Yoga caters to your stress free mind. We are also aware how Yoga solves your physical woes. But, the question still lingers – is Yoga for everyone? Well, quite frankly, our answer would be a no. Why is it so?One of the reasons can be that Yoga also demands a certain level of discipline from your side. And more importantly, some of us might go through some specific conditions (like pregnancy or back pain) which are not at all suited to Yoga practicing. So, let us check out the basic reasons why some of us should do yoga or avoid it.
Some of us are laidback. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and we are not judging you. However, as we mentioned earlier, Yoga does demand a certain level of discipline and motivation from your side. So, if you are not up to the task of expending some energy on the Yoga front, the exercises can take their toll on your psychology. In fact, it is better to let go off Yoga completely, as the poses can create tensions that conflict with your laid back, lazy attitude. Practicing yoga regularly has tremendous benefits on our wellbeing. But are you doing it rightly? What are the potential dangers if you are faulty in your yoga poses. The guide provides you with relevant details.
Guide on proper yoga practices and mistakes to avoid
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New To Yoga? Here are the common mistakes to avoid Practicing yoga every day
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Overdoing it and not listening to your body
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Doing yoga with full stomach
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Holding your breath for too long
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Pressing too hard
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Distraction
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Comparing yourself to others
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No warm up
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The Potential Dangers of Not Doing Yoga Poses Correctly
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Shoulder stands
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Head stands
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Back bends
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How can you reduce these risks?
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Choose the right Yoga style and teacher
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Choose a style that you love and not just like
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Enquire about the training format
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Know your teacher
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The time they have been practicing
New To Yoga? Here are the common mistakes to avoid
Yoga is much more than a physical practice and is bettering people’s health since ages. Yoga is a practice that unites body, mind, and soul of a person who practices it, and this s why yoga is not just beneficial for a human being’s physical health but also for his spiritual and mental health. In order to practice yoga, you must learn it right, or else, your mistakes could falter your yoga rounds. Here is a complete yoga practice guide for you that will help you become a yoga beginner who knows how to do it right without any mistakes.
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Practicing yoga every day
You can practice the common breathing patterns of yoga everyday, but if you practice power yoga then you must do it every alternate day. The reason behind, your body requires some time to recuperate after intensive exercises and if you do not allow your body that time, you would feel sloppy and you might be at the risk of injuring yourself.
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Overdoing it and not listening to your body
One of the worst mistakes beginners do is to overexert themselves pushing their body too hard to do certain yoga poses and not really listening to their body. Consider carefully how your body reacts to different poses and only practice those poses your body feels comfortable in. Doing so will prevent body injuries.
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Doing yoga with full stomach
Like other exercises, you should never do yoga on full stomach. There has to be a gap of at least three hours between a meal and yoga practice, otherwise you can experience cramps, and it makes you lethargic.
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Holding your breath for too long
Breathing plays a very important role in yoga. You require inhaling, holding, and exhaling your breath while doing yoga in a particular way. If you do not do these activities in a balanced way, the techniques and exercises may not be as beneficial as they could have been. Breathing supply requires oxygen to your muscles and keeps you focused while doing yoga.
Holding and releasing breaths while doing yoga poses has a certain pattern, and this pattern solves the purposes, it oxygenates your muscles and keeps you focused while performing all the poses. Your breathing should match your postures but if you are a heart patient then you must consider your breathing pattern while doing several yoga postures. You should never hold your breath, or it might cause uneasiness or even a severe problem in some cases.
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Pressing too hard
No pain no gain idiom holds not true for yoga practice. Yoga is supposed to be absolutely painless, unlike other exercises that do cause pain. Be it any yoga pose, it should not be painful. In case it does, you should back off at once because pain means you are pushing yourself too hard, which is just not required in a yoga practice. Do not ignore pain, as it is a signal the means you are doing it wrong.
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Distraction
As mentioned earlier also, yoga practice is all about uniting your body, soul, and mind. It means any yoga pose you do; you ought to do it with absolute mindfulness. Suppose you are practicing yoga while talking to your friend sitting beside you or on phone or while concentration on the television then you cannot say you are practicing yoga because it is a simple stretching exercise that you are doing. You can only call it yoga if you practice it with sheer determination and mindfulness.
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Comparing yourself to others
You are a beginner and you join a yoga class wherein there are some experienced yoga students as well. You forget this fact and you start comparing yourself with those experienced students who can easily perform even the toughest of poses with ease. This is one biggest and the worst mistake you beginner yoga students can make because comparison in this case will only bring you dissatisfaction and pain, in case you try to do a pose that your body is not actually ready for. You observe other students but never compare and follow your own pace.
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No warm up
Busy schedules and sometimes that lazy feeling tempt you to skip a warm up cession and straightaway get onto practicing yoga poses. You should never do this, or else be ready for an injury. Your body demands good 20 minute to warm up completely and then it becomes ready for all those serious yoga poses that require great deal of strength, flexibility and concentration.
