Yoga Therapy Training
A to Z Yoga Therapy Precautions As Eye-catching Illustrated Cards
Your yoga class will have students with all sorts of pains, conditions, infections, problems and ailments. No matter how long you’ve been teaching yoga, it’s always a good idea to brush up on your yoga therapy precautions.
An A4 Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet, with the 30 precautions that you can see below, comes as a bonus within the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit.
You can get the full set of these 30 artistic yoga therapy precaution cards as a bonus within my Yoga Therapy Lesson Plan Bundle. They are unbranded (my website URL has been taken out) and come in A4, A5, and A6 sizes. You can download the 30 cards as JPGs, PNGs, or a PDF. You can easily edit the cards if you want to.
Arthritis
Stiff, non-inflamed joints benefit from yoga.
Hot, inflamed joints need rest.
Do not put weight on the joints if there is any pain.
Back Pain (Lumbago)
Take care with all back movements.
Chest Pain
Emphasise exhalation.
Breathing exercises may be beneficial if there is no stress involved.
Take care with strong chest openers (e.g. Bridge Pose).
Cold & Flu
No Yoga!
Contraceptive Coil
No abdominal lift (don’t suck your abdominal wall in and up).
Depression
Take care with some visualisations.
Focus on open-hearted postures such as Bridge, Cobra, and Upward Facing Dog.
Ear Infection
Don’t have your head lower than your heart in any Yoga asana
(e.g. Standing Forward Bend).
Epilepsy
No inversions.
Take care with balance poses.
Take care with breathing exercises.
Take care with candle gazing.
Eyes (detached retina, glaucoma)
No asanas with the head lower than the heart.
Hearing Problems
Take care with balance postures.
Ask students with poor hearing to put their mats closer to you.
Heart Problems
No inversions.
No breath retention.
Take care with strong backbends with arms overhead.
Hiatus Hernia
No inversions (e.g Shoulderstand).
No abdominal lifts (don’t suck your abdominal wall in and up).
Take care with strong backbends.
Take care with forward folds.
Take care with twists.
High Blood Pressure
No inversions (e.g standing forward bend).
Take care with deep backbends.
No breath retention.
Hyper Flexibility
Take care with flexing too much.
Strengthening asanas are beneficial.
Hyperactive Thyroid
Take care with strong head-back poses (e.g. Camel and Cobra Pose).
Take care with Shoulderstand pose.
Knee Pain
Take care with kneeling (use padding).
Take care with Lunges.
ME
Take care with overexertion.
Menstruation
No inversions.
No abdominal lifts.
Migraine
Take care with candle gazing.
Neck Pain
No Shoulderstand pose, Plough pose or deep backbends.
Osteoporosis
Take care with putting too much weight on your wrists.
Yoga poses are usually beneficial for osteoporosis.
Panic Attacks
Take care with breathing exercises.
Take care with visualisations.
Post Operation
Yoga should not be practised for up to 6 months for some operations.
Pregnancy
No yoga until after 16 weeks.
No inversion or postures involving abdominal strain.
No lying on the abdomen when the bump shows.
No lying on the back for relaxation.
Prolapsed Disc & Sciatica
Take care with forward and side bends.
Take care with shoulder stands.
Benefit from backbends.
Sacroiliac Issues
Take care with asymmetrical backends
(e.g. Splits. King Pigeon pose).
Sinus Infections
No head-down positions.
Take care with breathing exercises.
Stomach Ulcers
No strong stretches or contractions.
Varicose Veins
No sitting for extended periods on heels (e.g. Hero pose).
Vertigo
Take care with balance and backbend postures.
You can get the full set of these 30 artistic yoga therapy precaution cards as a bonus within my Yoga Therapy Lesson Plan Bundle. They are unbranded (my website URL has been taken out) and come in A4, A5, and A6 sizes. Download. Print. Enjoy.
How To Use The Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet
Option 1
Observing Students
Before arriving at your class, open up your Yoga Teacher Folder and look through your student’s Yoga Questionnaire Forms and take a look at the Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet to double-check the asanas the student(s) are advised to avoid.
OK, time for an example…
An hour before your class starts, you pick up your trusty Yoga Teacher Folder and flick through the Yoga Questionnaire Forms until you get to Jane Higgenbottom and see she has arthritis in both wrists.
You then flick to your trusty A4-sized Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet and read this:
“Stiff, non-inflamed joints benefit from yoga. Hot, inflamed joints need rest. Do not put weight on the joints if there is any pain.”
When you’re walking around your class observing students and you see Jane Higgenbottom struggling with Downward Facing Dog, you remember that she has arthritis in her wrists.
So, you walk up to Jane and say something like:
“Jane, try this instead”.
And you show her how to perform Dolphin Pose which will take the pressure off her wrists.
My ‘Yoga Teacher Folder’ Includes The following Forms
- Yoga Questionnaire Forms
- Student Attendance Forms
- Student Feedback Forms
- Yoga Student Waiver Forms
- Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet
All those forms and sheets are available as pre-filled templates within the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit.
Option 2
Print & Give To Students
Unless you teach bionic humans from Planet Bingabongbong, your class will be chock full of students with all sorts of pains, conditions, infections, problems and ailments.
Print out the “Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet” which I’ve put onto one A4 document for you (available within the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit) and hand them out to all your students.
Students love receiving class handouts!
If you like the idea of giving your students eye-catching, professional-looking yoga class handouts, there are 201 of them within the Yoga Teacher Lesson Plan Kit.
Option 3
Study Your Students Every Few Months
Every month or two, it’s good practice to open up your Yoga Teacher Folder to flick through the Yoga Questionnaire Forms with your Yoga Therapy Precautions Cheat Sheet close by. When you come across a student with an ailment, look at the cheat sheet and hit the mental pause button.
Now visualize that student (e.g. Jane Higgenbottom) in your class and see yourself going up to that student and saying something like:
“Are your wrists hot and inflamed or just stiff?”
The more you use visualization (see, feel, touch and smell what is going on), the longer you’ll remember the information.
Allow the kid within you to come out and play when doing this visualization exercise. If you do this visualization for all your students something amazing will happen — more of your students will become lifelong students (it’s the best kind of yoga class marketing).
Why?
Well, because you took the time to know the ailments of each student and gave helpful advice before, during and after class.
