How to Practice Ashtanga Yoga with an Injury: 5 Essential Tips

Slowing down due to an injury can be daunting, but staying active and mindful is crucial—even when the body needs care. Practicing Ashtanga Yoga with an injury may seem challenging, yet with a few adjustments, it’s possible to keep moving while supporting healing.

Stay Active by Resting the Sore Part of Your Body

Injury often feels like a signal to stop moving, but rest doesn’t have to mean total inactivity. Gentle, modified movement maintains strength, flexibility, and circulation without compromising recovery. With an injury, focus on poses that don’t strain the affected area, allowing the sore part to rest while continuing movement in other parts of the body. For example, if your wrist is sore, you can modify poses by working on your forearms or choosing standing and seated poses that allow the wrist to heal while keeping the practice flowing.

Communicate with Your Teacher about Your Injury

Your Live and Breathe Yoga teacher is there to support and guide you. Talking to your teacher about your injury allows them to suggest modifications and check alignment to keep you safe. Open communication lets your teacher help you stay within a healing range of motion. Our teachers understand injuries happen and are trained to offer modifications and guidance. By working together, you can continue progressing while ensuring each pose is adjusted to protect the injured area and avoid setbacks.

Use Your Physio’s Advice to Inform Your Practice

If you’re working with a physiotherapist, their recommendations are an excellent guide for modifying your Ashtanga practice. Many yoga poses can support physical therapy exercises, and a good physio will likely encourage you to keep practicing. You can use their advice to avoid certain poses temporarily and strengthen and stabilize your injury. Applying your physio’s guidance within yoga is a powerful way to stay active and incorporate mindful movement in healing. For additional support, share your physio’s plan with a yoga therapist, who can tailor your practice around your injury and even incorporate specific physio exercises into your practice. The physio will be delighted that you are doing your exercises and you will feel empowered by your progress.

Explore Yoga Therapy for Chronic Injuries and Serious Illness

Chronic injuries and illness can make daily life challenging, but yoga therapy—one-on-one, custom-designed practices focused on healing—can be especially effective. Yoga therapy combines postures, breathwork, and mindfulness to address not only physical limitations but also mental and emotional aspects of injury. For busy women balancing life’s demands, yoga therapy’s tailored approach is ideal. If you’re managing a chronic condition, supplementing your Ashtanga practice with yoga therapy can make movement empowering, intentional, and truly healing.

Embrace the Self-Practice Class and Set Sequence as Healing Tools

One of Ashtanga’s greatest strengths is its set sequence, which lets you learn and refine the same poses over time. The predictability of the self-practice class means there are no surprises, allowing you to go at your own pace. When injured, this structure is invaluable—it lets you focus on what you need and modify as necessary while still fully engaging in practice. This continuity builds confidence and empowers you to honor your body without overdoing it. Combined with the self-practice approach, you have the freedom to slow down or take extra breaths in each pose and make adjustments as you need (with the supervision of the teacher). This structure keeps you grounded, as you’re never forced to rush or strain your body unexpectedly. 

Why Ashtanga Yoga is More than Just a Workout: It’s a Therapeutic, Holistic Practice

For busy women balancing work, family, and self-care, Ashtanga is more than just a workout—it’s a holistic practice. The focus on breath helps relieve stress and is central to healing. In Ashtanga, each movement is connected with the breath, allowing you to tune into your body, release tension, and gain mental clarity. Research shows that stress reduction supports healing, making yoga’s mindful aspect as vital as the physical movement. This holistic approach provides a safe, nurturing way to stay active, balanced, and mentally strong, allowing you to recover without feeling disconnected from your progress. Yoga honors where you are, and with the right approach, it keeps you engaged even during recovery.

Discover the Benefits of Ashtanga Yoga by the Elements

Our Ashtanga Yoga by the Elements program is designed with modern, busy practitioners in mind. Rather than following the traditional, linear approach to the Primary and Intermediate Series, this program divides the Ashtanga sequence into four focused modules based on the elements: earth, water, fire, and air. This approach makes it easier to focus on specific aspects of the practice in manageable, targeted sections, rather than working through the entire sequence all at once. Each module allows you to build depth, strength, and understanding in stages, empowering you to master smaller chunks of the sequence before moving on.

By honoring the traditional sequence with a modular approach, we offer a balanced way for our students to experience the therapeutic benefits of Ashtanga without feeling overwhelmed. This method is ideal for busy professionals and parents who are looking to invest in their health in a way that fits with their schedules and lifestyle. Dividing the practice into elements lets you connect deeply with each phase while working at your own pace, which is especially beneficial for those managing injuries or looking for a focused, intentional yoga journey.

Ready to Experience the Therapeutic Benefits of Ashtanga? Join Our Year-Round Ashtanga Yoga by the Elements Program

Don’t let an injury stop you from discovering the transformative benefits of Ashtanga Yoga. At Live and Breathe Yoga, we offer Ashtanga Yoga by the Elements, a year-long program that guides you through the elements of earth, water, fire, and air. It’s designed to deepen your practice, improve flexibility and strength, and provide a healing space for those managing injuries or chronic conditions. This program is ideal for busy women who want a structured, self-paced approach to yoga that can be modified for all stages of life and levels of physical health. 

Join Live and Breathe Yoga today and take the first step toward a balance, resilience, and empowerment through yoga!