There are countless of yoga poses that do involve your arms to be brought over the head. And assuming that this is executed incorrectly, there is a possibility that the rotator cuff may be injured. This is true if the exercise is being done over and over again for quite some time.
Protect Your Rotator Cuff
The rotator cuff consists of 4 muscles that play an important role in stabilizing the shoulders. They are wrapped around the joints from the back, top and front and then, connecting the ball of joint into shoulder socket.
There are instances as well in which the muscles are underworked. When this happens, it makes it weaker and that could create an exhausting yoga practice and put you at higher risk.
Also, poses that are using sequences or weights that heavily rely on the strength of your shoulder may overtax the rotator cuff. Eventually, this will cause inflammation and compression.
What can You do?
You can prevent this from happening by gradually strengthening your arms. To give you an example, in pushup variations, try to put your knees on the floor or lower it by few inches before you push it back up. Keep your elbows close to your body instead of winging it out to avoid putting strains in your rotator cuff muscles.