Yoga is originated from India. Any study on Yoga should be done on the correct Yogis, who are doing it for a number of years. Yoga is simply not the cup of tea for everybody.
There are many people in the world including America, who do some sort of certiificate course and then start teaching Yoga. That’s not the correct way of practising Yoga. Scientific studies should never be done on such people or their disciples, who might have been taught wrong methods.
3
Yes! Yoga that emphasizes alignment principles such as iyengar and anusara would certainly help strengthen pelvic floor-
1
I suffered from incontinence beginning about age 65. I stumbled on a solution for myself when I took the probiotic lactobacillus (acidophilus). I take a lot of it but it has solved the problem. It doesn't work if I take probiotics with strains other than the lacto options. It has made a wonderful difference in my life and I can sleep for at least 6 hours at night without having to get up.
@Judith H
What specific brand of probiotic are you using?
Thanks !
There are so many different yoga asanas and practices, yet no mention of the specifics. In the Hatha Yoga I studied for many years, different positions may strengthen and affect the body in different ways. This article is useless in its generalizations and may deter people from practicing yoga for its many benefits.
8
Everyone seems to be promoting the wonders of yoga these days and I feel like an outlier. Twelve years ago I took yoga classes three times a week for sic months. I felt depressed after each class, but I thought it would get better. It didn't. By the end of the six months I was treading water in a sea of depression and my hips didn't want to work anymore. Over the years, my hips have gotten progressively worse and I can't walk more than about 100 feet without stopping for a few seconds.
I have always been very limber, so that wasn't the problem. I did well in pilates classes and felt cheerful when I left them. I do a lot of dancing, including tap dancing all over my kitchen.
I still can't figure out why yoga was so distressing to me and always made me feel less than when I left the class.
6
@Carole A. Dunn As a yoga teacher and therapist, I'd like to know which classes you were attending. It's quite possible that the style being taught didn't fit your needs.
Though I do not believe yoga is a miracle worker, I do know that, at 60, I no longer have knee pain, I'm a half-inch taller than I was for most of my life, and a recent bone scan showed I had the bones of someone nearly half my age. My personal yoga practice is quite gentle. I rarely do sun salutation, but prefer lots of dynamic poses to building strength and mobility.
Good luck!
It would seem that Kegel exercises would be helpful for incontinence. It's helped me with this problem. Strange it's not mentioned in the answer
5
@John V, exactly. Sometimes the simplest and most basic practices are overlooked. Nothing like kegel exercises to strengthen pelvic floor and help alleviate incontinence. Only trick is remembering to do it consistently daily.
3
Nothing learned, and too bad. But Yoga still helps one stay stronger, more able to balance, and flexible
The number of women listed as having any sort of a problem with incontinence - 15% - doesn't at all make sense given the reports of friends and relatives over a certain age. It's actually something that many women really do not discuss with Drs. And so anecdote will have to do until there is more outreach and data collection.
As with all things - the ages of leading edge Boomers ( 72-73) is going to be a bonanza for those serving the population of women used to being active who are discovering to their dismay
that they at least occasionally, "leak."
1
@cheryl Hashimoto's thyroiditis can cause incontinence. That's not well known and doctors seldom test for Hashimoto's.
@Penelope Otton
I do have Hashimotos and incontinence.
Have you found anything that helps?
I take Detrol and have Botox injected into my bladder and it helps but still a major problem
NYT needs more yoga stories focusing on poses for health, and peace - mind & body, etc. Integral Yoga my fav.
Thank you
Wonder how much the designers of the study incorporated Bandhas, especially Mula Bandha, into the practice. That might be the key here.
7
@Samazama
Yes, mula banda and the core exercises done in Yoga do help with urinary incontinence, among other things. There should be more in depth studies looking at this.
4
My thought as well. Many asanas either specifically or passively include pelvic floor strengthening. So far, so good. Namaste.
1