Yoga is known to invigorate and increase the energy levels in the body. But some people say that they often find themselves feeling tired and even drowsy after the yoga sessions. There could be many underlying reasons for this, and it might just be a little unfair to solely blame yoga.
You feel sleepy after yoga because the breathing exercises often help you focus on your body, revealing the fatigue you have been ignoring earlier. Other reasons may also include incorrect postures, intensity and length of the yoga practice, and overdoing things.
While it may be discouraging to see when you start to feel tired at the end of a session when the whole point was to feel revitalized at the end of it, it is also an opportunity for you to listen to the signals your body is sending you. There are many factors that may lead to this feeling. Keep on reading to find out how these factors influence fatigue and how yoga helps bring it to the forefront for us to notice.
Lack of Adequate Sleep
Usually, the primary reason why you may feel sleepy immediately after a yoga session could be related to the lack of proper sleep at night. When you are not getting the optimum amount of sleep necessary for the body to function well on a day to day basis, the smallest of chores and activities may leave you feeling tired and drowsy.
Try to get a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep, and you will see a difference in how you feel after doing yoga. Anything less than that will give you an illusion of having enough energy to get you through the day, but the strain from the lack of sleep will reveal itself when you get into your yoga session.
Intense Workout
Sometimes, the workout level may be too high for you, and you may not be quite ready for it. Pressuring yourself to go through the training will only cause more harm than good. You will feel more tired and will need a lot more rest than you would have if you were in a tailored session to your expertise level.
While it is a good idea to stretch your limits and push the envelope every once in a while, it may not be the best thing for you to take a huge leap all at once. Take baby steps, and with a little bit at a time, you will be able to reach that intense level of yoga workout without tiring yourself in the process.
Incorrect Yoga Pose
The fatigue that you may feel after a yoga session could also be because you may be doing the yoga asanas the wrong way. It is vital that you follow the correct techniques in order to reap the benefits of the session.
The yoga pose might seem a tad too difficult. What you need to do during those times is not to force yourself to achieve the pose, but ask your teacher for guidance. It is also important to prepare your sessions with a lot of rest periods. An overly tired body due to incorrect postures will only lead to more problems.
Not Choosing the Right Level
Nothing is more discouraging than putting in the effort only to see that the results do not match the amount of hard work you have put in. Often this is caused because we ignore our limitations and understand the areas where we might need to improve. Instead, we choose to dive straight in and choose a level that may not sufficiently help us achieve the outcome we are looking for.
Most of the time, this level is one or two rungs higher than what we currently are capable of. Overconfidence may cloud our judgment, and we might find ourselves using brute force to perform at an advanced level we are not yet ready for.
For instance, signing up for a hot yoga class or power yoga class, or even trying the Ashtanga yoga when we have not worked out earlier may push the limits a bit. Doing this will also leave us exhausted and make us feel sleepy after a yoga class.
Not Having Practiced Yoga Previously
If you have not worked out earlier or never done a single pose of yoga before and jump into the bandwagon of yoga sessions without any previous practice, it may take a toll on your body. It means your body is fairly new to stretching, which is not the best state to be in when you are planning on following a regimen that requires a lot of stretching and flexibility.
This can be tiring for the body initially because the muscles had been mostly lying dormant in your previous sedentary lifestyle, and waking them up by stretching may lead to a release of pent up tension. While releasing tension is great, but the relaxation that it triggers after that may lead to feeling sleepy.
Building Strength Is Exhausting
Yoga helps your muscles build strength, and as is seen with any other activity, those that help build strength are exhausting to the body, causing fatigue and making you feel sleepy. The basic asanas in yoga, such as the Trikonasana and the Virabhadrasana, help in building muscles. They also work on some of the key muscle groups, such as your shoulders, glutes, and quads.
These are some yoga poses you could try at home that will help you in building strength. Before you watch the video, though, remember that there are many yoga instruction videos available online today, but it is always better to have a yoga instructor to guide you in person whenever you have any doubts.
Here’s the 20-minute full body power yoga workout:
If you would like to learn about yoga, then the book Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology to Perfect Your Practice by Ann Swanson is a great book that will walk you through many benefits of practicing yoga.
Attention to Breath
When you do yoga, you learn to focus on your breath, which is actually very revealing for your body. It indicates if there is any fatigue in your body, and you gradually become conscious of it. This may sometimes lead to a feeling of drowsiness, which is your body signaling you to rest it out before you leap into your day.
Trying to Overdo Things
If you are a new learner, you might be tempted to overdo things, which may result in exerting too much pressure on your body. This is not going to help your body or even your learning curve.
Trying to do a Shirshasana in the very first yoga class may be disappointing, and soon, you may not only feel fatigued and frustrated, but you may even feel saturated and stop the yoga sessions altogether. The key is not to rush but make steady progress over time.
Conclusion
Yoga is not just for your body but for your mind as well. It works at bettering your physical form and mental well-being by providing a release for muscles that may have been sore for a long time. Similarly, it works with your mind and helps it with releasing emotions that were pent up for years. If done the right way and alongside a healthy lifestyle, yoga can be very invigorating to the body and fill your mind and body with immense energy.
Sources
- Yoga for Beginner A Practical Guide: Feeling Sleepy After Yoga Practice
- Yoga Rove: Feeling Tired After Yoga? Here’s Why and How to Fix It
- Yoga is Possible: Do you feel tired after yoga class
- Wikipedia: Shirshasan
- Wikipedia: Trikonasana
- Wikipedia: Virabhadrasana
- Yoga Journal: 5 Pranayama Technique with the Power to Transform Your Practice and your Life
- Arts and Culture: The 12 Basic Postures – Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center
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