ALEX ALLAN

     Special to The Globe and Mail

     When something has been around longer than chocolate, has more followers than Oprah Winfrey’s Twitter account and is as good for the soul as a compassionate TED talk, how can it be bad? For thousands of years in India, the practice of yoga has been a respected tool for health and vitality. But as we turn up the studio temperature to exactly 40.5 degrees Celsius, add the “power” to our yoga and balance frantic cycling with downward dogs in something called “Spynga,” we must be aware that new, modern forms of yoga come with associated risks.

     Here are four common risk factors and the best ways to prepare your body for class.

     1. No assessment: If muscular balance is the destination, then the initial assessment is the dot on the map that reads “You are here.” Without a starting point that identifies existing asymmetries, “balancing the body” with equal work may reinforce past deficits and move your body in the wrong direction.

     Fix: Find a professional to give you a detailed musculo-skeletal assessment and provide you with a plan that reflects your postural imbalances, stability and mobility deficits, compensatory patterns and level of core function.

     Full article: How to safely prepare your body for modern yoga classes | Alex Allan

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