“Be careful not to ___!”
“It’s risky to ___!”
“Make sure you don’t ___.”
Have you ever heard these kinds of signals that made you feel surprised or even scared during yoga class? As with any type of exercise, yoga carries some risk. But some things you may have been told aren’t safe work fine for many people. Yes, Real.
Safety tips for yoga are well-intentioned. A teacher may give directions based on what works for his or her body, or assume that a student could hurt themselves if they deviate from the directions they have been taught. But every student has unique needs, and it can be challenging for teachers to come up with poses that work for everyone. That means there are a few myths about what’s “safe” in yoga that are worth debunking.
6 “Safety Rules” in Yoga That Are Worth Reconsidering
“Do we want yoga practitioners to be scared and anxious or to become stronger in their bodies?” asks Jenni Rawlingsa yoga teacher who focuses on anatomy, biomechanics and exercise science.
Rethinking “the rules” means you can focus on the things that DO matter, whether that’s the sensations you feel, your breathing, or your intention. You’ll also be able to practice more fearlessly with the confidence to experiment with what works for you.
You may have heard the following “don’ts” during yoga class. For many people, these moves are not as risky as you might like to believe. When trying them out for yourself, Rawlings recommends taking these moves slowly and letting comfort and control guide you. Keep in mind that not all movements are suitable for everyone due to injuries, medical conditions, anatomical differences, or simply preference. Use your discretion.
While you question certain signals and rely on your own judgment about what works best for your body, pay attention to the sensations in your body. If you experience a signal that you have reached your maximum, such as dizziness, wobble, tension or discomfort, move out of the position or reduce the intensity. Even if a feature doesn’t work for you, you don’t have to fear It. Instead, you can develop the discernment to make a different choice.
1. Lift the shoulder blades when the arms are raised
“Don’t let your shoulders lift,” is a fairly common yoga language. Although keeping the scapulae down when the arms are at your sides can help prevent your neck muscles from tightening and “bunching” at your ears, this instruction cannot be applied universally to all arm positions. We can raise the shoulders in arms-raised poses – in fact, we should.
“When the arms are raised above the head, the shoulder blades are actually intended to rotate upward and rise. That is a normal part of healthy shoulder mechanics, and not something to ‘fix’,” says Rawlings. She would prefer that students allow their shoulders to move naturally in poses such as Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana), Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), and when the upper arm reaches over the ear in Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana).
If you feel the muscles at the back of your neck working as your shoulder blades rise, Rawlings explains that some upper trapezius activation is nothing to fear.
2. Bend the knees more than 90 degrees
In his book Light on yoga, BKS Iyengar repeatedly instructs to keep the front knee at a 90 degree angle in certain positions, including Warrior 1 and 2, without explaining why. Photos of him in these positions show his knee bent just so and above his heel.
In turn, you might think that bending your knee more or less than 90 degrees—even if it feels good—will cause an unspecified problem. Probably not, says Rawlings. While that may be a characteristic of poses as Iyengar interpreted them, it is not necessarily about safety.
“It’s also not inherently dangerous to extend the knees beyond the toes,” Rawlings adds. “Our knees do this all the time when we walk downhill, go up or down hills, or squat down to sit.”
Allowing the knees to move forward simply shifts more work to the quadriceps, Rawlings explains. “Sitting the hips back shifts more work to the glutes, hamstrings and adductor magnus.”
So how do you know what’s right for you? Discover the degree of knee bend that suits your flexibility range and feel free to switch up to challenge different muscles.
3. Place the foot on the inside knee in tree pose
When yoga students are warned not to place the foot on the inner knee in Tree Pose (Vrksasana), they are often told that the knee is a hinge joint that is not designed for sideways pressure. According to Rawlings, this is a misunderstanding.
“The knee is constantly processing multi-directional forces, both in everyday life and in our yoga practice,” she says. Other poses, including Side Plank (Vasisthasana) and Warrior 2, place similar (or even greater) lateral loads on the knee, even if we can’t see the forces at play, says Rawlings. “The load in Tree Pose is relatively small and well within what the joint can handle, so it’s not something we should consider risky in a general class,” says Rawlings.
What’s actually more relevant is whether resting your lifted foot against the knee of your standing leg in Tree Pose feels like an ideal footrest. If this is not pleasant, you can of course place your foot above or below the joint.
4. Rolling up from a lying position is bad for your back
Sit-ups, crunches and the lift from Half Boat Pose (Ardha Navasana) to Boat Pose (Navasana). What do these movements have in common? They include spinal flexion (rounding of your spine). When they appear during yoga class, it is often accompanied by warnings that they can be potentially harmful to the lower back.
Although that might be because you’re rolling up off the floor, especially without a soft mat underneath you feeling is uncomfortable, Rawlings says there is no reason to view the rounding of the spine as something to fear, even if it poses the challenge of lifting the weight of the upper body off the floor.
“Spinal flexion is not inherently harmful. The spine is made up of dozens of joints designed to move, including to round,” says Rawlings. Common yoga examples are no more dangerous than Plank or other isometric core work. They’re just different.
“They simply train the abdominal muscles dynamically through a range of motion, which is a completely normal and effective way to build strength,” says Rawlings. Rolling up from the floor mirrors even everyday actions, including sitting up in bed.
5. Jump back to plank
You may have heard that jumping back to Plank from Standing Forward Bend puts a lot of pressure on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Many people assume that the action is similar to landing after a jump on straight legs, which negatively affects the knee joints. But does jumping back to Plank have the same effect on your shoulders and elbows? Not so much.
“We don’t actually land on our hands the way we land on our feet when jumping,” says Rawlings. Because the hands remain planted the entire time, most of the impact is absorbed by the feet and not the upper body, she explains.
Jumps back to Chaturanga better? It actually requires more power and places bigger muscle strain on the arms and shoulders, says Rawlings. “Both options are completely reasonable. It’s a matter of personal preference.”
If you’re a fan of the back jump, play with landing with your elbows straight and bent to see which version you prefer.
6. Fan out the front rib
“Don’t stick your front ribs out.” Many yoga teachers say this in response to the “flaring” of the lower ribs during backbends and certain other postures. These and other cues, including “tuck the ribs,” may be attempts to encourage core engagement and avoid overdoing a stretch.
So if your front ribs tend to protrude, are you in for trouble?
“Rib flare is not something that should be treated as a problem in a general yoga class,” explains Rawlings. “It’s not something we can measure reliably, and there is no evidence that a particular rib position predicts pain or injury.”
When doing backbends, it’s completely normal for the front ribs to protrude slightly, says Rawlings. Furthermore, people have different bone structures. “The shape of the rib cage varies from person to person as a matter of normal anatomical variation, and that is not something that needs to be fixed,” says Rawlings.
You can absolutely adjust your ribs if it makes a position feel better, but you don’t to have Unpleasant. Focus on how comfortable you feel, says Rawlings.
Decide what works best for you
Safety is a crucial element in any yoga practice, but that doesn’t mean it fits everywhere. As a student, you can honor your own experience by practicing in a way that makes it work You feel good. And teachers can create a sense of security by providing guidance that allows for conscious exploration and allows students to choose variations that work for them – without fear.
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