How to build safe yoga practice
‘Find a balance between effort and surrender’
used to be a practice that was once reserved for a select group of people in India, is now practiced worldwide in countless different styles. The accessibility of yoga has increased due to traveling instructors, books, DVDs, and the Internet. It is easy to find information regarding yoga, but sometimes what you find may confuse you. You may hear, for example, that yoga is extremely powerful in healing the body. However, you may also hear that yoga is extremely dangerous and can hurt your body. How do you know what to believe? In reality, there are aspects of truth to both. Yoga can be extremely powerful medicine for many of life’s difficulties, but when practiced incorrectly and without awareness, yoga can be harmful.
In order to better understand how to practice yoga safely, we must take a deeper look at what it means to practice yoga. Yoga has been marketed in many different ways as physical exercise, as deep stretching, as meditation, and as a spiritual practice. Generally, when someone hears the word yoga, they associate this word with a physical practice; a combination of poses that may be relaxing or may appear strenuous.
Portion
The truth is, this is only a small portion of what it means to practice yoga. The physical poses are referred to as Asana. Asana is just one of the eight limbs of yoga. In order to develop a deep yoga practice, we must also begin to practice the other 7 limbs: the Yamas (restraints), Niyamas (personal observances), Pranayama (breathing exercises), Dharana (concentration and awareness), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (union with the divine). The combination of all eight limbs leads to enlightenment.
While some forms of yoga are associated with religion, practicing Asana is not a religious practice. For many of us, our practice will not go far beyond the practice of Asana. However, in order to develop a safe Asana practice, it is important to incorporate aspects of the other limbs. There are many things you can do to practice safely and avoid injury or reinjury. Here are a few suggestions.
The first step to practicing safely is to incorporate one of the Yamas: Ahimsa. Ahimsa is often translated as nonviolence. How does practicing Ahimsa translate into a safe Asana practice? Non-violence can be practiced towards oneself as well as towards others. Practicing Ahimsa with oneself means being kind to oneself during practice. It is easy to look at a yoga instructor who appears to be made out of rubber and attempt to push your body into the same positions that they are in before your body is ready, but this is not practicing Ahimsa. You can experience many of the same benefits without forcing your body into a pose that it is not ready for. The poses can be modified to be practiced safely for your body.
The truth is, your yoga instructor had to build up their strength and flexibility to be able to enter the poses they are demonstrating. A good instructor will be able to work with you on an individual level in order to help you create a practice that is safe for you. It is important to practice awareness of your own body and inform your instructor of any injuries you have or anything that may be painful during practice.
The next step to practicing yoga safely is to incorporate a little bit of Pranayama, or breathing exercises. You can practice this now. Sit comfortably in your chair, close your eyes and begin to bring awareness to your breathing. Notice the breath as it enters and leaves the body, and then begin to even out your inhales and your exhales. Take a few breaths this way and notice what this does to your body. When practicing Asana, you should be able to continue to breathe in this way. In a more advanced practice, you may be instructed to hold the breath or control the breath in a specific way, but you should be able to breathe in a relaxed way as you hold the poses. Focusing on the breath will bring awareness into the body decreasing risk of injury. If you are unintentionally holding your breath during your practice, it is possible that you are straining and going beyond your body’s limits at this point.
In order to practice safely, you must find a balance between effort and surrender. In some poses, it is important for certain parts of the body to work very hard in order to keep other parts of the body protected. For example, in a forward fold, the quadriceps should engage in order to protect the hamstrings. On the other hand, if too much effort is being put into the pose, you may be pushing beyond your limits. Finding the balance between the two makes your practice safer.
Finally, you must find the poses and the practice that are safe for your body. Generally, most people can practice some form of yoga. Try this: sit comfortably and begin to practice the Pranayama you tried earlier taking long inhales with exhales that match in quality and length. As you inhale, raise your arms out and overhead. As you exhale, bring the hands together in front of the heart. This is yoga that should be safe for most people unless injury prevents them from raising their arms overhead. There are some poses and styles that may not be appropriate for your body. Speak with your doctor or physio about your interest in starting a yoga practice. As a beginner, it’s best to find an experienced instructor who can help you build your practice safely.
The author of this article is Natalie Russell. She is a yoga instructor from the United States, and she is working toward becoming a physiotherapist. Natalie was shadowing our physical therapists at Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation (FSRI) in Feb 2013 as part of her preparation to apply to Physical Therapy School in the United States.