We all want a magical formula to avoid yoga harm, but it is also this desire for safety that may lead to many misunderstandings about yoga harm. For example, we believe that as long as we pay enough attention, we can avoid injury. Or if the movement is slow enough and the posture is perfect enough, you will never get hurt..
However, the factors behind the harm are complex and diverse, and the following are common misconceptions about yoga injuries:.
If we acknowledge that yoga can occasionally cause harm, we can take measures to protect ourselves during practice. However, our daily actions can also have an impact on the harm we experience in the classroom, so it can only be said that our awareness and caution on the mat are valuable in avoiding yoga harm..
No teacher can avoid all injuries, what a coach can do is to reduce the likelihood of injury. Teachers can help reduce the likelihood of injury by asking and adapting to the limitations of students. But remember: “You are responsible for your body. Respect it, and quit when you feel something is wrong.”.
Compared to beginners, experienced practitioners have a significantly reduced chance of getting injured, but even the most experienced practitioners will find that their bodies can sometimes become unfamiliar and fragile..
Continuously realizing the changes that occur in one’s body, even the small changes that occur every day. Your practice must be a dynamic experience, which means sometimes you will do more challenging poses, while sometimes you won’t. Every time you come to the mat, your experience will be different. Allow your body to say “maybe next time” or “that’s enough”.
Beginners do not always know whether the feeling they feel is a ‘normal’ feeling. Not all injuries can be immediately detected. Usually, lower back pain is delayed by a few minutes to several hours after the movement that causes it. Some pain, such as cervical and lumbosacral pain, accumulates. In other words, we may not only not feel the pain before the injury, but we may also not immediately feel the injury itself..
It is recommended to withdraw from the posture when feeling pain, numbness or tingling..
A small number of injuries occur due to positional misalignment. More commonly, someone who has previously been injured or has unknown potential problems, such as mild disc herniation in the neck or back, causing pain, which happens to occur in this posture and may manifest even if the posture is done “correctly”.
Minor injuries may not be felt, or only distant pain can be felt until “physiological abilities are broken”, or until fragile tissues or bones are pushed to their limits..
If a yoga practitioner is unaware that their rotator cuff is torn (asymptomatic rotator cuff tear) – they may not notice this until they practice needlework, which does not mean that their posture is incorrect; they simply apply pressure to their vulnerable parts of the body, allowing the previously existing injury to be detected for the first time..
The sudden pain during yoga class can also be the “last straw”, a posture that harms already fragile tissues or bones, even if the posture is good. To avoid exacerbating potential injuries or conditions during yoga classes, it is recommended to undergo examination before persistent mild pain develops into a serious problem. Early treatment of minor injuries means shortening healing time and preventing cumulative collapse.