Welcome to your guide for safer and mindful yoga practice! Here, we’ll explore essential tips to prevent common Yoga injuries and create a safer yoga journey for both teachers and students. Let’s dive into simple, practical ways to ensure a secure and loving yoga path for everyone.”
To avoid common Yoga injuries, it’s important to keep four causes in mind.
1. Misaligned posture techniques
Poor alignment techniques can harm a yoga student. “Like a tree which is not getting sunlight cannot bear fruit, a misaligned body cannot find balance.” – Yoga Proverb
2. Past injuries or existing conditions
“Acknowledging the Previous injuries
Either Physical or Psychological, helps our bodies and mind to heal and grow strong.” – Yogic Philosophy
3. Straining or pushing too hard
Excess and too much effort is like “Forcing a bud to bloom before its time only damages the flower. Similarly, excessive effort in yoga harms the body.” – Indian Wisdom
4. Unclear or improper instructions
Unclear and wrong instructions are like “A map with unclear markings leads astray. In yoga, clear guidance is the compass on the path to well-being.” – Ancient Indian Teaching
Following the principle of ahimsâ (non-harming), teachers and students should reflect on how these apply in practice.
Whenever going to start a class, it’s essential for teachers to ask about students who have past injuries or conditions. Yet, sometimes these conditions aren’t shared. So, teachers should always mention any pose-related risks. They need good knowledge to adjust practices for students with pre-existing conditions to keep them safe.
Yoga Poses and Potential Risks : A Gentle Guide to Safe Practice
Joints that can be hurt by wrong yoga practice:
- Lower leg/foot: Attention to proper alignment and gradual progression is essential to avoid strain.
- Hamstrings: Forward bend poses often lead to hamstring issues if not practiced mindfully.
- Knee: Standing and sitting Poses can strain the knees if done without proper alignment and awareness.
- Hip: Practicing poses mindfully and knowing the movement pattern with proper alignment is key.
- Groin:Many poses may affect the groin. Careful alignment and gradual practice are important.
- Low back :Mindful practice and proper engagement of core muscles can reduce the risk of injury.
- Thoracic/Rib: Practicing poses mindfully with attention to breathing can reduce potential strain.
- Wrist/Hand: Even Downward facing dog can strain the wrists and hands. Careful alignment and gradual progression are crucial.
- Neck: Inverted yoga poses require careful alignment and should be approached gradually with respect for the neck’s sensitivity.
- Eyes: Maintaining a relaxed gaze and avoiding strain is important.
- Trauma/Falls: Practicing under supervision and gradually progressing is important for safety.
- Pregnancy: Twists, inversions, bow pose, locust pose, boat pose, and poses that exert pressure on the abdomen are to be approached cautiously during pregnancy.
- Cardiac & Stroke: Inversions, intense vinyasa practice, excessive effort, poses with arms overhead, and incorrect breathing techniques should be approached mindfully for heart health and stroke prevention.
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Protecting Your Knees in Standing Yoga poses.
Standing and Balancing Poses:
Knee Alignment: Avoid hyperextending your knees, Hyperextension is when your knees goes behind the ankle. Keep your knees and ankle in one line in all standing yoga poses.
Mountain Pose Example:
Visualize gently lifting your kneecaps while feeling your thigh muscles engage (quadriceps activation).
Ensure Stability:
Keep a soft, slight 5% bend in your knees to prevent locking, promoting both stability and comfort in your poses.
Warrior poses Example:
Warrior pose – Keep your knee ankle one line, knee and second toe in one line. Avoid any twist in the knees.
Safe and Mindful Forward Bends in Yoga
Hinging Movement in Forward Bends: Initiate forward bends in yoga by hinging at the hips, not the waist.
Maintain Elongated Back: Keep your entire back lengthened as you fold forward.
Elevate Hips if Needed: If you have limited hip flexibility, in sitting forward bends try sitting on a cushion or folded blankets to raise your hips above your knees. This can encourage an anterior pelvic tilt.
Micro-bend in Knees: For individuals with tight glutes and hamstrings, keeping a slight bend in the knees during forward bends can protect the back and leg muscles.
Avoid Rounding the Spine: Steer clear of rounding the spine with straight knees when entering or exiting the pose, as this can compress intervertebral discs and pinched spinal nerves.
Example:
For instance, in a seated forward bend like Paschimottanasana or standing uttânâsana begin by hinging at your hips, maintaining an elongated spine, and in sitting forward bend consider using a cushion or folded blanket for elevation if needed. Keep a micro-bend in your knees to protect your back and avoid rounding the spine when moving into or out of the pose for better your spinal health.
