Monica
Ālaya Yoga
Way to a Safe Yoga Practice
Here are some tips for finding your way to a safe yoga practice.
Yoga has countless benefits, but when done incorrectly, it can result in injuries, including pulled muscles, aching joints, and torn ligaments. Sometimes, it can lead to more severe injuries if not practised safely.
All the possible injuries are not something to be scared of, and leave the practice. Knowing your practice is what is essential for safe practice. Knowledge of practising your asanas safely brings more depth to your practice and intensifies your awareness.
What can cause a Yoga injury?
Not enough warm-up. Stretching and straining your muscles without getting rid of the morning stiffness of the muscles can cause injury. Let your muscles warm up before moving to intense practice.
Inappropriate body weight distribution. Shifting all the weight to one side and not keeping body weight in the Centre.
Not respecting your capabilities and pushing the body beyond the limits.
Not having stability in your asana, feet and palms not being firm on the ground can make one imbalance and cause injury.
Not following basic alignment cues. Basic alignment is essential for proper grounding and equal weight distribution and fully benefiting from an asana.
Not staying aware of the body’s sensations and breath patterns. Body sensation and breathing patterns will tell you much about what is happening within your body and take necessary action if anything feels unconformable.
Lack of awareness of existing illnesses or medical conditions can also worsen the situation. Knowing your condition and modifying the asana as per that will make your practice very fruitful.
More specific tips to keep it safe
Bend your knees in forward folds if your hamstrings are tight and not ready yet.
It is always safe to bend your knees while coming up from a standing forward fold. This way, you save your hamstrings and lower back from taking the extra strain.
Engage your Quadriceps (thigh muscles) to prevent extra strain on your hamstrings in all deep stretches.
Lengthening your Spine before a twist and forward fold is always a good idea to keep it safe for your lower back and hip flexors.
Work a routine to open your shoulder and chest. Open shoulders will prevent many shoulder injuries.
Avoid rounding the back in forward folds. It is ok to bend your knees instead of going deeper down with too tight hamstrings. You can also try sitting on a cushion or a block in seated forward folds.
Hyperextending those knees is a no-no. Always have knees in a micro-bend position over hyperextending them to save those precious joints.
We are here to help you to keep your journey safe and sustainable. Have a conversation with our teachers after the class if you have any questions or want to know more about any pose’s safety.
You can also post your questions on the community hub, and we will get all the information you need
nowing your practice is what is essential for safe practice. Knowledge of practising your asanas safely brings more depth to your practice and intensifies your awareness.
Ready to give yoga a try?
At Ālaya Yoga, we’ve got a team of expert teachers who are all trained to teach to all levels, including complete beginners. Try Ālaya Yoga and start your journey to holistic wellbeing today.
