Understanding and Preventing Yoga Injuries

To obtain an initial estimate of the extent, nature, and causes of Yoga-related injuries, we invited 33,000 Yoga teachers, Yoga therapists, and other clinicians to participate in a 22-question survey. The survey was conducted with the cooperation of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), Yoga Alliance, and Yoga Spirit. 1,336 responses came from 34 countries between May and October of 2007. A majority of participants believed that the most common and the most severe injuries occurred in the neck, the lower back, the shoulder and wrists, and the knee. Poor technique or alignment, previous injury, excess effort, and improper or inadequate instruction were the most commonly cited causes of Yoga injuries. Individual asanas were linked with particular injuries in a highly specific way. For example, neck injuries were attributed to sirsasana (headstand) and sarvangasana (shoulderstand); lower-back injuries were associated with forward bends, twists, and backbends; shoulder and wrist injuries were linked to adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog) and variations of plank pose (e.g., chaturanga dandasana, four-limbed staff pose and vasisthasana, side plank pose); and the knee was believed to be most frequently injured in virabhadrasana (warrior pose) I and II, virasana (hero's pose,) eka pada rajakapotasana (one-legged king pigeon pose) and padmasana (lotus pose).