Most yoga injuries happen when students move into poses when their bodies are not yet strong or flexible enough. It is vital that you alert your yoga instructor and get your doctor's approval to practice yoga if you are recovering from an injury or suffering from a condition. If you approach your yoga practice without competition or ambition, you are less likely to force yourself into a pose that is dangerous for your body. While moving into and holding yoga poses, breathe deeply and feel for any signs that a pose is causing sharp pain or stress in a specific area of your body.
Function
Poses involve moving the body through various anatomical planes, such as extension and flexion. Balance, strength, flexibility and coordination are some of the physical benefits that yoga poses provide when practiced regularly. According to MayoClinic.com, practicing yoga poses can also help you cope with stress, weight management and chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and insomnia. If you need to avoid specific poses, ask your yoga instructor to teach you modified versions.
Identification
"Yoga Journal" classifies yoga asanas, or poses, by the general position that the body is in during the pose, or by the part of the body a pose affects. Yoga poses go under the categories of backbends, forward folds, seated or standing poses, arm balances, core, twisting, inversions or restorative. To more easily work with your physician on which poses are safe for your body, ask her if there are any general categories for which you should be cautious. The forward folds, inversions and backbends categories include most of the poses you might need to avoid.
Forward Bends and Inversions
The Scottish Yoga Teachers' Association stresses that those with high blood pressure or heart conditions should avoid having their heart below their hips. This includes forward bend, intense side stretch, headstand and downward-facing dog. Those with glaucoma should avoid all inversions such as handstand, headstand, shoulderstand and even forward bends. Other forward-bending poses, including wide-legged forward bend and seated forward bend, are also often unsafe for spinal disc issues. Many women avoid headstand, handstand and shoulderstand during pregnancy and for the first few days of menstruation.
Twists and Backbends
Avoid deep twists, such as half lord of the fishes, if you are pregnant or have serious back issues. You should avoid the commonly practiced poses camel, bow and bridge when you have a migraine, neck injuries, or if you have high or low blood pressure. Intense backbends, such as wheel, may be unsafe for heart conditions and back injuries. Students with carpal tunnel syndrome often avoid cobra and upward-facing dog.
Advanced Poses
Most beginner yoga students should refrain from practicing advanced poses, such as headstand, peacock, scorpion and wheel until they learn proper breathing, form and core awareness. Side crow, crow, eight angle and handstand are arm-balance poses that a beginner yogi should build up to by practicing preparatory poses for several weeks or months. Although many yoga instructors teach shoulderstand in beginner or intermediate classes, you might want to avoid it until you learn how to support your weight on your shoulders and arms, not your neck.
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