Intake Forms for Yoga Studios: Injury History, Practice Level, and Modification Requirements

By Daniel Akselrod · July 2026

A new student walks into a vinyasa class. The instructor does not know that this student has a herniated disc at L4-L5. The class flows through a standard sequence — chaturanga, upward dog, forward fold, a deep twist. The student feels a sharp pain radiating down their leg during the twist and cannot finish the class. They leave frustrated, in pain, and unlikely to return. Worse, if that injury aggravation leads to medical treatment, the studio faces a liability claim that its waiver may or may not cover depending on whether the studio took reasonable steps to identify the condition before the student participated.

Yoga intake is not a liability checkbox. It is a screening tool that determines how a student is taught, which classes they should attend, what modifications they need, and what the instructor must know before cueing a single pose. A well-designed yoga studio intake form captures the information that keeps students safe and keeps instructors informed.

Injury and condition screening: the non-negotiable section

Yoga injuries are more common than the industry acknowledges. Research published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies found that the most frequently injured body regions in yoga are the lower back, shoulders, knees, and wrists — the same joints that bear the most load in a typical class. Your intake form needs to screen for conditions that affect these areas specifically, not just ask a vague “do you have any injuries.”

Current injuries — the form should ask about active injuries by body region: neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back, hips, knees, ankles, wrists, and elbows. For each area where the student reports an issue, ask for the specific condition if known (rotator cuff tear vs. frozen shoulder vs. impingement — each requires different modifications), when it occurred, whether they are in active treatment, and any movements or positions their healthcare provider has told them to avoid.

Surgeries in the last 12 months — post-surgical students have restrictions that vary by procedure and healing timeline. A student who had knee arthroscopy six months ago may be cleared for most activities but still needs to avoid deep flexion. A student who had spinal fusion three months ago should not be in a general vinyasa class at all and needs explicit medical clearance before participating in any class.

Chronic conditions with direct yoga implications — these include herniated or bulging discs (affects all forward folds, twists, and backbends), sciatica (affects forward folds and seated poses), plantar fasciitis (affects standing poses and toe-under positions), carpal tunnel syndrome (affects all weight-bearing on the wrists — plank, chaturanga, downward dog, handstands), rotator cuff injuries (affects weight-bearing on the shoulders, overhead reaches, and binds), osteoporosis (contraindicates loaded forward folds and twists — a significant concern in older students), and high blood pressure (affects inversions, breath retention, and heat exposure).

Pregnancy — prenatal yoga has specific and well-established modifications. Your intake should ask not just whether the student is pregnant but the trimester, whether the pregnancy is considered high-risk, whether the student has clearance from their OB/GYN or midwife to exercise, and whether they have attended prenatal yoga before. A student in their third trimester should be in a prenatal-specific class, not modifying their way through a power vinyasa.

Practice level assessment: beyond beginner, intermediate, and advanced

Self-reported level labels are nearly useless. A student who has practiced for ten years in gentle hatha classes will call themselves “intermediate” or even “advanced” but may have never held a forearm stand, taken a heated class, or practiced ashtanga. A former competitive gymnast who has attended three yoga classes will call themselves a “beginner” but can physically execute poses that take most students years to access.

A better approach is to assess practice experience through specific, observable criteria:

• Years of practice and frequency — how long has the student been practicing, and how many times per week? Someone who has practiced twice a week for five years has a different body awareness than someone who did a 30-day yoga challenge on YouTube six months ago.
• Styles experienced — has the student practiced vinyasa, hatha, yin, restorative, ashtanga, Iyengar, Bikram/hot, aerial, or other styles? Each style builds different capacities. An Iyengar student has strong alignment awareness. An ashtanga student has strength and endurance. A yin student has deep passive flexibility but may lack the strength for vigorous flow.
• Specific pose comfort — instead of asking for a level label, ask which categories of poses the student is comfortable with. Can they hold plank for 30 seconds? Are they comfortable with inversions (headstand, shoulder stand, forearm stand)? Can they practice arm balances (crow, side crow)? Have they done backbends beyond bridge (wheel, camel, king pigeon)? These questions give the instructor a far more accurate picture than a subjective level label.
• Breath work experience — pranayama practices range from simple diaphragmatic breathing to intense techniques like kapalabhati (breath of fire) and bhastrika (bellows breath). Some breath work raises blood pressure and heart rate. A student who has never done breath work beyond basic awareness needs to be introduced gradually, not thrown into an advanced pranayama sequence.

