily make it true or relevant to now.
Many teachers are constantly engaged with continuing education and their teaching method and matter evolves over their career. I am teaching quite differently compared to 15 and even 5 years ago. I feel that the majority of what modern yoga teachers teach is relatively new, in the grand scheme of the yoga timeline. I think we can also agree that just because something is new doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better or correct.
Since most of us yoga teachers are teaching asana, and I’m really speaking for myself here, our teachings are rooted in scientific evidence…”what we know right now.” Would you agree that perhaps some of what is being taught seems to be based more on anecdotal and subjective evidence…”what we feel right now”? Or maybe even what we want to be true?
Human physiology is a constantly evolving science (all science is!) and there are no final answers. There is continuous study, testing, and discovery. When we know better, we do better.
Now more than ever, in this time of instant access to endless information, critical thinking is imperative. In this newsletter I’m going to tackle one famous yoga myth that still circulates in the yoga world. The myth of yoga poses and styles as tools of detoxification.
Disclaimer: This is not an attack on yoga or any particular lineage. I will attempt to present as much factual information as I can gather, knowing that my opinions and beliefs may change based on new research. You should not take my word for any of this. I expect that you are fully capable of doing your own digging and drawing your own conclusions if this is intriguing to you.
It makes sense to me to get clear about terminology before we tackle the myth itself. While one could argue that it’s possible to detox and purify our thoughts & emotions, today we’ll be specific about physical detoxification.
What does it mean to “detox” your body?
noun
/ˈdētäks/
a process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances; detoxification.
verb
/dēˈtäks/
abstain from or rid the body of toxic or unhealthy substances.
If yoga or specific yoga poses (like twists) detoxify me, does that mean I’m toxic? What if I’m eating really clean?! Do I still have toxins?
If people don’t practice yoga, are they toxic? How are they surviving toxicity without yoga?
Which specific toxins are being eliminated when I do yoga? No one has been able to answer that for me yet. How could we measure the eliminated toxins to prove that yoga detoxifies us?
Personally, and coming from an addictive mindset, detox to me means to abstain from alcohol to “get clean.” Detoxification can be a dangerous time for addicts, medical intervention is sometimes required, especially for alcohol detox. If you didn’t know before, you know now. I’ll have 4 years of sobriety in October! Yay me! Maybe that’s why this “detox” business in yoga grinds my gears? Perhaps. But hear me out.
I’ve been told that twists wring out my organs, and that is one of the methods of detoxification that yoga grants to us. This is not accurate. If your organs were actually being wrung out, you would need medical attention. You are not a dishcloth, and you don’t need to be wrung out.
I’ve heard that twisting cuts off the blood supply to my organs, and when the twist is released, freshly oxygenated blood floods my organs. There is no evidence that a spinal twist cuts off your blood supply, and if it did, I don’t think that sounds especially healthy.
It’s been said that twisting can help to move trapped gas in your digestive tract. I can vouch for that one. 😜 One of my mentors used to say “it’s not a real yoga class until someone farts.” 💨
Do twists “compress” or “slide” the internal organs? Probably. Does that make them function better? I don’t know.
Do twists feel good? Yes! Are twists a healthy movement for your spine? Sometimes! “It depends.” Should we stop twisting? NO! Is being aware of how your body feels in a twist beneficial and mindful. OF COURSE! That is the main crux of the yoga practice.
Should we stop making or believing in claims that aren’t supported by credible evidence? Something to consider.
If you have a functioning liver, it’s doing all sorts of fancy and amazing things to eliminate waste products from your body. Organ function is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, and those processes are out of our control.
Besides twists, the other myth I’ve heard is that hot yoga detoxifies your body through sweat. Sweating and vigorous exercise in general is definitely great for your health! I enjoy hot yoga for this and other reasons. Well, it’s more like a love-hate relationship if I’m being honest. But our sweat isn’t toxic. The sweat that comes from physical exertion is a simple concoction of salt and water. When we sweat, our eccrine sweat glands are purging our body of salt and water as a way to regulate the spike of our internal temperature. Your wise internal thermostat is cooling you down through the efficient process of sweating. Neat, huh?
So now you might be wondering how this myth became so pervasive. In my opinion it’s a marketing strategy in the health and wellness industry. Everyone wants to feel and be healthier. Sometimes we want a shortcut or “hack” to eliminate the consequences of that extra margarita or hot fudge sundae. I think we all know that it just doesn’t work that way. Abstaining from unhealthy behaviors is the direct route to avoiding the aftereffects of those behaviors. While yoga and other exercise is certainly good for your mind and body, prevention and healthy habits are far more effective ways to take care of your meat suit.
There is some evidence that extreme cold and heat therapies are beneficial for reasons that have nothing to do with the process of detoxification, but revolve around inflammation and other health markers. Check out this study about cryotherapy and this systematic review of multiple studies which examined the use of sauna. Deciphering the results of students is a tricky and time-consuming undertaking, research is still really limited, and results are often somewhat subjective. There are plenty of opinion pieces via blogs and podcasts that might capture your curiosity and put your critical thinking cap to good use.
I feel that myths like these arise from subjective theories rather than objective evidence, and it becomes a game of telephone. Truth and absolute facts may be unknown or imagined, and can be muddied by traditional dogma, creative marketing ploys, personal perspectives and subjective experiences.
Despite best intentions, myths can also cause harm.
As students of yoga, we understand that our teachers are flawed humans and students themselves, and they don’t have all the answers. (The guru model is deeply troublesome to me personally, from both the patriarchal and abuse of power standpoints.) As practitioners of yoga, we are ultimately responsible for our own well-being physically and otherwise, and should seek to maintain agency over our bodies and souls. Our teachers merely set the stage for learning and insight, it’s but it’s ultimately OUR experience to embody. It’s our job to decipher fact from fiction through our own due diligence.
As educators, we are held to the expectation of doing our best to honor the guiding principles of the Yamas and Niyamas in our methods. We practice Satya by speaking truth, and Ahimsa by preventing harm. We want our students to draw their own conclusions and design their own experiments through asana. Our instructions are theories and invitations rather than absolutes and directives and are informed by our own experiences which may land differently in each of our students.
How does this land with you?
Feel free to reply with your own insights if this sparked some dialogue. As always, I would appreciate your perspective, even if it differs from my own. There’s probably a million things I didn’t consider.
