Despite yoga's reputation as a gentle, mindful practice that promotes physical and mental well-being, it is not without risks when performed improperly or without awareness of one's physical limitations. Injuries to areas such as the lower back, neck, shoulders, and knees can occur, often stemming from a lack of proper guidance or overzealous attempts to achieve advanced postures too soon.

Here are some real facts about the potential damages caused during yoga asanas (postures) and why they happen:

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Joint and Ligament Injuries: Overstretching and Hypermobility

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Fact: Yoga encourages flexibility, but pushing too far beyond natural limits can overstretch ligaments and destabilize joints, leading to injuries. Ligaments are tough but inelastic structures that stabilize joints, and overstretching them can cause permanent laxity or instability.

Common Areas Affected: Knees, hips, and shoulders.

Why It Happens: Some poses, such as deep lunges or extreme backbends, place significant stress on ligaments, especially if done without proper alignment. People with hypermobility (excessive joint flexibility) are particularly prone to overextending their range of motion, which increases the risk of injury.

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Lower Back Strain: Incorrect Alignment in Forward Bends or Backbends

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Fact: Lower back injuries are one of the most common complaints among yoga practitioners, often due to poor alignment in forward bends or backbends.

Common Areas Affected: Lumbar spine (lower back).

Why It Happens: Forward bends, such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) or Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend), can place excess strain on the lower back.

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Neck and Cervical Spine Damage: Strain in Inversions

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Fact: Inversions like Sirsasana (Headstand) and Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) are advanced poses that, if done incorrectly, can lead to serious neck injuries.

Common Areas Affected: Cervical spine (neck vertebrae).

Why It Happens: When too much weight is placed on the neck or head during inversions, it compresses the cervical vertebrae, potentially leading to disc issues or nerve damage. Poor alignment or lack of core strength to support the body increases this risk. Practitioners should avoid forcing themselves into these postures without adequate training and supervision.

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Knee Injuries: Misalignment in Hip-Opening Poses

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Fact: Knee injuries can occur in poses that require external hip rotation, such as Padmasana (Lotus Pose) or Virasana (Hero Pose), if flexibility is forced or the knees are misaligned.

Common Areas Affected: Medial and lateral ligaments of the knee.

Why It Happens: The knee is a hinge joint, designed to move primarily in one plane (flexion and extension). In poses that require significant external hip rotation, like Lotus Pose, pressure is often mistakenly placed on the knee joint if the hips are not flexible enough. This misalignment can cause strains or tears in the knee ligaments or meniscus.

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Wrist Pain: Overloading in Weight-Bearing Poses

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Fact: Weight-bearing poses like Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose), Plank, and Downward Dog can lead to wrist pain or injury if not done with proper alignment.

Common Areas Affected: Wrists, particularly the carpal tunnel area.

Why It Happens: In weight-bearing poses, the wrists can be overstrained if the alignment is poor or if the body weight is not evenly distributed. Over time, this can cause tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or general wrist discomfort. Practitioners should focus on engaging the entire hand and forearms to avoid compressing the wrists.

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Hamstring Tears: Overstretching in Forward Bends

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Fact: Overenthusiastic stretching, particularly in forward bends like Hanumanasana (Splits) or Uttanasana, can cause hamstring injuries.

Common Areas Affected: Hamstrings and their attachment to the sitting bones (ischial tuberosity).

Why It Happens: Forward bends often target the hamstrings, and pushing too hard to deepen a pose can lead to microtears in the muscle fibers. This is especially common in practitioners who are inflexible or who try to achieve a full stretch before their body is ready. Hamstring injuries can be slow to heal, leading to long-term discomfort.

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Shoulder Injuries: Misalignment in Arm Balances

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Fact: Poses like Chaturanga, Bakasana (Crow Pose), and Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) can strain the shoulder joint and rotator cuff if practiced without proper form.

Common Areas Affected: Rotator cuff muscles and shoulder joints.

Why It Happens: In arm balances and transitions like Chaturanga, improper shoulder engagement can lead to overuse of the shoulder joint rather than distributing the effort through the core and arms. This repetitive strain can cause tendinitis or rotator cuff injuries, particularly if the elbows are flaring outward or collapsing inward during poses.

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Hip Labral Tears: Overstretching in Deep Hip Openers

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Fact: Extreme hip-openers like Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon Pose) or Lotus Pose can potentially lead to labral tears in the hip joint if done incorrectly.

Common Areas Affected: Hip labrum (the cartilage surrounding the hip socket).

Why It Happens: Forcing oneself into deep hip-opening postures, especially if the hips are not naturally flexible, can overstretch the labrum, causing tears. This can lead to long-term pain and limited hip mobility, requiring medical intervention or surgery in some cases.

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Why Do Yoga Injuries Happen?

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Lack of Proper Alignment: Many injuries occur when poses are done with poor alignment or when practitioners do not engage the necessary muscle groups to support the joints. This is common in beginners who are still learning the poses or in classes with limited guidance.

Overstretching or Pushing Beyond Limits: Yoga encourages flexibility, but pushing the body too far, too fast can lead to injury. It's important to understand personal limitations and avoid the temptation to mimic advanced practitioners or force flexibility.

Inadequate Warm-Up: Failing to warm up properly can increase the risk of injury, as muscles and joints are less pliable and more susceptible to strain when cold.

Fatigue and Repetition: Holding poses for too long or repeating them excessively without rest can lead to fatigue, which affects form and alignment, increasing the likelihood of injury.

Inadequate Supervision or Instruction: Self-taught practitioners or those practicing in large classes with limited instructor supervision may not receive the corrections needed to prevent injury.

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‍Self-assessment tests for yoga practitioners

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Whether asanas performed during yoga will be beneficial or harmful from the point of view of the body’s biomechanics depends on the individual posture type and the elasticity of the body’s muscles. So we suggest you take a self-assessment test recommended by the Spine Treatment Center and find out which asanas you might want to avoid during yoga.

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# 1 TEST:

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Those, who fall into the B and C example category, should avoid Plough and Downward-facing dog asana, as during these asanas your back and legs muscles are being stretched simultaneously and such pressure may cause the ruptures of muscles, ligaments, or lumbar intervertebral discs. It can cause back pain which can spread down the legs into the feet. Note that it is important to stretch muscles of the posterior part of the body until you manage to achieve the results shown in example A. But in order to avoid injuries, it is important to do back and posterior legs muscles stretch separately.

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# 2 TEST

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If your posture matches 2. example — if your lower back is overly curved it is not recommended to perform asanas such as Upward facing dog, Camel, Cow, which requires arching your back even more distorting your spinal axis. Performing such asanas with hyperlordosis condition, you run the risk of pain and irritation in your lower back and legs.

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