Yoga Beginner: We've pretty much accepted that yoga is an effective life changing practice that is here to stay. Still, not all yoga practices are made equal. As astounding as the yoga practice is (I should know, I've been teaching and practicing for the past twelve years) it's still a physical practice, and simply like whatever other type of movement you can hurt yourself.
I'm certain we all remember the startling article "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body" a couple of years back in the New York Times talking about the dull side of the yoga practice -- the injuries we are not talking about. The article goes as far as to say that one well understand yoga teacher believes that "by far most of individuals should give up yoga all together. It's basically too likely to cause harm."
Regardless of this article, millions still practice yoga in the U.S. I most definitely decline to give up a practice that has truly transformed my life from the back to front. So instead I'm giving you five basic ways to approach your yoga practice that will assist keep you safe and injury-free.
1: Breathe Deeply
Regardless of the fact that we generally take the breath for granted, it is the most important bit of your yoga practice. When the breath is sharp and short it can activate the flight or fight response in the nervous system making you feel anxious. When you are anxious you are less inclined to make capable choices in your yoga practice - Yoga Beginner. Rather than streaming effortlessly through the practice the struggle ensues making you more vulnerable to harming yourself.
Have you ever seen an accomplished yoga teacher practice? They make it look easy and often times quite lovely. Why? They are profoundly connected to their breath. So make sure you breathe profoundly. If you can't then you need to take a child's pose or a period out.
2: Stability over Flexibility
If I had a nickel for how frequently I've heard somebody say, "I'm not stretchy enough for yoga," I'd have a lot of nickels. Yoga has the stigma that in order to practice you need to be able to twist yourself into shapes that makes you feel like you're planning for Cirque Du Soleil, or a exceptionally brave sexual adventure. I'm going to give you access on a bit secret -- super flexible yogis have it pretty much as hard as those who can't even touch their toes.
When somebody is over-flexible they are more inclined to dump into their joints and ligaments because most likely they can't feel the stretch unless they do. But here's the thing: Flexibility will just take you so far in your practice. If you don't have the muscular and stability engagement to back it up, you run the risk of doing harm to your body. Possibly not right away but over time all of that unsteadiness can lead to injury.
I had a student who was a acrobat when she was younger and then moved on to yoga. In her late 30s she found that her pelvis had moved in her body because the muscles around it were not solid enough. Obviously it was a humbling experience.
Rather than attempting to push into your flexibility, find balance by attractive your muscles. Begin from whatever touches the work up and ground. Think about hugging your muscles towards the bone. What's more, never forget that for the bulk of the practice, your abdominals should be involved.
3: Keep Your Eyes on Your Mat
In some cases I avoid giving a deeper choice to a pose because I sense an excess student will do it even if they aren't prepared. Yes, the self image shows up quite a bit in the yoga practice and can even bring about injury. Regularly I see people attempting postures that they aren't skilled or warmed up enough to attempt (Yoga Beginner). I see people avoiding props and expecting to stay aware of everyone around them.
My recommendation is to keep your eyes on your own mat. Simple because flexi Francis can do a full part doesn't mean you have to. Simple because muscles Magee can land that arm balance doesn't mean you will. And it's all great. Sure you can attempt but if you start to enter into a posture and it suddenly stops feeling protected, stay where and back off you are. There's always tomorrow.
4: Practice More Than Once a Week
The thing about the body is that it's not going to change overnight. Your muscles need time and consistency to open, get stronger and lengthen. Practicing once a week isn't going to encourage that.
If you are going to focus to a yoga practice, you need to go at least three times a week. While practicing once a week does get you into your body, it basically isn't enough to truly create lasting physical change.
5: Be Open to More Than Just Yoga
I recently heard a yoga teacher share that, notwithstanding the fact her healer advised her to engage in weight training to assist heal couple of yoga injuries, it was "never going to happen." It's incredible to be committed to your yoga practice but you don't want to be closed off to other types of physical movement.
Pretty much as I believe a regular yoga practice needs to be balanced with acupuncture or therapy or meditation to foster emotional transformation, I additionally know that occasionally the physical yoga practice is not insufficient to heal certain injuries or keep the body balanced. There are sure muscles the practice will not reach and sometimes when managing an injury you need to strengthen these muscles to balance the ones that are potentially pulling and over worked your body out of alignment.
It could be as basic as doing a couple of muscle-specific exercises daily for a couple of months or adding some weight training. Trust me; your yoga practice is not like a jealous boyfriend. If you need to include other modalities it's absolutely cool.
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