What Should Beginners Avoid in Yoga?

The single biggest thing beginners should avoid is pushing too hard, too soon. Most early injuries come not from yoga being dangerous but from forcing a stretch past its comfortable limit, gripping or holding the breath, or attempting advanced poses like headstands, deep backbends and full splits before the body has built the strength and flexibility to support them. Depth is something you arrive at, not something you take by force.

In the video: Ishwarya's corrections for common beginner mistakes

In the video above, Ishwarya works through the alignment and breath mistakes she sees most often in new practitioners. Rather than giving general rules, she shows you how to take your own body measurements, so each pose is set up for your proportions.

• Tabletop: from Vajrasana, set your knees a forearm's distance apart by placing one elbow on the inner thigh and the palm on the other. Then place your elbows against your knees, palms down, to find where your hands go. Wrists end up under the shoulders and hips over the knees.
• Cat-Cow: keep the shoulders away from the ears instead of crunching them up as you move.
• Child's pose: if sitting on your heels is hard, sit on blocks placed between the feet; if your forehead doesn't reach the floor, rest it on a block.
• Cobra (from about 3:30): palms at the rib cage, shoulders rolled back, elbows pointing up. Lift with upper-back strength, not by pushing hard through the palms, and keep the chin in line with the spine rather than looking up, which can strain the neck.
• Downward Dog: start from Child's pose to set the distance between hands and feet. You don't need to round the spine or get your heels to the floor.
• Standing forward fold: don't reach for your toes with a rounded back. Lengthen the spine first, then bend the knees as much as you need, and keep your weight spread across the whole foot instead of sinking into the heels.

Her closing message sums up the approach: what matters is how the asana feels in your body, not how it looks. Listen to your teacher's cues about the feeling of a pose, and alignment will come with regular practice.

Learn to tell the difference between sensation and pain. A stretch should feel like a strong, workable pull that eases as you breathe; sharp, pinching, burning or joint pain is a clear signal to back off immediately. Never push through that kind of pain, and never bounce into a stretch to go deeper. Move into and out of poses slowly and with control, especially around the neck, knees and lower back.

Two other common traps are worth naming. First, holding the breath: it tenses the body and works against the pose, so keep breathing steadily throughout. Second, comparing yourself to the flexible person on the next mat or on screen, which pushes you past your own honest range. Their body, history and years of practice are not yours, and the comparison serves no one.

Instead, use props and modifications freely, blocks, a strap, bent knees, a wall, they are tools for doing poses correctly, not signs of weakness. Start with beginner-friendly, gentle or foundational classes, and if you have any injury, illness, or condition such as high blood pressure, glaucoma or a recent surgery, get guidance before you start and mention it to your teacher. Go gently, learn the basics well, and let genuine progress come with time; patience really is part of the practice.