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By Kimaya Singh How can yoga poses relieve back injuries? A back injury or severe back pain can be extremely debilitating and take the joy out of life. One of the best ways to strengthen your back and get out of pain is to establish a simple, gentle, and regular yoga training routine. Back pain can comes from a wide range of causes such as trauma, strain, sprain, osteoporosis, herniated disc or discs, scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), sciatica, or osteoarthritis, to name a few.

By Faye Martins Can Yoga teachers create policies for preventing back injuries in class and why should they? Suddenly the yoga world is abuzz with concern over potential injuries. Why is the warning flag suddenly flying? Well, a few reasons come to mind.

By Faye Martins Yoga conjures up images of peaceful meditation, relaxing stretches and trips to the emergency room. Wait, emergency room? Just as with any other activity people can suffer injuries from yoga. Yoga injuries are most commonly mild muscle strains, but torn tendons and severe back injuries have been known to occur. Teachers need to think about yoga student safety when preparing for classes and during classes.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 The healing and therapeutic nature of yoga is well-known as people across the world with a variety of injuries have found relief from pain and inflammation through carefully selected poses designed to strengthen and tone the targeted problem areas. A person with an injury even has the option now of visiting a certified yoga therapist or incorporating asanas into physical therapy sessions.

By Bhavan Kumar How should teachers handle precautions for back pain? Each student who has back pain is different, because no two injuries and students are exactly the same. This is something every instructor should have learned in foundational yoga teacher training. Although I have outlined precautions and prevention guidelines below; these would be considered typical. As Paul would often say, "Back pain threshold and the exact cause of it are unique." Below this paragraph is a handout that you can use to educate your students.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed Summer is often the time of year when many of us pursue a variety of outdoor athletic activities. The balmy weather entices many Yogis and Yoginis to engage in a diversity of outdoor recreational sports including bicycling, rock climbing, swimming, and running. The abundance of available outdoor athletic activities is almost endless during the warmer months of the year. However, so is the potential for sports-related injuries, such as torn Achilles tendons, shoulder sprains and lower back injuries.

Each student who has back pain is different, because no two injuries and students are exactly the same. This is something every instructor should have learned in foundational yoga teacher training. Although I have outlined precautions and prevention guidelines below; these would be considered typical.

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed It is not uncommon for many Yoga practitioners to put on a few extra pounds during the winter season. If this is the case for you, practicing a vigorous, flowing series of Yoga postures, that includes a series of core strengthening poses, will help you to maintain a healthy weight and a strong core. Strong core abdominal muscles are very important for stabilizing the entire body, including the lower back. When the abdominal muscles are weak, the lower back is much more vulnerable to strain and injury, both on and off the Yoga mat.

By Natalie Clee Vinyasa refers to a series of yoga movements synchronized with the breath. The poses flow with rhythmic variations through each inhalation and exhalation. The breathing style used is called Ujjayi, which is a relaxed diaphragmatic breath with the sound coming from the back of the throat like the sound of the ocean. Vinyasa and Ujjayi together create internal heat, which purifies the body through increased oxygen, circulation and sweat. This breath helps take in fresh oxygen, build energy, and clear toxins from the body. Ujjayi is also said to aide in self - awareness and staying grounded and present during your practice, which is also helpful during meditation. Improved circulation can help ward off illness and aide in recovery of sickness and repair of injury.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 What are ski postures? After a challenging day on the slopes, it is important to stretch out your muscles and ligaments. Yoga poses that help to elongate and release tension in the muscles and ligaments are critical to preventing injury and stiffness after an exhilarating day of skiing. Your level of skiing ability does not impact the necessity of keeping your muscles, joints and ligaments flexible and pliable. Our bodies work hard to provide us with a perfect run down a favorite bump run or a fast time through the gates on a GS race course. Practicing Yoga asanas that stretch out the hamstrings, quadriceps, lower back and shoulders will help to keep you feeling loose and flexible.

Yoga exercises for core muscles develop a stable and strong core, help prevent injuries, alleviate back pain, and significantly improve the posture...

By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed One of the most important aspects of sharing the transformational power of Yoga with your students is to truly honor your own truth. This truth could be either physical or emotional in nature. For instance, if you are teaching a Yoga class with a slight back injury, and you are forthright with your students about your current physical limitations, they will be more easily able to identify with you when they come up against their own physical challenges during class.

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500 What are ski postures? After a challenging day on the slopes, it is important to stretch out your muscles and ligaments. Yoga poses that help to elongate and release tension in the muscles and ligaments are critical to preventing injury and stiffness after an exhilarating day of skiing. Your level of skiing ability does not impact the necessity of keeping your muscles, joints and ligaments flexible and pliable. Our bodies work hard to provide us with a perfect run down a favorite bump run or a fast time through the gates on a GS race course. Practicing Yoga asanas that stretch out the hamstrings, quadriceps, lower back and shoulders will help to keep you feeling loose and flexible.

By Sangeetha Saran Often times, our hamstrings are tight from many of the athletic activities we engage in. From the repetitive action of aerobics to skiing and running to cycling, our hamstrings tighten and shorten over time. There are a number of Yoga asanas that will keep your hamstrings strong and flexible. Maintaining flexibility in your hamstrings is important because you are much less likely to sustain an injury in your hamstring area or lower back area. Flexible and strong hamstring muscles will also help you to keep your spine in an easy, optimal alignment as you move through the course of your daily activities.

The 12 basic postures of hatha yoga ensure strengthening our body in different ways. Paschimottanasana or the Seated Forward-bend Pose is the fifth of the 12 poses, and offers extensive benefits to the lower back, hips and hamstrings.