The Riskiest Yoga Poses for Beginners

If you've been practicing yoga for a while and think you're ready to try more demanding poses, the ones listed here may be quite a challenge. Try to be careful when performing them!

The riskiest yoga poses can be as demanding and dangerous as any other physical activity. Hence, you must be cautious with the poses that we’ll share in this article.

The word yoga comes from Sanskrit and means “union”. It’s a physical and mental activity that originated in India. Lots of people practice it to stay fit, release stress, or stimulate their spirituality.

Although yoga is an activity that conveys peace and relaxation, suffering an injury is still a possibility in many of the poses. However, sometimes it’s worth taking the risk to get the benefits.

This doesn’t mean that you should avoid the riskiest yoga poses, such as the ones we list here. On the contrary, we recommend you pay more attention to them and be careful when executing them; otherwise, you could seriously hurt yourself.

The 7 riskiest yoga poses for beginners

1. Shoulder stand

The shoulder stand, or Salamba Sarvangasana in Sanskrit, is a somewhat dangerous position since it puts the body in an unstable and unfamiliar position. This pose is appropriate for people who are advanced in yoga.

The position of the shoulders can create a lot of tension and puts the neck in a vulnerable state if there’s too much weight on top. Likewise, poor leg alignment generates more pressure and increases the risk of hurting the neck, head, and shoulders. 

2. The riskiest yoga poses: headstand (Salamba Sirsasana)

Doing headstands offers many benefits, such as increasing your blood flow, relieving lower-back pressure, and improving your respiratory capacity. However, there are a few dangers associated with this pose, which is undoubtedly one of the riskiest yoga poses. 

Implementing the Salamba Sirsasana pose is risky for people with a sensitive neck. It’s also dangerous for people with little strength and mastery of their body. This is why beginners must be extremely cautious and very well prepared to perform this pose.

3. Revolved triangle pose

Parivrtta Trikonasana in Sanskrit, or triangle pose, is a yoga position that involves the back as well as the tendons and ligaments of the legs. 

Any pose that involves twisting presents a risk of injury. Therefore, you must be careful when flexing the spine and cervical area. You also shouldn’t forget to look out for your hamstring, lower back, and shoulders.

4. Handstand (Adho Mukha Vraksasana)

There are people who do handstand exercises without practicing yoga as such. The key to this pose is learning to control the muscles and exerting the right amount of strength to carry it out. The execution must certainly be as accurate as possible to avoid blows or falls.

Moreover, the handstand requires many qualities, such as balance, strength, safety, and agility, since it’s one of the riskiest yoga poses. Thus, if you’re a beginner in the world of yoga, it’s best to leave this position for later, when you’re more experienced.

5. The riskiest yoga poses: pigeon pose (Pada Raja Kapotasana)

The pigeon pose unleashes emotions, stretches the legs, and opens the hips. When this pose isn’t done well, it can force or hurt the knees, lower back, hips, and quadriceps. For this reason, you shouldn’t execute it carelessly or without the right physical conditions. 

6. Standing forward bend (Uttanasana)

Carrying out poses that stretch the hamstrings, such as the standing forward bend, can lead to overstretching. This can cause a hamstring injury. Harming these muscles can have grave consequences in your athletic performance.

Although the standing forward bend pose seems simple and easy to do, you should be methodical and precise when executing it. At the same time, you shouldn’t force your body beyond what it can do or you could end up wounding several ligaments, muscles, and tendons in the attempt.

7. The bow pose

The bow pose, illustrated on the cover of this article, is ideal for people who want to gain flexibility and relax at the same time. Nonetheless, this position causes tension in the groin and sacroiliac if you don’t do it correctly. 

It’s worth mentioning that the knees and ankles are body parts that you must protect from a twist or position that could damage them. Remember to keep all this in mind when practicing this pose.

In conclusion, Yoga is a discipline that can improve many aspects of your life if you apply it correctly. For this reason, be as careful as possible with the riskiest yoga poses you want to perform. It’s much better to move slowly while preserving your health and safety.