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Is Yoga addictive?
Has the noble, timeless discipline of Yoga becomea compulsivefad?
Socialmedia and casual, old-fashioned spotting of burgeoning
neighborhood studios would indicate yes. Yoga, most fortunately, is here
to stay. A couple of years ago, one of my Google searchesyielded 381
million hitsin 0.17 seconds- Yoga studiolistings, Yoga journals, Yoga I
phone apps, Yoga photographs, Yoga travelpackages, Yoga party
suggestions, thelatest in Yoga-wear, and Yoga educationalsites. And that
was two yearsago……..
Once considered exotic inWesterncircles, Yoga is now mainstreamed
as people continually strive to stayin balance. In 2002, theNationalHealth
Interview Survey (NHIS), collected health practicepatternsamong 31,000
Americanadults, age18 and older and reported that 62% used some form
of complementaryand alternativemedicine(CAM) , and five percent , or
1550, had tried yoga. (1) Fast forwarding to 2012, 15 millionAmericans
were estimated tobe practicingYoga , roughly a 10,000 fold increaseover
ten years (2).
One of my friends, who is a Yoga instructor, observed that “Welive
in a rat race. The world has becomeincreasinglyfast. Ashumanbeings, we

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need to be able to handle that pace. People arecoming to Yoga for stress
reductionand relaxation. Yoga isalwaysabout balance.” Shewould hesitate
to opine that any particular personalitytype isdrawnto her practice
sessions, but women, at 72% , tend to predominate.(2).
And what could be more basic towellbeing than Yogic breathing?
According toDr. Richard Brown, a Columbia University-affiliated
psychiatrist, breath resistancethrough prolonged, diaphragmatic breath,
basicallybooststhe vagus nerve with widespread benefit from the
intestinaltothe limbic system and on to the higher corticalcenters. Over
time, a profound sense of wellbeing kicksin. So why not? (3)
One certified Yoga therapistaffirmed “ I don’t think(Yoga is)
addictiveifyou don’t have an addictivepersonality.” Behavioraladdictions,
perhaps considered thesoftest of addictions,often start asinnocent and
pleasurable intentions, with exerciseaddictionhere perhapsthe closest
parallel. Initiallydriven by a desire to be fit, theexercise becomes
uncontrollable, dominates over other commitments, ispracticed without
regard tophysical status , and when blocked, is experienced like a
withdrawal. UnlikeYoga, however, thereis not necessarily a sense of
spiritualconnectionand accomplishment. (4).

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So, let’s not throw out the babywith the bathwater.Take themiddle
road, respect your physique, don’t do an asana just for the sake of keeping
up with a classmate, and be mindfulthat a Vinyasa awayfrom Yoga is
virtuallyimpossibleonce regular practice takeshold, at least for me, like
turning down a favorite delicacy. Namaste.
Respectfully written by
JaneBrown Sofair, MD LLC
January, 2015

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References ( optional)
1.Barnes PM, Powell-Griner E, McFannK, et al. Complementaryand
alternativemedicineuseamong adults:United States. AdvanceData from
Vitaland Health Statistics.2002; 343:1-19.
2.Yoga statistics. Accessed 2012 at www.statisticbrain.com/yoga-statistics/.
3.Brown RP, GerbargL. The way of Yoga, herbs, and nutrientsin the
treatment ofdepression, anxiety, PTSD, cognitivedysfunction, ADHD, and
sexual dysfunction. AmericanPsychiatric Association, 161st Annual
Meeting,2008.
4.Bamber D, Cockerill IM, Rodgers S, et al. “It’s exerciseof nothing”: a
qualitativeanalysisof exercisedependence. Br. J SportsMed.
2000;34:423-430.