5 Tips for a Pain-free Yoga Practice from a Physical Therapist & Yoga Teacher
Hear this loud and clear: Your yoga practice shouldn’t hurt.
In my years of teaching yoga classes and leading the anatomy sections of teacher training, I heard so many stories of yogis in pain.
- Shoulder and wrist pain in sun salutations and arm balances
- Neck and low back pain in backbends and forward folds
- Hip and knee pain in warriors and pigeons
Some of the students had seen healthcare professionals who recommended avoiding yoga altogether. But for the love of the practice or the necessity of their teaching schedules, these yogis had silenced their intuition, ignored the signals from their bodies, and continued to practice through pain.
There is another way, and although it involves changes to prevent and alleviate the pain, it doesn’t require abandoning the practice.
It begins with releasing these common assumptions:
- The teacher always knows the “right” way.
- More is better.
- No pain, no gain.
Instead, what if your practice were an adventure? YOUR adventure. These five tips will help you develop a rewarding and pain-free experience on the mat.
