I'm practicing yoga after a long hiatus. how do i determine a safe stretch for my body? i've attended one class, so far, and until my flexibility increases, i want to avoid injury by stretching safely, but still achieve a productive stretch.

I : I recommend discussing this with your yoga teacher. It is always safest to start slow and slowly increase your stretch over many days or weeks as you adjust to the stretch. You want to avoid painful stretches to try to decrease chance of tearing soft tissues or injuring yourself. Good luck!

Stretch with no pain: Generally any stretching which causes pain is too much. Stretching should be comfortable thus stressing a muscle to the natural stretch then gently and slowly stretching it still with comfort.