Are you planning to start yoga or have you been doing yoga for a while but sometimes things go wrong? To make your yoga practice more enjoyable and healthy, here are some of the most common mistakes yoga students make.
1. Too much focus on the shape of the pose
Just because you can't reach the pose completely, or can't do the pose the way your neighbor or teacher does, doesn't mean the steps you take to approach the full pose aren't worth it! There is no such thing as a "perfect" pose. However, there is a "perfect pose" for you. Any pose can be broken, so if you're having trouble, ask the teacher for a variation. Pay attention to the form and actions of the pose yourself:is it a back bend, forward bend? Where are the arms in relation to the shoulder and the legs in relation to the hips? Copy those basic elements and do something similar that your body can handle and that feels good! The point is that you can enjoy the stretch wherever and whenever you feel it, allowing your body to become a little more flexible over time.
2. Forget your breath
Awareness of the breath keeps you safe. Observe how your breath responds to your movements. If your breathing gets too heavy, you're pushing yourself too far. As long as you can practice the poses with natural, easy breathing, chances are you are overdoing it! Focusing on the breath in yoga has many benefits. It keeps the mind alert and present, as the breath is always happening “now”. When breathing and movement are in sync, the magic in yoga begins. The mind becomes still and we experience peace.
3. Pushing yourself too much, too quickly
It is normal to want to make progress when you start yoga. So when you find a boundary, lean into it gently, but don't push it... If you push your body a little too much, you can scare it and your body will respond by protecting itself and that boundary. Basically this means it will tighten up more and as a result that limit will be a little further out of reach next time. You are likely to become less flexible and tighter. This is of course unpleasant.
Another scenario is that if you go over your limit, you risk injuring yourself. If you push regularly, injury may develop after a few years and it won't be as easy to heal.
Once you have mastered the art of playing how far you can go, your body will happily open up more, your body slowly adapting to what you ask of it. So if you give it time and ask nicely, it will respond!
4. Skip the warm-up
Warming up means gently introducing the body to what you want from it. You can warm up in different ways. You can warm up by means of specific warm-up exercises, in which you bring heat to the body through increased circulation. You should always warm up by doing the easier poses first and slowly build up to the more advanced pose. This reduces the chance of overstretching because the body is prepared.
5. Skip the cool-down/relaxation
In the cool down portion of a class, take the opportunity to find a balance between what you've done. This is done through holding backs, softening what you've tried to reinforce, bringing stability back to an area you've loosened up, etc. This is the part of the lesson where you incorporate the benefits. When you return to your normal day after vigorous exercise, your nervous system is likely to be overstimulated and you may feel distracted and nervous. When you give yourself time to relax, at least 6 minutes for every hour of asana (yoga pose), your nervous system gets a chance to assimilate the benefits, reset and hopefully you'll feel great for the rest of the day!
Keep these 5 points in mind and your yoga practice will be more fun!
