A yoga session is meant to relax your mind and body, unless you're doing Vinyasa or Ashtanga of course! And as we know, at the same time yoga is also meant to help center your spirit as well. So, why do some people find themselves having a headache after yoga? If this is you, don't think that you're alone in this. Many people experience headaches after different forms of yoga. If you've had it with leaving the studio with a throbbing skull, keep reading as we hopefully help you put that in the past. If you've been Googling ‘avoid headache after yoga' let's help you solve this mystery pronto!
In this article, we're going to explore a few of the things that may cause a headache after yoga. We'll also look at a few easy lifestyle tweaks that you can implement to prevent the dreaded onset from even occurring.
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Adequate hydration leads to less headaches after yoga
Limit caffeine to avoid a headache after yoga
Optimal nutritional intake makes for healthy yogis
Practice patience & proper alignment in and out of class
Don't skip Savasana and stretch adequately before class
Refine your at-home yoga practice in online yoga classes
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4 Simple suggestions to avoid a headache after yoga
| Adequate hydration |
| Limit caffeine |
| Optimal nutrition |
| Practice patience & proper alignment |
| Don't skip savasana |
1. Adequate hydration leads to less headaches after yoga
First and foremost, you should be sure to hydrate before and after a yoga session. It doesn't matter what type of yoga you're doing. The fact is that many styles of yoga are forms of quite strenuous physical activity that can create a lot of perspiration and thus water loss.
Headaches will happen when you place an intense physical demand on your body. Not having enough water will simply make it worse. According to Healthline, dehydration is the number one cause that a person might get a headache from yoga.
On days when you know you will be sweating it out in the hot yoga studio, be sure that you have given your body extra H20
2. Limit caffeine to avoid a headache after yoga
We all love a nice cup of coffee, don't we? Still, we should be careful with it on days when we know we have a yoga session in the coming hours. Caffeine=more dehydration.
No matter how high your tolerance is for caffeine, too much of it can still trigger a headache. Flush your body with water after your beloved morning cup of joe, or wait until after your yoga session and enjoy it then.
Caffeine is a diuretic that encourages your body to let go of its water. So, you should make up for any caffeine intake by drinking enough water as well.
According to PureHealth's article about what to eat and drink before and after yoga, you should drink at least 250ml of water 30 minutes before your yoga class.
3. Optimal nutritional intake makes for healthy yogis
If you're an active yoga practitioner, monitoring and optimizing your overall nutrition and blood sugar levels are both important. Low blood sugar can be dangerous if you're practicing yoga, and it can also lead to a headache after yoga which we are trying to avoid.
One of the causes of mineral loss can be excessive perspiration. Be sure to take care of that body that is working so hard for you from the inside out! Always replenish and nourish your body after yoga.
4. Practice patience & proper alignment in and out of class
How long have you been doing yoga? If you've just picked it up recently, ease into it and know that you'll get there! It is especially important to practice patience with yoga poses like inversions where you’re getting a lot of blood flow to your head.
With inversions like headstand, proper alignment is key to not dumping too much weight into the neck and head. Yoga Journal elaborates on this stating that improper alignment in headstand can cause compression of the neck and restrict blood flow to the head, possibly causing a headache after an asana.
Don't skip savasana and stretch adequately before class
Tense neck and shoulder muscles in themselves can cause a headache. Consider a lengthy stretch session before you jump into that Vinyasa class.
Arrive early, breathe into your stretches, work the tension out of your neck and shoulders before attempting that peak posture. You can warm up for yoga in various ways.
One of my favorite ways to loosen my neck up is juicy shoulder-to-shoulder chin-to-chest neck rolls. This is a stretch that once learned how to do properly is a game-changer for neck tension.
This is my favorite juicy neckroll method that I learned from Carling Harps
- Tilt my head down (chin to chest)
- Move my chin in the direction of my right shoulder (the idea is to look over the right shoulder)
- Lean my right ear towards my right shoulder
- Tilt my head back and go around to the left ear
- Lean left ear towards left shoulder
- Move chin in the direction of left shoulder
- Roll chin down to chest
- Repeat beginning in the opposite direction
Do you feel the juicy difference?!
Using some of the tips mentioned above, while at the same time taking things a little easier and a little slower should help avoid a headache after yoga.
We should always remember that it's important to be patient and understanding with our bodies when we're trying to pursue a healthy yoga lifestyle.
Refine your at-home yoga practice in online yoga classes
Are you looking to take your yoga practice to the next level? Practicing yoga at home is an ideal way to refine your yoga practice.
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