One must know yoga poses well before performing them, especially if one is a beginner. Practicing yoga without knowing it well is a risk factor that might lead to a serious injury.
The Potential Dangers of Not Doing Yoga Poses Correctly
Every form of physical exercise is beneficial in some way or the other. Yoga is no different, in fact, yoga is better than many other ways of subjecting your body to exercise. Yoga boasts of many different and exclusive poses for the betterment of the functioning of almost all body parts-internal and external. However, one cannot negate the fact that not doing yoga correctly can put your body at great risk. Instead of becoming source of benefit, if not done properly, yoga may end up becoming a reason for your injury. Some of the many risks of practicing yoga incorrectly are as follows:
Shoulder stands:
Shoulder stands, i.e. Salamba Sarvangasana, is when one raises their body perpendicular to ground-level with only the shoulders resting on the ground. It is one of the most excruciating poses of yoga, and needs high expertise to be performed. It is done for strengthening the back and neck, and the shoulders. Laymen can easily go wrong with this one, and put the spine at risk. It can not only strain your neck, but can also injure your shoulder and entire back. Be sure to do it with proper help, and only under professional guidance.
Head stands:
These are, by far, the most difficult among all yoga poses. Headstands, or Sirsasana, come with plenty of benefits like improved blood circulation and a stronger neck. Having said that, there are plenty of risks associated with headstands too. This pose is meant only for people who have trained themselves to correctly execute this posture. Beginners might not be able to pull it off easily and correctly, and may end up injuring themselves. Headstands carry the most possibilities of people straining their necks, shoulders and backs.
Back bends:
Back bends usually involve sitting down on your knees, raising your legs behind your back, and holding your feet with your hands behind your back. As difficult as it may seem, it is even more difficult to perform. Go for it slowly, especially when you are trying it out for the first time. This pose is clearly not meant for people with chronic back aches and neck pains. Take care to not stretch your muscles too far. Look out for signs from your body, if it gets too overwhelming, one should stop right away. You can even have somebody helping you out before you learn to do it independently. You can always use props to minimise the risk of any possible injury.
How can you reduce these risks?
Doing yoga correctly is an art. You must learn to listen to your body when setting out to perform yoga. A strange and unexpected reaction like a sudden shot of pain, or breathlessness must never be ignored. Do not go against your will in order to complete the pose just because you have to, especially if your body is telling you otherwise. Consult your doctor regarding your medical condition before you decide to take up any such exercise that may bring more trouble to your current health situation.
- Start with the most basic and the easiest of poses when you are a beginner, and then gradually raise your bar.
- Warm up before your regular yoga sessions so that your body gets accustomed to the movements.
- With stretching exercises, take your time and go slowly.
- Be careful not to give sudden jerks and quick movements to your body, especially when performing difficult poses.
- Try to increase your stamina and strength in the parts where you lack it. For example, some people have a strong torso, but comparatively weaker legs. Hence, they should try calf and thigh exercises to improve that condition.
- Hire a personal trainer or join a professional yoga course in order to minimise any risks and any damage which can be done due to unawareness.
- Do not stress your body more that it can handle. Practise daily so that you do not lose practice of your yoga postures.
Choose the right Yoga style and teacher
It is important you give stress on the right yoga style fitting your requirements and physique. You can also seek help from a coach or a teacher. Today, there are ample yoga classes and yoga teachers around the world, teaching countless people the healthy art of yoga. Everybody knows that yoga has great health benefits but many people find themselves in a state wherein they do not know what yoga style they should follow and how should they choose a yoga teacher. If you are someone who is stuck in this situation then read further and find out useful tips that will help you choose a perfect yoga style and a yoga teacher for yourself.
Choose a style that you love and not just like
There are ample things and people in our lives whom we like but we do not love them. In order to be good at something, we need to love that thing wholeheartedly; just liking that thing is not enough. It goes for yoga as well. You are supposed to choose a yoga style for yourself that you love. It has not to be a style that your friends like, or the one, which everybody talks about all the time. It has to be a style that your mind says is the best for you. You should have a real passion for that style, and then only you can learn it the way it is.
Enquire about the training format
Different yoga classes have different training formats, as in there are difference in timings, the number of students they take per class, and the method they use to teach yoga poses. If you are someone who desires individual attention, then try to look for a class wherein only a small number of students are taught at a time.
Know your teacher
In order to be sure about the yoga teacher you choose, go for some trial classes and judge the teacher’s potential and behavior. If possible, talk to the teacher and find out whether their behavior and style you like or not because it is important to like your teacher if you really want to learn.
The time they have been practicing
Ask yoga teachers questions like how many times or how much hours they practice yoga every week, or since how long they have been teaching. If you do not get satisfactory answers then do not join a class.
