The body and mind are ever-changing and some days you just can’t even. Know the feeling? There are various reasons why we struggle some days more than others; a bad night’s sleep, a challenging day at work, or an injury, for example. Perhaps the body (and mind) are not prepared for the asanas being taught, or you simply need some modifications or props to help you into the pose. There’s nothing worse that wandering into a yoga class full of people breezily practicing Pincha Mayurasana when Dolphin pose feels like your limit.
If that sounds like you, here are the worst things you can do if you struggle in yoga class.
1. Force Yourself to Push Through and Risk Injury
Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. Take your practice to your personal limit, where ever that is on any given day, and leave it there. Always speak up if you don’t want any hands-on adjustments to help you go deeper into a pose, and be ready to ask for modifications and use props to enter into variations.
“Most injuries in yoga are brought about by ambition or inattention – usually both. Ambition in a posture takes many forms: holding it a prescribed length of time, trying to stretch as far as someone else, unconsciously reaching for remembered levels of flexibility, or trying to achieve or reproduce psychic states.” – Joel Kramer
Such great advice here. I try to push myself a little too much until it hurts and get scared. Its tough as I am not very flexible but I guess the real reason is because I dont practice enough
All your advice is very helpful for everyone. Everyone should know these things. Keep up the good work thank you
Hi Neetu, thank you so much for reading this!