During the COVID-19 epidemic, at-home yoga has been enjoying its best moments. Many people have turned to yoga to keep fit and healthy while their gyms and exercise studios are closed. Yoga, as with all things, can go wrong. It can also lead to serious injuries.
It is wonderful that you are taking control of your health by incorporating yoga into your daily life. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when practicing yoga to avoid injury.
Your yoga poses may not look like Instagrammers. That’s okay.
Many self-proclaimed yoga gurus on Instagram can bend their bodies in amazing ways. It can frustrate us ordinary people when we try to replicate them. We must remember that yoga is all about accepting the present moment. Therefore, it is not necessary to try to be like them or inflict injury on yourself.
Each person has a different body and bends differently. Your yoga mat is not going to judge you. So, do the poses slowly and to your best ability. Don’t worry too much about how it looks.
Take care of any past injuries or problem spots
Many people rely on YouTube videos to practice yoga at home. It is great to have free online resources to stay fit. However, it is better to spend your money on expensive classes.
If you’ve had an injury in the past and feel that certain poses would cause pain or inflammation, avoid them. Sometimes it’s not an injury. We all experience pains in certain parts of our bodies, such as the upper back, neck, or hamstring. It is important to avoid doing any poses that put too much pressure on these parts.
Your Anchor is Your Breath
Many people have probably seen others squinting their eyes and trying to hold a pose in yoga. They may also be holding their breaths. This is not the best way of practicing yoga. Vinyasa and hath yoga are centered around breathing flow. The cardinal rule of hath yoga is to connect all poses to your breathe. Muscle sprains and other injuries can be caused by postures that make breathing difficult or impossible.
Learn to connect every move you make in yoga with your breath.
Learn how to align
Do not rush to perform difficult asanas that can injure you. Instead, learn simple poses that will teach your body to align and ground. Your chances of achieving alignment and grounding well are higher.
The chances of sustaining an injury are very low.
Use supportive gear
Most people can’t do a Taraksvasana, or Halasana from day one. Trying to force their bodies into this pose can cause severe injuries. Sometimes the hands are not in the right place or the pose is impossible for us. That’s perfectly normal.
Yoga gears such as a block, knee pad, or belt can help you reach the desired pose faster and more conveniently without causing injury. These gears can be found in most markets, but you also have the option to use a cushion in place of a block or a dupatta instead of a belt. This will allow you to reach your preferred yoga poses quickly and easily without spending a lot of money.
