Top 10 Yoga Fails and How to Avoid Them

May 27, 2014— -- intro: Yoga's an every-woman activity. But just because anyone with a mat and a will can bust some yoga moves doesn't mean you're doing it right—or getting the most out of your hour.

"When you practice yoga on autopilot, not looking at your mistakes and working to correct them, your form and awareness suffer, reducing your practice's benefit and increasing your risk of injury," says yoga expert Kimberly Fowler, author of Flat Belly Yoga! and founder of YAS Fitness Centers. And we aren't just talking newbies here. "Yoga is a practice. You never achieve perfection," she explains. "The goal is to constantly improve."

So whether you're a beginner or an experienced yogi, chances are that your practice can benefit from some fine-tuning. Fowler suggests you start by watching out for these 10 common yoga mistakes.

quicklist: 1category: Yoga Fails and How to Avoid Themtitle: Holding Your Breathurl:text: Breathing—something that you typically do without giving it a thought—can feel anything but automatic during a challenging pose. But without constant breath, your muscle fibers don't get the oxygen they need to fire, support your body weight, and bend at will.

The result: wobbly limbs and—if you're in a balance pose—falls, says Fowler.

And little chest raises won't cut it. You want to go for full-belly breaths: Inhale through your nose so you feel cool air hit the back of your throat and your stomach expands with air. Then slowly exhale through your mouth until you feel your lungs are empty.

quicklist: 2category: Yoga Fails and How to Avoid Themtitle: Pushing Too Hardurl:text: "'No pain, no gain' doesn't apply to yoga," says Fowler, who notes that most people—if they're really being honest with themselves—know when they're pushing themselves too hard.

While in some exercise classes and sports you want your muscles to cry uncle, the exact opposite is true in yoga. It's a sign you're on the fast track to muscle strains and injury.

Yoga should never feel painful. If it starts to, back off. Yoga is all about awareness, about listening to your body's subtle signals, and responding accordingly.

quicklist: 3category: Yoga Fails and How to Avoid Themtitle: Comparing Yourself to Othersurl:text: Every class has that one super-flexible yogi who seems to effortlessly master every move—and who has a core you could bounce a quarter off of.

Fight the urge to compare and get down on yourself. If you get tripped up measuring yourself against everyone else in the class, not only will you get a crick in your neck, you'll get a crimp in your fun. You'll likely become frustrated and maybe even convince yourself that yoga isn't for you. Wrong! Fowler stresses that yoga is for everyone, and your personal yoga practice isn't about anyone but you.

"Every body is different, and yoga is about treating your individual body," she says.

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quicklist: 4category: Yoga Fails and How to Avoid Themtitle: Picking the Wrong Spot in Classurl:text: Place your mat wisely. Where's that, exactly? Near the back of the class.

"People think they need to be in front so they can see the instructor, but much of the time the instructor is moving around and helping people correct their form, so you're left at the head of the class and can't see what you're supposed to do," explains Fowler.