4 Ways to Prevent Yoga Injuries
Chances are if you clicked on this blog you want to learn how to prevent yoga injuries. Maybe you have personally experienced or witnessed a yoga injury yourself. Well, friend, you’ve come to the right place!
For all of you new readers out there, hi, I’m Morgan! I’m a 12-year seasoned yoga instructor and business coach. Throughout my career, I have seen it allllllll. You can read more about that here.
That’s why I have made it my mission to help other yogis stay safe! Keep reading to learn 4 ways to prevent yoga injuries!
Plus, for the yoga teachers out there, read to the end to find out the ONLY yoga insurance I personally use and recommend.
1.Go Slow
Whether you are advancing your yoga practice or trying a move for the first time in a while, it is imperative that you go slow. Yes, even you advanced yogis! It is actually a more advanced practice to be still.
Taking your time during yoga is a mindful way to prevent unnecessary injuries from occurring. The slower you move through your practice, the easier it will be to catch yourself from putting your body in a position that can lead to a debilitating injury. You’ll also make yourself stronger!
One of my students, Victoria, recounts a time with another teacher that lead to an injury.
“It was my first yoga class in years. At the end of the class we were working on bridges. Although I had plenty of past experience with bridges, I overextended myself causing a horrible muscle spasm in my right shoulder. After not being able to turn my neck or move my arms without excruciating pain, I was given painkillers by my doctor and needed to take several days off from work. I never thought that a simple move I have done my whole life would leave me injured this way!
2. Breathe Easy
Yoga, of course, is ALLLL about feeling the sensation of breathing.. Breathing is essential throughout your practice (and, like, life) as it allows you to connect to your energy within, helping you to reach different levels of consciousness.
Breathwork exercises, like slowly will help slow your mind and body down which will help you catch an injury before it occurs.
I was in a class with a yoga teacher who was instructing people to breathe with the beat of the music, and when I tried it, I was literally hyperventilating and had to lay down for the rest of practice.
Yoga students! Move to the rhythm of your breath, not your teacher’s!
Yoga teachers! Breathe with your students! If you tell them to inhale, inhale. If you tell them to exhale, exhale.
3. Don’t Make It a Workout
Yoga is more than just a workout. In fact, it’s not even really a workout; it’s more of a lifestyle and philosophy and meditation technique. It incorporates all elements of mind, body, and spirit.
Be aware that you are separate from your ego.
Yoga makes it easier to set your ego to the side!
Unlike other forms of exercise, yoga is not a competition. The goal is not to push your body to the point of exhaustion, but to connect to yourself on a deeper level.
I had a private client who I would see doing, like, 10 chaturanga for every one that the teacher cued, and he came to me because he had torn his bicep tendon from overuse. He was not practicing yoga! Yoga is not a workout! It’s the antidote to your workout.
4. Trust Yourself Over Your Teacher
Yes, a yoga teacher with 12 years of experience under her belt just told you not to trust your teacher. Because guess what? You're the only one who truly knows how your body feels!
Instead of rushing into compromising positions, ease yourself into each pose. There’s nothing wrong with a yoga teacher wanting to help you advance, but, if they are insistent and you’re uncomfortable, run the other way!
In a training with Dr. Judith Hanson Lasater, she relayed her experience studying ashtanga yoga in India, and she saw teachers forcing students into poses that left them injured and in pain- and the teachers said this was correct! When she refused a pose that she knew would hurt her body, her teacher actually HIT her for disobeying him! But she trusted herself and saved herself from further injury.
Y’all, trust how your body feels and set your boundaries accordingly.
While you can take the proper precautions to make sure you and/or your students don’t leave class with an injury, they will happen. That’s why it is extremely important as a yoga teacher to have liability insurance!
Personally, I don’t trust any other company besides beYogi. Why? They are top-rated liability insurance that I have been using and recommending to other healers for years.
Having liability insurance through beYogi
✨ Protects you
✨ Provides full coverage
✨ Will save you money
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You can read more about it in my first article of this blog series, ‘5 Reasons You Need Yoga Insurance As A Yoga Teacher.’
Friends, please, if you’re teaching, make sure you are covered. It’s the best investment you can make for yourself, your practice, and your future!
If you still need more information before you decide, download The Complete Guide To Yoga Insurance which includes detailed explanations about coverage and the beYogi difference.
Are you SO ready to sign up and save?