How to prevent injuries while doing yoga exercise
Yoga can be one of the most relaxing, rejuvenating, healing and strengthening experiences for any fitness enthusiast, but it can also turn out to be a disaster if you are not careful enough. Just as beneficial as it is, it is also dangerous if you dive into yoga unprepared and hastily. Patience and attention to detail are virtues necessary for developing yoga skills. Just like swimming it can be hazardous if you are unprepared and not ready, both physically and mentally.
Yoga even in the purely physical sense offers a lot of benefits but the physical practices are extremely demanding on your body and require a great deal of stamina, strength, flexibility, and balance. This off course does not mean that it can be attempted by anyone with these qualities or can not be attempted by those who are deficient. Instead yoga helps to cultivate and nurture these areas if practiced properly and with guidance of a skilled yoga teacher.
Here are some areas of concern when you take up yoga:
- The yoga style or type of yoga itself: Certain styles of yoga may be too rigorous for a beginner or demanding for those of us with reduced flexibility. Some styles such as Viniyoga or Integral Yoga, Bikram, Astanga and Power Yoga can be very demanding.
- Don’t attempt to begin yoga on your own as there can be errors of both communication and understanding when learning even from the best books and videos. Theoretical knowledge is not worth much if the practical application is faulty. Find a reliable instructor or classes to get inducted into the discipline.
- Yoga poses that you can and should practice will vary depending on your health and the presence of any ailments or injuries. An instructor will be able to guide you towards the ideal practice and also modify poses to give you the best results.
- Never force yourself or your body to achieve poses that you can not manage. Listen to your body. If there is any strain desist from that pose immediately.
- Breathe evenly and slowly when practicing all poses.
- Avoid being hasty or rushed. Take your time with each posture as speed is not what yoga is about. Perfect each posture and move gracefully from one to the other.
- Do not eat before your practice. There should be an interval of at least three hours before practice.
- Do not practice yoga poses as individual exercises. They are meant to be practiced in a particular sequence.
- Wear clothes that are comfortable and not tight fitting.
- Seek advice from senior practitioners or instructors about accessories that can help your practice and provide safety. Yoga mats are one such essential as they will offer padding and also minimize the risk of slipping and falling in complicated poses.
If you follow all of these recommendations you shouldn’t have any worries about injuries.
