Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Medical Aspects: Nauseaus during asana practice

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Nauseaus during asana practice

Nabila
New User

Jan 20, 2006, 2:38 PM

Post #1 of 3 (1831 views)
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Nauseaus during asana practice	Can't Post

Hello everyone,

I would appreciate it if anyone could help me on this: a co-worker has been practicing yoga for about two months now, once a week.

She is doing basically asanas, no pranayama, and she tells me that every class she feels nauseaus.

First it was at the end of each class, but now it is happening right from the start. Asanas where you arch your back make her feel specially bad, like bujhangasana. She says she does not eat (for about 5 hours) before the class, and does not suffer from any kind of illness or anything.

I personally have never heard of this before. I would have thought you could feel that way if you ate and then did stuff like sirsasana or sarvangasana, which is not the case.

Any help? Any asanas that might help / any she should avoid? Why could this be happening? Ever heard of this before?

Thanks in advance

Bryan Alexander
Enthusiast / Moderator

Jan 21, 2006, 7:48 AM

Post #2 of 3 (1825 views)
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Re: Nauseaus during asana practice [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sounds like your friend is new to yoga, and possibly not doing much physical exercise other than yoga once a week. Asana practice can be a jolt to a new student, because the practice stimulates nerves that aren't used to that, and this stimulation can occur in even the least strenuous postures. Sometimes it's because the student is a beginner, and beginners sometimes bring along their habit patterns of tensing certain parts of the body during stress.

I'm curious what kind of class she's going to. Is it led by an Iyengar sanctioned teacher? If so, then why is a strenuous backbend like bhujangasana being taught in the first two months of the class? It's possible that this specific class is too strenuous for this student.

There's something significant about the fact that nausea sets in from the very beginning of class. The beginning of class is usually a time for simple postures that wake up bodies from their sedentary state. Is the teacher jumping over this warm-up stage? On the other hand, could it be that the postures are simple enough but the student is anticipating difficulty later in the class? Just thinking about certain things can make a person nauseous.

Assuming that the teacher is qualified and the student is taking a beginner's class, and the student has no other symptoms or illness and is not pregnant, my recommendation would be for the student to advise the teacher about the nausea. The student will continue to follow the teacher's lead, keeping an eye on the nausea. If the nausea gets so strong that it's distracting, then the student should come out of the posture for a moment, and then start again, or pick up with what the teacher is now teaching. The process will be more beneficial if the student practices for at least a short time every day, and if that's not possible, then every other day.

Also, five hours plus class time is a long time for some people to go without eating. I would be sick if I did that. Try eating a small amount of healthy food three hours before class to avoid problems with blood sugar fluctuations.

When you're new, it's very acceptable to start slowly and be patient with this sort of thing. The massive benefits of yoga may take awhile to realize.

Nabila
New User

Jan 21, 2006, 8:57 AM

Post #3 of 3 (1824 views)
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Re: Nauseaus during asana practice [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I believe she is going to a begginers class, but I will talk to her about all of this and see how things go.

Best wishes

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