Explain preventive measures for the yoga related injuries.
Yoga Injury Prevention :
Always Warm Up : A good general warm-up increases blood circulation to the muscles, lubricates joints and prepares the body to move more deeply into yoga poses. Follow a logical progression by sequencing less strenuous yoga poses for each body part before going deeper. For example, perform mild backbends common to warrior 1, prone back extension and cobra before deeper backbends like camel or wheel.
Teach Alignment: Reinforce proper alignment in every yoga pose. Begin with your foundation, the feet, and work your way up. By properly aligning the body, you reduce excess stress so that muscles and ligaments are strengthened equally on both sides of the active joint. This creates balance and freedom of movement. Correct alignment also alleviates tension in nonworking muscles, allowing students to concentrate on the working muscles, thereby increasing the pose’s benefit.
Avoid Hyperextension : Cue students to keep a slight bend in their knees during standing yoga poses and to keep their weight evenly distributed among the “four corners” of their feet. In seated forward bends, place a rolled- up towel beneath the knee of the extended leg or legs. Teach students to avoid “popping” their elbows into hyperextension while in upward-facing dog or any other posture in which they bear weight with the arms. Here’s a good cue to help avoid elbow hyperextension: "Align the crease of the elbows (without internally rotating the shoulders) so that they face each other."
Teach Mindfulness : Encourage students to watch for and listen to the subtle and not so subtle cues their bodies give them about how deeply, how strongly and how long they should hold a yoga pose. This teaches them to direct their attention inward. Modify poses to suit individual muscular imbalances, and encourage a noncompetitive and self- accepting atmosphere.
Use Props : Yoga blocks, straps, bolsters and blankets help correct spinal alignment, facilitate proper stretching, take undue stress off joints and support tight muscles so they can release. Allow students to explore the uniqueness of their own bodies by teaching and encouraging the correct use of props.