Prevent yoga injuries

Find a good yoga teacher
While it's important to listen to your body, part of the onus on injury prevention lies with the instructor. One of Jardine's patients, a woman in her mid-60s, was attending her second beginners' class when the teacher put the students into a headstand, a relatively advanced pose. Afterward, the woman had a tension headache as well as lingering neck and shoulder pain (she didn't return to the class). "That was just stupid [of the teacher]," says Yogi Akal, the founder and director of The Institute of Yoga Therapy and Yoga Teacher Training in Toronto. "That's the reason I started this school; to train teachers properly. Accreditation is very important, but even still, some accredited teachers are good and some are awful."

Jeannie Vasilakos, 40, a teacher of ashtanga (which can be a strenuous style of yoga) at Ganges Yoga Studio on Salt Spring Island, is one of the good ones. "I begin every class by asking whether my regular students have any new injuries and if new students have any injuries I should know about," she says. "I watch the ones who have an injury or a problem area, such as a tight hip, very carefully during the class. I tell them that if anything feels painful, they should stop."

Vasilakos advocates for a gentle approach to yoga. “The less resistance there is –- and pain is a resistance –- the more our bodies can open. I want to make sure my students are safe.”

Treating a yoga injury
Trusting your teacher is important, but students also must learn to pace themselves. Here are five steps to follow if you injure yourself during a yoga class:

1. Tell the instructor right away if you hurt yourself.
2. Put ice on the area.
3. Keep weight off of the injury -- do not continue the class.
4. Elevate the injured limb if possible.
5. Massage, acupuncture, and physiotherapy have all been known to treat yoga injuries.

Getting back on the horse
I continued doing yoga at home but I waited three months -– until I felt my knee had healed adequately -– before resuming my regular yoga classes. I learned that being patient was exactly what experts advise. "It's easy to reinjure an area that hasn't fully recovered," cautions Jardine.

The good news is that, regardless of the type of injury, it's unlikely you'll have to stop doing yoga forever –- you'll just have to practise it more mindfully. "There is no kind of yoga that isn't good for you,” says Akal. "Just be careful."

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