Class type matching: not every body belongs in every class

Your studio probably offers multiple class types, and each has different physical demands and contraindications. The intake form should gather enough information to recommend appropriate classes:

Vinyasa and power yoga — physically demanding, fast-paced, significant upper body and core load. Contraindicated for students with acute shoulder injuries, severe wrist issues, or cardiovascular conditions that preclude sustained elevated heart rate. Not recommended for true beginners without a foundations class first.

Hatha — slower pace, longer holds, more alignment instruction. Accessible to most students, but long holds can aggravate inflammatory joint conditions if modifications are not offered.

Yin and restorative — passive, long-held floor poses targeting connective tissue and deep relaxation. Generally the most accessible class type, but students with hypermobility syndromes (Ehlers-Danlos, generalized hypermobility) need specific guidance to avoid overstretching joints that already have excessive range of motion.

Hot yoga — practiced in rooms heated to 95 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat adds a significant cardiovascular and thermoregulatory demand that requires its own screening (covered below). Not appropriate for students with heat sensitivity, certain cardiovascular conditions, or who are pregnant.

Aerial yoga — involves a fabric hammock and inversions. Contraindicated for students with glaucoma, uncontrolled blood pressure, inner ear conditions affecting balance, or those who are pregnant. Weight limits on the hammock fabric also need to be communicated (typically 250 to 300 pounds, depending on the hardware).

Modification needs documentation

The purpose of the injury and practice level sections is to build a modification profile for the instructor. This section translates the clinical information into practical teaching notes:

• Props needed — does the student need blocks, straps, a bolster, a blanket under the knees, or a chair for supported poses? Some students need props for accessibility (a block brings the floor closer for tight hamstrings); others need them for safety (a strap prevents overstretching a healing shoulder).
• Poses to avoid entirely — based on the injury screening, list specific poses or categories the student should skip. Not “be careful with backbends” but “no deep backbends — bridge with a block is the maximum extension for this student.”
• Instructor awareness items — things the instructor needs to know that do not fit into a checkbox. Hearing loss in one ear (stand on their hearing side when giving individual cues). Epilepsy (rapid light changes or strobe-like effects in some studios can trigger seizures). PTSD or trauma history (hands-on adjustments may be triggering — many studios now use a consent card system, but the intake is where you first learn about the sensitivity). Claustrophobia (affects savasana with eye covers or blankets).

Hot yoga: the screening that most studios skip

Hot yoga adds physiological stressors that cold-room yoga does not. Exercising in 100+ degree heat increases heart rate by 10 to 20 beats per minute above what the same activity would produce at room temperature, creates significant fluid loss through sweating (1 to 2 liters per 90-minute session), and challenges the body’s thermoregulatory system. Your intake for hot yoga students should include a targeted cardiovascular and heat-tolerance screening:

• Cardiovascular history — heart disease, arrhythmias, history of heart attack or stroke, hypertension. The combination of heat exposure and physical exertion places significant demand on the cardiovascular system. Students with known heart conditions need medical clearance before participating in heated classes.
• Hydration status — is the student someone who drinks adequate water throughout the day, or do they routinely show up to class on two cups of coffee and no water? Dehydration before a hot class is a recipe for dizziness, nausea, and heat exhaustion.
• Heat sensitivity — has the student experienced heat-related illness before (heat exhaustion, heat stroke)? Do they tolerate heat poorly? Have they practiced in a heated room before?
• Medication interactions with heat — several common drug classes impair the body’s ability to regulate temperature or increase dehydration risk. Diuretics reduce fluid volume. Beta-blockers limit the heart rate response that helps dissipate heat. Antihistamines reduce sweating. Stimulant medications (ADHD medications like Adderall) increase body temperature. Anticholinergics impair sweating. Your intake should flag these medications and ensure the student understands the added risk in a heated environment.

A yoga studio that collects a name, email, and a generic “any injuries we should know about?” question is not doing intake. It is doing registration. Real intake screens for the conditions that change how a student is taught, identifies the classes that are appropriate for their body and experience level, and gives instructors the information they need to teach safely. That screening protects the student, protects the instructor, and protects the studio.

The Healthcare Bundle includes yoga and pilates alongside 20 other wellness and healthcare specialties, each with intake fields designed for that discipline’s specific safety and operational requirements.