Yoga is not generally considered dangerous. But if you have ever gotten injured during class, fret not-you’re not alone. In this recent study, it is said that yoga-related injuries are on the rise, especially among older adults.
So, what are the best way/ tips to avoid yoga injuries? While yoga is generally a healing practice, there are respective yoga dangers that you need to avoid. For starters, don’t jump to overly complex routines that will work against your body. Here are some common yoga-related injuries that might arise, and how you can avoid them.
- Shoulder pain: Before you start yoga, the first thing that you should do is unleash your inner mathematician. Yoga is like a craft and needs perfection. Perfection comes from alignment and angles while you’re doing different asanas and poses. Shoulder pain is the most common type of yoga injury that might arise as a result of misalignment.
If you have tight shoulders, you are more susceptible. Combating this yoga injury is a three-fold process: you need to loosen your pectoral or chest muscles, make your back muscles stronger and make your shoulder muscles more flexible. To make your chest muscles lose, lie down perpendicularly on the mat, lift up your arms over your head until there is no pain. Do this a few times.
The most effective way to tend to strengthen your back muscle is by lying face-down and lifting your hands and legs in the air for some time.
- Wrist pain: If you are beginner, then you are most likely to face this type of yoga injury since most poses require you to extensively use your wrists. The way to tackle this to be very alert with the way you align your hand and wrist while doing the poses. Warm-up gradually first and then keep adding pressure as you get comfortable.
- Neck injuries: This is one of the most common harms of yoga. The way around this is to ensure proper body weight distribution. Poses like an upward dog and camel are very demanding in terms of balancing weight around the neck region. Be cautious while doing so.
One of the most helpful things you can do to prevent yoga-related injuries is to also do your own research before and after class, so you can have constructive discussions with your yoga trainer to ensure safer sessions. At InstaFitness, we enable this. Click this to Book a Consultation with our Profession Yoga Coaches.