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 APRIL 13, 2005 Yoga Should Heal, Not Hurt Yoga is an excellent way to improve flexibility and your ability to concentrate and remain calm. But injuries to the knees, back, neck, shoulders, wrists, and ankles may occur when you try to force yourself into difficult postures. At the recent American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition in Las Vegas, yoga teacher Roger Cole, Ph.D. emphasized that proper form can help prevent strains, sprains, and tears. "The first rule of safety is to avoid forcing your body. Instead, practice with awareness, common sense, and self respect. Yoga is supposed to teach us not to compete or show off, but to use focused attention, conscious effort, and relaxation to achieve results." Specific poses carry the risk of injury if you do them incorrectly, Cole said. For example, forcing the lotus position can damage cartilage in the knees. You can prevent this by redirecting the force away from the knees to the hips, where it is needed. Injuries to the knees and lower back tend to be the most serious, he said. Many common yoga injuries occur during straight leg forward bends from a standing or seated position, said Cole. He recommends stretching moderately in such poses, bending from the hip joints, and elongating the spine, and also taking days off from these postures. |
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