A yoga session is meant to relax your mind and body—unless you're doing Vinyasa or Hatha, of course! As we know, yoga is also meant to help center your spirit. So, why do some people find themselves with 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 the tips below will 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'll explore a few of the things that may cause a headache after yoga and look at a few easy lifestyle tweaks that you can implement to prevent the dreaded onset.
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4 simple tips for avoiding a headache after yoga
Experiencing a headache after yoga can be frustrating and counterproductive to the relaxation and well-being yoga typically promotes. Here are four ways you can lessen your chances of having a headache after yoga:
- Adequate hydration
- Limit caffeine
- Optimize your 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 your 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 for caffeine is, too much 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 lose water. Therefore, 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. Optimize your nutrition
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.
Excessive perspiration can cause mineral loss. Be sure to take care of your body, which 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, if you know what I mean! It is especially important to practice patience with yoga poses like inversions, where you get a lot of blood flow to your head.
With inversions like headstands, 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.
5. 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, and 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 how to do my favorite juicy neck roll method that I learned from Carling Harps:
- Tilt your head down (chin to chest)
- Move your chin in the direction from your right shoulder (the idea is to look over the right shoulder)
- Lean your right ear towards your right shoulder
- Tilt your 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
Using some of the tips mentioned above while also taking things a little easier and a little slower should help avoid a headache after yoga.
We should always remember to be patient and understanding of our bodies when we're trying to pursue a healthy yoga lifestyle.
Refine your at-home yoga practice with online yoga classes
If you're looking to improve your yoga practice, online yoga classes are a great way to do that. My top recommendation for online yoga memberships is Alo Moves.
Here are some tips for getting started with an at-home yoga practice.
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