5 Common Yoga Mistakes
5 Common Yoga Mistakes
Whether you’re new to yoga or a seasoned practitioner, there are common alignment mistakes I see people make time and time again. While you don’t need perfect alignment to benefit from the poses, it will keep your body safer and less prone to future injury.
Knee Alignment
There are so many lunges of some sort throughout a class. I too often see knees pointing inwards, putting excess stress on them. Be sure that they’re always pointing over the second toe and that they don’t come past your toes.
Leaning forward in Lunges and Warrior Poses
It’s easy to hinge the torso forward in warrior poses and lunges. Tilt your tailbone under when performing these asanas to position your shoulders over the hips. Your back will feel better and be more protected.
Arching Incorrectly in Backbends
When arching back, your hip flexors can’t fully release to allow your spine to extend back unless the glutes (your butt muscles) are engaged. This also puts excess strain on your low back if you’re not squeezing your bum during the process.
Holding your breath
I don’t care how long you’ve been doing yoga, you probably still hold your breath from time to time. It is important to recognize when you do this and restart a steady flow. It will keep your mind calm and allow for your muscles to release more easily.
Not respecting your limits
Yoga is not a race, nor a competition. I know most of you have heard this before, but it’s easy to look at your neighbor and compare. Some teachers will cue you to go deeper into a stretch than is comfortable for you. Honor your body. Only you know what you’re feeling and what you’re capable of. Feeling the biggest stretch you can possibly feel isn’t the goal. You want to push just slightly into the uncomfortable sensation and then breath until it doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. THAT is the cue to go deeper.
Styles of Yoga
I’ve had many people tell me they tried yoga and didn’t like it. While it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, sometimes it has more to do with the style rather than the yoga itself. With so many options these days, sometimes it’s difficult to know which would be the most beneficial for your needs. I’m going to break down some of the most popular classes to help you understand which type would fit your needs, mood, or personality.
Hatha
This style focuses more on the breath and it’s union with movement. It’s a slower paced class that allows for more controlled movements. You are more likely to hold poses for longer.
Vinyasa
In this style of class, you are flowing from one posture to the next through the majority of the class. None of the positions are held for an extended period of time. The degree of challenge will depend on the level and your own personal knowledge.
Yin
This is a slow class where you might only do 4 or 5 poses throughout the whole class. This can be extremely beneficial for people who are, “can’t touch your toes” tight. The longer you hold a pose, the more your muscles will start releasing at the fascial level. That’s where the real magic happens! Not every personality will be happy in this class. If you’ve never done yoga because you feel like it’s too slow for you, this class will bore you to tears. That being said, if you can’t sit cross-legged without your knees coming up to your ears, maybe try it at least once and see if the benefits outweigh your boredom.
Restore
I often wish this style was offered more. While slow like Yin yoga, the stretches aren’t as deep and are generally prop heavy. It utilizes blankets, blocks, and sometimes straps to get you into the most comfortable and supported positions. While stretching still occurs, you will find a new level of relaxation when your muscles don’t have to hold themselves up and can truly let go. I also like this style of yoga when I can’t decide on a class or a nap. It almost feels like you’re doing both! Very meditative, it’s easy to slip into the ebb and flow of the breath and turn your brain off for an hour. This is also great for people who want to mediate, but need some sort of movement.
Heated Yoga
This is exactly what it sounds like! Yoga in a heated room with temperatures reaching upwards of 104 degrees. This is a great way to get deeper into stretches because your muscles are warmed up and flush out toxins with a good sweat. If you know you are averse to excess heat or won’t have time to shower after, you may want to skip this one.
Iyengar
Alignment focused. A great introduction to yoga because it teaches you how to perform the poses with the correct structural alignment. Precise movements are taught and props will be used to help every “body” get into the correct positions.
Core power
I have included this because it’s a popular franchise. This is suited for people who might normally prefer an aerobic workout. You may find more reps within a pose rather than a smooth transition from one posture to the next. There will also be more ab exercises within the class, as the name suggests.
Pranayama
This is the basis of yoga. If you aren’t breathing, you aren’t doing yoga. Yoga literally mean the union of breath and movement.
Many studios have their own creative class names. Read the descriptions thoroughly to better understand what you’re getting yourself into. Every instructor will be different. Don’t give up on yoga because you don’t like the teacher. Want to try different style classes without being beheld to one studio? Try classpass (I receive no compensation for promoting them). It’s a great way to tryout different studios, instructors, and different types of exercise classes in general. If you like to vary up your exercise routine, it can be expensive to take individual classes at multiple studios and even more expensive to get multiple memberships. With classpass, you can take a yoga class one day and crossfit the next. The important thing is to keep your body moving and doing some form of exercise. Motion is lotion and when your lifestyle becomes sedentary, your body starts to become stiff and painful.