How to keep your yoga practice injury-free

Technique is essential

Yoga has been used for decades to heal the mind and body. However, in recent years, it’s become a competitive sport, with a focus on handstands, arm balances and drop backs. Because we don’t respect the body’s pace of progress, we end up with sprains, pulls and ligament tears. Yoga master David Keil, whose book The Functional Anatomy of Yoga is part of the curriculum of teacher training courses around the world, talks to us about the right way to pose.

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The lotus/half lotus

A badly-reformed lotus is the reason behind most yoga injuries around the world. Keil recommends the pigeon pose (shift your shin further up almost creating a right angle with the thigh) and the fire log where you keep one foot on the joint of the knee to slowly open the hips. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to pull the foot by grabbing the front part. This leads to an internal rotation of the knee, which can cause injury. Instead, hold foot from below with both hands cradling the heel and guide it towards the crease of the thigh. This action leads to an outer rotation of the hip, which is essential to a fully bloomed lotus.

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Backbends

“The most common mistake that people make is to bend their back more to intensify the pose.” However, this leads to a compression in the lower back. On the contrary, you have to work on opening the front of the body, especially the hip flexors. “The secret to backbends is to think of them more as ‘front opening’ than ‘back bending’. To open your hip flexors, he suggests lunges and supta virasana (with your knees to the floor and your upper body and arms arched back).

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Forward folds

“People have a tendency to fold forward more from the spine.” He says that the forward fold must be two-thirds from the hip joint and one-third from the spine to prevent injury. “When you pull more from your spine, it leads to lower back problems.” The aim in a forward fold is to keep the spine long, instead of curved over. He describes the ideal forward fold as when the chest is on the thighs. This flexion is dependent on how open your hamstrings are, as these muscles are most stretched in the forward fold. You can open your hamstrings by keeping your toes flexed as if they were pushing against an imaginary wall.

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Headstand

“Most people don’t work to create the right foundation before getting into a headstand.” A headstand requires strength in the shoulders and core. One way to increase strength is the dolphin pushup, where you interlace your fingers in a plank and then lift your hips up and down. You can also practice walking your feet close to your elbows and interlaced arms and holding it there instead of lifting up. Also, when you’re going up into the headstand, press down into your elbows and imagine that you’re lifting your head up so you activate the right muscles for better balance.

Vasudha Rai is a certified yoga teacher and has been writing on beauty, health and wellness for 15 years. Find her at Vbeauty.co