r/yoga
Back pain?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered.
The Question
Hi everyone! I have been doing yoga to YouTube videos (usually Yoga with Kassandra) for a couple of months now. But every morning I wake up with such a sore back and shoulders! This is only the last month or so, but I was wondering if that is normal? I do 1-2 videos most mornings. I do have a baby that I carry around a lot so I did think maybe it was a mix of both, but really just wanted opinions and any suggestions to help! Is there anyone you'd recommend for more strengthening stuff potent…
— via r/yoga
Our Response
Okay. Two things.
First: waking up sore means something's off. Not normal. Yoga shouldn't make you hurt the next day. Tired during? Sure. Sore after? You're either doing too much, doing it wrong, or both.
Second: you have a baby. You're carrying weight all day. Your shoulders are already cooked. Adding more stretching on top of that isn't helping. You need strength, not flexibility.
Stop doing two videos a morning. Do one. Pick something that builds instead of just flows. Look for practices that hold poses. That make you work.
And here's the thing nobody says: YouTube yoga is fine, but it's not a replacement for learning how things actually work. If you want strengthening, learn Ashtanga. It's the same thing every day. You get strong because you repeat it. You don't guess.
Check out the Primary Series study guide on the site. Start there. Learn the poses. Do them badly at first. That's fine.
Your back hurts because it's weak. Fix that.
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