The art of her physical exercises Yoga developed empirically over about 5 centuries and mainly in the last century and a half, after Hatha Yoga was born. The exercises were taught by experienced teachers who had learned and practiced for many years before and had developed wisdom and intuition. The evolution they had undergone largely replaced the need for their scientific training.
Nowadays, however, those who teach Yoga - especially in the West - do not have such extensive and long-standing empirical knowledge. Their training consists of few hours of study, which gives them no opportunity and time to deepen their understanding and experience. Therefore, it is logical that deficiencies, omissions and mistakes appear in the methodology of teaching Yoga, which is a difficult and complex art and requires both excellent knowledge of techniques, as well as knowledge of functional anatomy, physiology, kinesiology and all of this to be connected with the Yoga philosophy.
Sufficient practice time also needs to be given to the teaching itself, under the guidance, supervision and critique of an experienced teacher, in order for the novice to gain knowledge and experience.
Unfortunately, nowadays the following frequent phenomenon occurs: one teacher imitates another, even in mistakes, while techniques and methods are mixed and combined arbitrarily, without being based on a logical basis. Here I will try to identify the most common mistakes made in the teaching and practice of Yoga, which I believe are responsible for most of the injuries and imbalances that have been caused to Yoga practitioners.
Of course, the following are my personal opinions and illuminate some aspects of the subject: some of what I have seen so far, through my personal experience. They by no means cover or exhaust the entire subject, which in my opinion is – or at least should be – under constant research and study by all who are interested in maintaining a quality in the teaching and practice of Yoga.
Error 1The : Chronologically irregular practice
Practicing Yoga intensively, that is, with intense contractions and stretches, every day without allowing time for recovery, or allowing many days to pass between practices are both wrong. If one day we do intensive practice, the next day we should do gentler exercise to give our body time to heal the micro-injuries that occur after intensive exercise. Ideally, one can do Yoga day after day and in between do some more aerobic exercise (bike, run, swim...).
Error 2The : Pressure to overperform
Overdoing it can be about the amount of time we give our body to achieve an exercise or the degree of effort. We must not reach a point of pain or harm. Any change in our body takes time to establish itself. If we handle it impatiently and hastily, this permanent beneficial change does not occur and we risk injuring it.
If we push our bodies (or push our students or ask our teachers to push us) to take the body to a more extreme position, without it being ready and accepting, all we do is increase resistance eventually losing flexibility and delaying his progress – even increasing his risk of injury. So we should accept our limits and give our body time to move to more extreme positions. In fact, if there is an injury or if we have excessive flexibility, we should not take the body to an extreme position, even if we can.
We should never proceed to a more difficult variation of Asanas before we have gained comfort and ease in the easier variation. An ideal Yoga class should give the Asanas in stages, from the easiest to the most difficult, thus allowing for individual choices and adaptations, depending on the ability levels of the students.
Error 3The : Inadequate warm-up and recovery
The most challenging part of our practice should be in the middle of the lesson. The demands should be gradually increased until this peak and this becomes easier after warm-up exercises. Without a warm-up our body has reduced flexibility and an increased risk of injury.
At the end of our practice comes restoration. There we give time to "turn down the gears" gradually with more static and relaxing exercises, ending a Yoga class with breathing and deep relaxation. Many make the mistake of skipping either the beginning or the end of the lesson or both. A good warm-up makes Yoga Asanas easier and more comfortable. Restoration rests and allows us to regain strength. 1-10' breaths and 10-20' deep relaxation is a reasonable amount of time for recovery at the end of a Yoga class.
Experienced Yoga students can use Sun Salutations to warm up. But for beginners, the Sun Salutation can be the climax, i.e. the most challenging part of the course.
Also, partial recovery can be done between Asanas: 1-2 breaths to rest before continuing. Beginners, unfit and older people need this time for recovery between exercises, as well as at the end of the class. When this time is not given, metabolic waste remains and accumulates in the muscles and the result is stiffness and pain.
Error 4The: Yoga without breaths!
In recent years, especially since dynamic Yoga systems have become so widespread, very little emphasis has been placed on breathing. The excuse is that it is easier for students to learn the exercises and breathing will come later. Thus, there is not enough emphasis and insistence by the teachers that the students learn how to use the breath correctly in the exercises.
Even if breathing is taught, its teaching is poor, to the extent that students make strenuous efforts to breathe audibly, usually with a sharp, gasping, and rapid breath. Thus, on the one hand, they get tired and on the other hand, they lose every opportunity to experience Yoga in depth. I would venture to add a third evil that occurs due to the absence of breath control or faulty breathing technique: Yoga so disguised ends up nourishing the ego instead of diminishing it.
A proper Yoga teaching gives enough time to learning the breath, uses it during the exercises and in between and dedicates time at the end of the class (or at the beginning) for an exclusive breathing practice, the so-called Pranayama. The benefits are not only physical, i.e. elimination of tensions, toxins and fatigue. They are both mental, as the mind calms down and concentrates on the present, but also spiritual, as breathing connects the practitioner to the source of his vital energy from where the very breath of life comes.
Therefore, never Yoga without breath awareness and control! Otherwise it is not Yoga.
Linda Kapetaniou directs the Academy
Yoga Lotus and trains teachers
over 35 years
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