Yoga is really for all the bodies. However, doing yoga in the “right” way with an emphasis on proper breathing, alignment and form can help you enjoy the benefits of yoga while keeping your body safe.
“Alignment is very important,” says Mickey Duran, Body Yoga 52 instructor. “Yoga poses should help strengthen your body rather than cause injuries.”
The appropriate yoga formats presented in classic yoga texts and programs such as Yoga52 and Beachbody Yoga Studio have been developed for reasons far beyond aesthetics.
“Classic poses (and alignments) can be difficult, but that’s the safest place for you,” says Dr. Loren M. Fishman, who studied extensively at BKS Iyengar and published a study on the healing benefits of yoga. “The classic poses put less strain on the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage than in other versions.”
Duran says it’s normal to get frustrated when you’re not “mastering” your yoga form quickly enough or moving it the way you want it to. She compares it to learning: “You just learn, practice, and one day you’ll get it.”
But don’t hurry – that’s how injuries occur. Below is a list of some of the most common yoga style mistakes and how to fix them. Most veteran practitioners have made the same yoga style mistakes you show.
“Your yoga poses may not look like the photos or the others in your class, but how do they do? feel,” I recommend the Ann Swanson, MS, C-Iayt, and e-ryt 500. something.
1. Hold your hands when you’re on the floor
Have you ever noticed that your palms started to lift off the floor in a dog-like pose facing downwards? “The wrist is a common area of injury, and this can happen when you don’t properly distribute your weight in your hands,” says Odette Hughes, Yoga52 instructor.
Correction: Flat those hands. “Usually, just paying attention to your hands is enough to fix what’s going on,” says Hughes. “I ask the students to spread their fingers and push them evenly from the pinky side to the thumb side.”
2. The soaking is too low in Chaturanga
Chaturanga Dandasana It’s a challenging yet common pose, and it’s too easy, especially in the Vinyasa Flow class, which is used repeatedly as a transition. “This can cause shoulder injuries through the combination of inappropriate shapes and repetitive movements,” says Marie Georgitic, Yoga52 instructor.
Correction: Adjust the depth. “The elbows are only under the bottom of the half, just as they form a 90-degree angle – never drop,” explains the grujic extension. “Your shoulders should be along your hips and elbows.” If you can’t maintain that form, it will fall to your knees.
3. Tension in the front knee with a pigeon pose
The pigeon pose feels very pleasant at the waist, but in many cases we risk the front knee and feel more stretchy. “Most teachers encourage students to place front sins parallel to the front of the mat,” says Yoga52 instructor Bren-Lahoon.
If you can do it, great! However, forcing it can put a strain on the ligaments of your knee.
Correction: If it causes pain, forget in parallel. “Pull the heels of your front legs towards the gro diameter and turn your thighs and knees a little further forward,” says Lahoon. “You still get great stretches like this. In fact, if you have sensitive knees, this will give you even better stretches.”
4. Fold forward to round the spine
Fold forward towards your toes during a sun salute or other sequence, and you may be tempted to round your back. “As a guideline, it seems we fold from the waist, not from the back,” says Hughes. “This puts a lot of pressure on your lower back and offers little stretch in return.”
Correction: Find spaces elsewhere in the pose. “Usually, if you round your back, you’ll see that you have tight hamstrings, which is perfectly fine,” says Grujic Delage. “Just bending your knees.” Keep bent as you too come out of your front crease.
5. Misunderstanding the knee and ankle
Many standing yoga poses involve lunges, and it is common for students to cave inwards and bows to the outside compared to their ankles.
Swanson explains that your knee is a modified hinge joint, so it can spin slightly when bent, like a charge or a warrior pose. “Rotation can put uneven pressure on the joint structure and cause damage over time,” she says.
Correction: Stack your knees directly above your ankles. That way, “the pressure on the joint structure is more evenly distributed and prevents potential damage,” says Swanson. “If your knees always seem to fall or fall outside in a particular pose, try taking up more space beyond the width of the mat,” adds Hughes.
6. Crumpl your shoulders around the ears
In yoga, the upper Trapezian muscles tend to be overengaged, so they resonate, Swanson says.
“When I raise my arms over my head like I am a warrior or in the wooden pose, people often hold my shoulders too much and squeeze them towards my ears,” she says. It also occurs in deep backbends like upward-facing dogs. Here, “compresses the neck (neck) vertebrae,” says Hughes.
Correction: Relax your shoulders. In a standing pose with your arms raised above your head, you find the balance between squeezing and forcing your shoulders. (“There’s a middle way,” says Swanson.
If necessary, widen your hands to the shoulder. And in the dog, “push down much through both hands, place your gaze forward rather than upward, and pull the top of your head upward to keep your neck longer,” advises Hughes.
7. Compress your waist with back bend
“Backbend” is a slight misnomer. Much more is happening than the name suggests. Therefore, if you are focused only on the bend, you may feel a camel or wheel-like pose at your waist.
“Whenever you’re backbending, it’s important to use your feet and core to lengthen your spine,” says Lahoon. This will prevent you from putting strain on your lower back.
Correction: Shift your focus. “In a camel pose, the shins and top of the foot (or the ball on the foot if the toes are pushed in) should be firmly pushed onto the floor,” says Lahoon. “This not only helps drive your hips forward in a healthy way, but also helps to create a foundation for longer spine. You should get mad to protect your belly in the lower back, create space for your shoulders to become an arch in the chest and lift your chest.”
8. Forget your core
There are so many things to remember about yoga, so it’s easy to skip or forget about certain aspects of the pose. “Your deep core muscles stabilize your spine, so it’s important to keep them attracted at all times,” says Grujic-Delage.
Not just poses. “Students tend to rush and forget to use core support while moving from pose to pose,” says Hughes. “There are a lot of injuries during the pose.”
Correction: Stay calm and attract the core. “The movement becomes more sluggish because students encourage them to move more fluidly, even if they are moving quickly,” says Hughes. “The reason is not to make aesthetics or graceful (but) the grace of movement more elegant, but to train the joints and muscles to control and stabilize every part of the movement.”
9. Extend the elbow to the dog down
I’m the child of this mistake poster Intention Be careful as it will cause injury. If you are flexible, you may find yourself stretching your arms and putting excessive strain on your elbows.
“Longing your arms while bearing weight, like lower or upward-facing dogs, puts uneven pressure on the elbow joint structure.
Fix: Redefine the “straight” arm. “Strength and stability must be addressed to maintain joint alignment and integrity,” says Grujic-Delage.
Spread the width a little and then microbend the elbows. You will attract your biceps and then rotate your upper arm from the outside to move your triceps, she adds.
10. Putting your feet on your lap in a wooden pose
Taking a wooden pose with your raised legs against your standing knees is (unofficially) the number one mistake Yogi makes. But it is the easiest to fix.
“A general rule is not to push the joints,” says Grujic Delage. “Pressing on the inside of your knees will help you sink into your lower back, rather than lifting (and strengthening) it.” And if you wobble, you can make your knees tense.
Fix: Grow the tree slowly. Take a wooden pose in the appropriate yoga shape and place your feet on or below the lap.