Backward Bends Tips:
Protect the Lower Back:
Tuck the pelvis by lengthening the tailbone downward to safeguard the lower back especially those with anterior pelvic tilt.
Shoulder Position:
Release the shoulder blades away from the ears for comfort and proper alignment.
Lift Through the Heart:
Elevate the sternum/heart area towards the top of the head to maintain a graceful and supported backward bend.
Protecting the Neck:
Arch the head back only after achieving the maximum arch in the middle back (thoracic spine) to safeguard the neck.
Example:
In Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana), focus on lengthening the tailbone down, releasing the shoulders, and lifting through the chest to protect the lower back during the backbend.
In Bridge or Wheel pose
Leg Strength and Tailbone Stability:
Keep your legs strong and grounded while anchoring the tailbone down for stability.
Lift Through the Upper Body:
Elevate the entire upper body and focus on bending the upper back as far as comfortably possible.
Curling Movement:
Gently curl the head, shoulders, and chest backward to enhance the upper back bend while maintaining ease and comfort.
Twisting Poses Tips:
Maintain Spine Length:
As you inhale, lengthen the spine and as you exhale into the twist, keep the spine long to avoid rounding. If Needed use blanket or blocks under the buttocks to maintain the lengthening of lower back.
Come back If Needed:
If you feel the spine starting to round, ease up a bit on the twist for safety.
Prevent Compression:
Avoid compressing spinal discs and nerves by maintaining a lengthened spine during twists for free flow of energy.
Example:
In Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana), focus on elongating the spine as you twist, and if you sense rounding, slightly lessen the twist to protect the spine from compression.
Sitting Poses Tips:
Hip Rotation, Not Knee: Ensure externak rotation occurs properly in the hip joint, not the knee, when sitting in cross-legged positions.
Lotus Pose Caution: Lotus and half lotus poses are best attempted by those with very flexible hips, not recommended for beginners.
Additional Safe Practice Tips:
Gradual Practice: Start with simple seated poses, gradually progressing to more complex positions as hip flexibility improves.
Supportive Props: Use cushions or blocks for added support and comfort in seated poses, especially if hip flexibility is limited.
Avoid Strain: Listen to your body; if you feel strain or discomfort in the knees or hips, ease out of the pose or modify as needed.
Example:
In Easy Pose (Sukhasana), focus on hip rotation and avoid pressure on the knees. Use blanket or block for added support if required, and gradually progress to more advanced seated poses as flexibility increases.
Inverted Poses Tips:
Protect the Neck: Avoid putting excessive weight or stress on the neck and maintain the natural curve of the cervical spine in inverted poses.
Build Shoulder Strength: If your arms and shoulders aren’t strong enough, practice Arm balances posed and basic version of inversions to build strength before attempting classic versions.
Additional Safe Practice Tips:
Wall Support: Use a wall for stability in poses like supported shoulder stand to reduce pressure on the neck and enhance balance.
Gradual Progression: Start with easier inversions, such as downward-facing dog and half shoulder stand before advancing to more challenging poses to strengthen shoulders and adapt to the weight on the upper body.
Example:
In Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), focus on shoulder strength and avoid stressing the neck. Progress gradually to more advanced inversions as your strength and comfort in these poses improve.
Sirsâsana (Headstand) Awareness:
Understand how to use the arms and shoulders for weight support in headstand to elongate the neck.
Pressing the arms down and lifting the scapulae help prevent excessive weight on the neck, reducing the risk of injury.
Strengthen and stretch the neck and shoulders beforehand to prepare for this pose safely.
Sarvângâsana (Shoulderstand) Precautions:
Use blanket support to avoid excessive flexion of the neck in the shoulderstand.
Without blanket support, the neck vertebrae might be forced into 90 degrees of flexion, risking strain on ligaments, tendons, discs, and muscles.
Elevating shoulders on folded blankets reduces the flexion required in the neck, sharing pressure with the shoulders for safer practice.
Preparation for Inversions:
Strengthen the abdomen and leg muscles also to prevent excessive body weight collapse into the neck during these inverted poses.
The way of Yoga New vision is rooted in loving guidance. The Real essence of yoga lies not in physical forcing but in understanding and honoring your body’s unique limits, finding comfort, and creating steadiness within each pose. Remember always, Yoga is a journey of self-exploration, self-care and self-love.
Deep “A yogi friend”
“Uniting East and West by combining Ancient wisdom with Modern science”
Lead Trainer
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Yoga New Vision
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