Phoebe Ng. Follow my journey @Pianista_Phoebe @YogaWithPeachy
In any kind of forward fold, like Uttanasana or Paschimottanasana, the most common
mistake new yogis make is to round the back so that your head can touch the legs.
One should always maintain a straight back when doing any form of forward bends. Instead
of forcing yourself into a bend, go down slowly starting by pasting stomach to the thighs, or
even bend the knees a little. Often, a beginner’s forward bend doesn’t go very far forward
and might look more like sitting up straight. And it is perfectly fine. The goal of the pose is to
lengthen the lower back, not a competition of how far you can reach.
The eight limbs of yoga form a moral or ethical code to help us live happier, more purposeful
lives. One of the eight limbs is called “Niyama” (observance), and it can be cultivated
through samtosha (contentment). Only by letting go, we can transcend the confines of our
ego and reach self-realisation.
Likewise, when we attempt other challenging poses, always listen to your body and stop
when you need to. It is not uncommon to hear stories of yogis injuring themselves when
forcing into a difficult asana.
In Sanskrit, asana means “easy and comfortable pose”, not fancy and instagrammable pose.
We want to push ourselves further, but not to the extent we start hurting ourselves. Another
limb of yoga is yama, which talked about ahimsa – not harming yourself.
I have to admit I am a culprit myself. After learning to bunny hop into handstand for the first
time, I kept practicing it for the rest of the day without realising my shoulder was almost over
my fingers, which can be very dangerous for the wrist. And I ended up having to spend a
whole weekend refraining from yoga practice. Every time you force yourself into a pose,
even , you are compensating by cricking some body parts.
Focus on your form. If you can maintain a round spine in plank, drop your knees. If you have
a banana back doing headstands, practice it against the wall. Use props, make
modifications.
The more you allow ego to control you, the less progress you are going to make.