Is yoga safe? Injuries, contraindications, red flags
2 min read · Updated October 17, 2026 · sources checked October 17, 2026
In short
For most healthy people, yoga is about as safe as other exercise: a review of 94 trials found no more adverse events than with usual care or other exercise. Injuries do happen, mostly sprains and strains, more often in people over 65, in inversions and when practising alone. Glaucoma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, back disease and pregnancy call for a modified practice.
How often yoga causes injuries
Four kinds of study give a fairly consistent picture.
| What was studied | What it found | Strength of the evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 94 randomised trials, 8,430 participants (Cramer, 2015) | No difference in adverse events, serious or not, between yoga and usual care or other exercise; more minor events than with education or psychological programmes | Systematic review of trials; reporting of side effects was often poor |
| 1,702 German practitioners (Cramer, 2019) | 21.4% had at least one acute adverse effect over years of practice, 10.2% a chronic one; about 0.6 injuries per 1,000 hours; 76.9% of acute cases fully recovered | Online survey, self-reported |
| US emergency departments, 2001-2014 (Swain, 2016) | 29,590 yoga-related injuries; the trunk was injured in 46.6% of cases, sprains and strains made up 45.0%; in 2014 the rate was 57.9 per 100,000 practitioners aged 65 and over, against 11.9 at 18-44 | National injury register |
| 76 published case reports (Cramer, 2013) | Headstand, shoulder stand, lotus and forceful breathing cited most often; one death among the 76 cases | Case reports: they show what can happen, not how often |
In plain words: serious injuries are rare, minor strains are not. The German survey also found that practising only by self-study, without a teacher, was associated with more adverse effects, and that power yoga had the highest injury rate per hour (1.5 per 1,000 hours).
Situations that call for a modified practice
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) names previous knee or hip injuries, lumbar spine disease, severe high blood pressure, balance problems and glaucoma among the conditions that may require avoiding or modifying some poses. The table below adds what the studies show. It is a list of questions to take to your doctor, not a substitute for that conversation.
| Situation | What to avoid or change | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Glaucoma, detached retina, recent eye surgery | Head-down poses: headstand, shoulder stand, plough, and ask about downward dog and standing forward bends | In 20 people, eye pressure rose within one minute in all four head-down poses tested, the most in downward dog (from 17 to 28 mmHg in glaucoma patients), and fell back within two minutes (Jasien, 2015). The 2013 case review advises people with glaucoma to avoid inversions. |
| High blood pressure | Inversions, long breath retentions, forceful breathing such as kapalabhati | NCCIH lists severe high blood pressure among conditions needing modification. Slow breathing and lying relaxation remain open; discuss the rest with your doctor. |
| Osteoporosis or osteopenia | Loaded spinal flexion: deep seated forward bends, plough, rounding the back under load | Three people with low bone mass developed new pain or vertebral fractures after yoga flexion exercises (Sinaki, 2013, case series). |
| Herniated disc, sciatica, other lumbar spine disease | Deep forward bends with straight legs, deep twists, anything that sends pain into a leg | NCCIH lists lumbar spine disease; see yoga for back pain for what is reasonable. |
| After an operation | Anything that pulls on the scar or loads the operated area | Ask your surgeon or physiotherapist when and what you may resume. |
| Pregnancy | Hot yoga, lying flat on the back for long periods, poses with a risk of falling | The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) lists hot yoga among activities to avoid and advises avoiding poses that require lying on the back or staying still for long periods. See prenatal yoga. |
| Age 65 and over, balance problems | Unsupported balances, inversions, fast flows | Emergency-department injury rates were highest after 65 (Swain, 2016). A chair practice is a good start. |
Forceful breathing and breath retention
Pranayama is not always gentle. The 2013 case review lists forceful breathing among the practices most often cited in adverse events, and a 2004 case report describes a collapsed lung (pneumothorax) in a healthy 29-year-old woman after kapalabhati. One case does not make a frequency, but it shows what pushing the body to extremes can do. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid forceful breathing. Begin with slow, easy breathing such as nadi shodhana, without retention, and learn kapalabhati, bhastrika and long retentions from a teacher.
