Can I Do Yoga With an Injury?

Whether or not you can do yoga with an injury depends completely on the person and the injury. In many cases, yoga is used as a form of physical rehabilitation; the fact that it improves flexibility and can serve as low-impact exercise has very beneficial results with some back injuries and muscle injuries. However, especially if performed incorrectly, yoga can be the cause of back pain and also increase joint pain. If you’re unsure about doing yoga with a current injury or experience a lot of strain and resistance in that part of your body, your safest bet is to contact your doctor or seek a professional yoga trainer.

If you have pre-existing knee or core injuries (abdomen, ribs, pelvic bone, lower back), your risk of increasing damage to these areas may be higher. If you just received the injury, you should let your body rest completely from yoga for at least a couple days. If you feel like your body is ready to exercise after that, make sure to change your yoga routine; a routine should cater to your body specifically, so it only makes sense to change up the positions when you’re injured. If you’re having trouble figuring out which asanas are suitable for your injuries and which aren’t, contact a yoga trainer. They can show you new positions, offer variations of positions already in your routine and even give you advice on using yoga to heal your injuries.