It is clear that there are mixed options about the Balance Board as novices and yogis alike take on the Wii Fit challenge. I am gratified that so many are interested in yoga and that the new fangled technology is crossing with the ancient and sacred system of yoga.
I will never turn up my nose to modern versions of yoga, even though we are just scratching the surface of yoga, it is an introduction, and I think it is great to expose people to this beautiful practice for the mind, body and spirit. Having said that, I think that anyone who is to be dedicated to a yoga practice will take what they can from the Wii Fit and develop their understanding of the postures. I am not the first to point out the shortcomings in the demonstrations/descriptions of the postures in the Wii Fit yoga.
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At first, I had found the Wii Fit Yoga Balancing Board an engaging instrument for its usefulness as a yoga tool. As I progress in the practice I have been seeing with a critical eye how Wii Fit Yoga lacks precision in descriptions and demonstrations of the poses. Really, the board is great, what an awesome biofeedback tool(!), but the descriptions for the postures are not comprehensive, leaving out important alignment and structural principles. Let me elucidate you as to how the posture, Chaturanga Dandasana, or Four-Limbed Staff Pose, is improperly described. It is a common failure, in fact, to dub the posture ‘push-up pose’, because of its likeness to the push-up, although in the classical yoga posture the elbows are hugged to the sides, protecting the rotator cuff from injury. Interestingly, there is an article in May’s Yoga Journal by Natasha Rizopoulos, on the proper alignment of this pose. It’ll be interesting to see if another developer could put together a program with better descriptions and demonstrations, maybe even with custom series to address areas of focus. If anyone from Nintendo is reading this and wants to contact me for more information… J
