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Contraindicated Yoga Poses

The 5,000-year-old practice of yoga has a broad range of health and fitness benefits. Sometimes those benefits are outweighed by risk factors that make yoga more likely to cause injury than wellness. Yoga is safe and effective for healthy individuals but may be contraindicated for those with certain illnesses and other risk factors. Contraindicated yoga poses can be classified as posing either mechanical or physiological risks.

  1. Mechanical Risks

    • Like any other physical activity, practicing yoga involves the risk of musculoskeletal injures. This type of injury includes pulled muscles, sprained joints, broken or dislocated bones, and all other injuries of the muscular or skeletal systems and their connective tissue. Certain yoga poses should be avoided by individuals with chronic musculoskeletal problems, a history of recurring injuries, or those currently treating an acute injury.

    Mechanical Contraindications

    • Poses involving forward flexion, or bending at the hips, without support for the upper body, such as Gorilla, are contraindicated for individuals with problems of the back and spine. Weight-bearing poses, such as Plank, where some body weight is supported by the arms, are contraindicated for individuals with upper-body injuries. Inversions, such as Downward-Facing Dog, are contraindicated for individuals with any limitation to the arms, cervical spine or shoulders.

    Physiological Risks

    • Yoga also involves the risk of disrupting the body's normal internal operations. This includes normal breathing, pulse, digestion, and all functions of the internal organs. In most healthy individuals the risk is outweighed by the benefits of yoga. However, individuals with chronic disease or a history of recurring illnesses or are currently receiving medical treatment of any kind should consult their physician before practicing the contraindicated poses.

    Physiological Contraindications

    • Kundalini yoga and yoga breathing exercises are contraindicated for those with cardiovascular conditions and glaucoma, as normal blood pressure can be disrupted. Yoga masters widely agree that advanced inversions, such as Upward Lotus, are contraindicated during menstruation as they can inhibit the natural cycle. Inversions also provide little benefit to children, for whom they are contraindicated given their inherent risk. Kundalini and inversions are also contraindicated during pregnancy.

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