Who should not do yoga?
One of the best things about yoga is that pretty much anybody can do yoga. The reason that anybody can do yoga is that there are so many different styles of yoga that anybody can find a yoga style that is right for them. Even if you are suffering from an injury or high blood pressure you can find a yoga style that is right for you. The main difference between a healthy person doing yoga and a sick or injured person doing yoga is the limitations that they are going to have.
But one thing that you want to keep in mind is that if you are sick or suffering from an injury you are going to want to check with your doctor before practicing yoga, just to make sure that they approve. And after you have gotten the go ahead from your general doctor you are also going to want to talk to your yoga instructor about what is wrong with you before practicing yoga. The reason for this is that certain illnesses, pregnancy, and injuries are going to require you to modify the actual practice of yoga to meet your individual needs and the best person to modify your yoga practices to meet your individual needs is your yoga instructor. Basically what your yoga instructor is going to have to do is to modify your yoga to your physical limitations.
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Here are some examples of how and why yoga should be modified.
Pregnancy:
Doing yoga is a great way to keep fit during your pregnancy, but it must be carefully tailored to the needs and abilities of the pregnancy. And each trimester will bring about different limitations, which is why they have a yoga style designed strictly for pregnant women. But in general you are going to want to avoid strain, compressing the belly or abdomen and inverted postures. You should also be avoiding the headstand in yoga while you are pregnant.
Knee problems:
Actually by practicing yoga when you have knee problems you can actually strengthen the knee joints, but you are still going to have to take certain precautions to ensure that you don't do any permanent damage to your knees. One pose you are going to need to avoid is the lotus pose, but you should practice the virasana often and if it does hurt your knees you should prop yourself up on a few blankets. Also when you are doing standing poses you need to put most of you weight on the back leg.
Blood pressure:
This is a problem that affects a wide range of people, but just because you have high blood pressure doesn't mean that you can not do yoga. If you have high blood pressure you are going to want to avoid any poses that puts your head below the level of your heart. One of the most common poses you are going to want to avoid is the headstand.
Although yoga can be taught online and through television and books, many yoga instructors do not recommend learning yoga this way, they recommend that you take an actual yoga class. The reason for this is because of everybody's different needs, if you are learning yoga on your own and have health problems there is no sure way to ensure you are not putting your health at risk if you are not being monitored by a certified yoga instructor. And another reason is that if you are not practicing correctly you can do further damage to your mind and body. Not to mention that a certified yoga instructor can help you find the right style of yoga.
