Good Posture is Bad for Your Back

5 Tips to Keep You Practicing for Life!

In 2007, I attended a Yoga Therapy conference where one of the presenters said, “I make my living helping people who got hurt in other people’s yoga classes”.  You might be surprised to find out that people can get injured doing yoga.  After all, yoga is considered to be a health-promoting form of exercise (of course, it is more than just “exercise” when you include the more subtle aspects).

What kinds of injuries are common in yoga classes?  Typical injuries can include strain and overstretching of the low back, hamstrings, knees, wrists and SI joints.  I’ve heard from people who injured themselves in a yoga class, and then quit doing yoga.  This is one important reason to avoid injury – so you can keep doing yoga as long as you want to.

Everyday Yoga

You might believe that alignment in yoga poses is very important, and pay special attention to it.  Yet your postural alignment in daily life strongly influences your alignment in yoga.  If you have unhealthy alignment when you are standing and sitting, you will tend to carry those patterns into your yoga asanas as well (I know I did!).

Because of this, it’s best to learn healthy alignment in simple daily movements, such as sitting, standing, bending and walking, before doing a new physical activity.  Healthy alignment will protect you in your daily life and in your exercise life.  (For help with healthy daily movements, I recommend my “Balance Your Body” program).

Noelle Perez-Christiaens, who studied with the yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar beginning in 1959, pushed herself very hard in her yoga practice for many years and injured herself as a result.  Prodded by Iyengar, Noelle began a study of people with healthy posture, which she has continued for decades.  She changed how she did yoga as a result of this study.

By studying with Noelle, and with Jean Couch of the Balance Center, I have completely changed the way I do yoga.  I stopped doing some of the more advanced poses, and I changed my alignment in almost every pose.  It’s made a huge difference in my comfort and I now trust that I can do yoga safely for decades to come.

Here are 5 tips to help you enjoy your yoga practice while safely avoiding injuries (so you can keep practicing for years):

1) Don’t tuck your pelvis.  This includes in tadasana, in other standing poses, in forward bends – pretty much any pose you do.  You may have tried this for years because a teacher told you to do it, but it is very dangerous to the spine.  It flattens the “natural arch”, which is essential to a healthy spine.

2) Don’t lift your chest – it compresses your back.  There is a common misunderstanding in yoga alignment with instructions that say you need to “open your chest”.  It is somewhat like the “military position” of standing at attention.  What I see over and over again is people lifting their chest, tightening their back muscles and compressing the spine.  This is not healthy for your spine in the long term, even if you feel no pain initially.

To see the difference between a pose (Warrior I) done with the chest lifted versus with the back elongated, check out: http://www.balancecenter.com/yoga.htm.

3) Don’t lock your knees – in standing poses or forward bends – or ever.  Don’t press your knees back when you straighten your legs.  This can cause strain on the knee joint.  Focus on lengthening down the leg as opposed to pressing back on the knee.

4) Tell your teacher if you have any injuries or conditions that might interfere with your practice (herniated disc, high blood pressure, glaucoma).

5) Choose a teacher who has experience with healthy alignment.  This will help you to practice safely in class and at home.

If you pay attention to these tips, you’ll be on your way to enjoying your yoga practice without suffering injuries.  Practicing healthy alignment in yoga will allow you to continue to practice for many years and enjoy the many benefits yoga offers.

If you’d like help with finding safe alignment in yoga, come to one of my “Yoga for a Healthy Back” classes offered Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5:15-6:45 pm.  During the month of March, I am offering a “2 for 1” Special at these classes.  If you bring a new student, they can get up to 2 classes for free (or you can split the cost with them).

I’m wishing you many years of safe, enjoyable and enlivening yoga!