Warning signs: stop and get help
- Chest pain, palpitations, sudden breathlessness: stop, sit down, and seek urgent care if it does not settle within minutes.
- Sudden severe headache, blurred or lost vision, weakness or numbness on one side, difficulty speaking: emergency.
- Pressure in the eyes or head during an inversion: come down at once.
- Pain that shoots into an arm or a leg, tingling, or sharp joint pain: stop the posture; see a doctor if it persists.
- Dizziness, tingling in the hands or around the mouth during breathing practice: return to normal breathing.
How to choose a teacher
Studies cannot rate teachers, but they point to what protects you: supervision, gentleness and adaptation. Before booking, ask: how long have you taught beginners or people with my condition? Do you adapt poses or offer chairs and blocks? Do you ask about health problems before the first class? Will you correct me by voice before touching me? A good teacher welcomes these questions. Our page on home practice, online class or studio helps you weigh the options.
The safest practice is the one adapted to you: steady and comfortable, as Patañjali says of āsana (sthira-sukham āsanam, Yoga Sutra 2.46).
Questions people ask
Is yoga safe?
For most healthy adults, yes, with sensible limits. A 2015 review of 94 randomised trials found the same rate of adverse events with yoga as with usual care or other exercise. In a German survey of 1,702 practitioners, about 0.6 injuries were reported per 1,000 hours of practice.
Is it safe to do yoga at home?
Gentle practice at home is reasonable, but in the same German survey, practising only by self-study without supervision was associated with more acute and chronic adverse effects. Learn the demanding postures and forceful breathing with a qualified teacher before practising them alone.
Is yoga good for injuries?
Yoga is not a treatment for an injury. After a sprain, an operation or a back problem, ask your doctor or physiotherapist what you may do and when. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health lists previous knee or hip injuries and lumbar spine disease among conditions that may require modified poses.
Which yoga poses cause the most injuries?
In published case reports, headstand, shoulder stand, the lotus position and forceful breathing come up most often. In the German survey, hand-, shoulder- and headstands were the practices most often linked to acute adverse effects (29.4%).
Sources
- Cramer H, Ward L, Saper R et al. The Safety of Yoga: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2015 DOI 10.1093/aje/kwv071 PMID 26116216 checked October 17, 2026
- Cramer H, Quinker D, Schumann D et al. Adverse effects of yoga: a national cross-sectional survey. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2019 DOI 10.1186/s12906-019-2612-7 PMID 31357980 checked October 17, 2026
- Swain TA, McGwin G. Yoga-Related Injuries in the United States From 2001 to 2014. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016 DOI 10.1177/2325967116671703 PMID 27896293 checked October 17, 2026
- Cramer H, Krucoff C, Dobos G. Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review of published case reports and case series. PLoS One, 2013 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0075515 PMID 24146758 checked October 17, 2026
- Jasien JV, Jonas JB, de Moraes CG, Ritch R. Intraocular Pressure Rise in Subjects with and without Glaucoma during Four Common Yoga Positions. PLoS One, 2015 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0144505 PMID 26698309 checked October 17, 2026
- Sinaki M. Yoga spinal flexion positions and vertebral compression fracture in osteopenia or osteoporosis of spine: case series. Pain Practice, 2013 DOI 10.1111/j.1533-2500.2012.00545.x PMID 22448849 checked October 17, 2026
- Johnson DB, Tierney MJ, Sadighi PJ. Kapalabhati pranayama: breath of fire or cause of pneumothorax? A case report. Chest, 2004 DOI 10.1378/chest.125.5.1951 PMID 15136413 checked October 17, 2026
- Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety — National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH), last updated August 2023 checked October 17, 2026
- Exercise During Pregnancy — American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (patient FAQ) checked October 17, 2026
Yogide explains what the texts and the studies say; it is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or feel pain, talk to your doctor before practising, and stop any posture that hurts.