Headaches from Yoga??

Hi K.,

There are many reasons why you could be getting migraines. How often do you get them? I work with many migraine sufferers with good success. I'd be happy to work with you, and we could work out some kind of trade or something.

Have a great day!

D. Hand
Hands On Massage
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A fellow migraine sufferer. So sorry. I often find that some thing, activity, place, etc. seems to always trigger one for me. And it changes over the years. I think the dehydration suggestion is probably a good one. That's almost a guaranteed trigger for me. I wonder if looking at the WII on the screen could have something to do with it, too. Kind of like how flourescent lights seem to trigger them sometimes. Add that all with quickly moving up and down, down dog, etc. and it's a decent recipe for a migraine! I'm a very frequent migraine person, and I did yoga every week for a couple of years, so I don't imagine that it's just the yoga. See what other factors you can eliminate. Good luck!

Hey K.!

Awesome that you are taking care of yourself doing yoga. Where are you located? I live in Boulder, CO and we have a place here called The Joint. It's a chiropractic place that does adjustments for 20.00. They are awesome. I go there all the time and have had great results.

If you are close to one of those, or are in Boulder, I'd check them out.

Take care,
K.

K.,
Before you even start, take a pinch of salt and lick it from your hand, then drink a full glass of water. It sounds like you're dehydrated!

I highly recommend for all migraine suffer-ers, (is that a word?) to get and read a book called "Heal Your Headache: the 1-2-3 Program, for taking charge of your pain" It will help tremendously! It encourages to 1. get rid of addictive rebound meds 2. gives ways to lower your triggers, 3. raise your threshhold. I think the hardest part is not using meds that you are dependent on, but it is a great program to follow, very successful and doable. Good luck, and may you have success in finding ways to have less pain and a healthy body!
E.

Sounds like detoxing ;)
Yoga is great, so I think what is happening is a chemical imbalance somewhere. Granny smith apples help with headaches and water of course. We should be drinking half of our body weight in ounces per day. That's a lot of water. And if it's a struggle then get some organic sea salt and put a pinch of it on your tongue before drinking. It helps :)

Something that you may need to consider is having your eyes checked. Sometimes when we concentrate too much on the television screen it can hurt our eyes. Other than that I don't know what it could be. Good Luck and I hope that you can find out what the problem is.

K. B,

You made the comment that the WII Yoga contributes to your migranes and then you stated you thought it would help your migranes. Do you have the migranes before you start? Do you get migranes after you clean the house or use a certain product when getting ready in the morning that may cause it? I ask because my mother would get migranes and when she stopped using ammonia & bleach based cleaners & other bad toxins in her home to clean and used in the shower the migranes went away. There are many toxins in the home that can contribute to it. If you are having migranes before starting yoga. I would start googling MSDS sheets on every item I was using in my home, if I run accross products that may cause migranes or headaches, I would take it out of the house for a month, replace it with a safer alternative and then see if my migranes decreased or stopped.

Have you read the warnings for the Wii? I know many video games are connected with / linked with and have warnings that they may cause migraines and/or seizures especially in children, but also in adults.

Yoga may cause a headache if the order of the poses isn't right or you need a chripractic adjustment (like you mentioned). I would try yoga without the Wii and see what happens. Also keep in mind that right before your period or during your period there are yoga poses you should not be doing. Also watch your hydration levels--though I do realize those are more related to tension headaches--it couldn't hurt.

K.,

Just a thought regarding your situation. Breathing is one of the fundamental principals of Yoga. You may want to focus a lot more on proper breathing techniques and see if that helps. Also your diet (high salt etc.) may play a role in headaches as well. I used to suffer from migraines as well. My only relief was my was my Imitrex perscription. Until I changed and focused a lot more on a healthy diet, lowered my salt intake substantially and drank plenty of water. Hopefully those two combined will give you some relief and allow you to continue doing Yoga. I am a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor and I have also taught Yoga for over 5 years now. I know how beneficial Yoga can be so hats of to you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to enjoy its benefits.
I also do online fitness coaching. If you are interested in more help or Online Personal training please email me at ____@____.com
Good luck

one of my main triggers on migraines is lighting. I had to stop going to Yoga at one of the gyms I go to because the class was held in a room with large windows as the sun sets...anyway the way the sun hit the light in the room gave me migraines so I wasn't getting the benefits from Yoga. I don't get migraines from just the TV but sometimes from the combination of lighting in the house and TV's. I can't have blinds in my home because light coming through the cracks will give me migraines. Also check the cables on your wii to make sure they are completely in, ours was flickering just a bit now and then and I was getting headaches, dh checked the cables and one had come out just a little bit. It's been okay since then.
I also notice my migraines are definitely more frequent when I'm dehydrated. I try to get in at least a gallon of water a day now--I'm not always perfect but I focus on that and my headaches have gone way down since then.
Good luck I hope you figure out what the trigger is. I wouldn't guess it is the Yoga itself but something else that is triggering--I know when I put my head in downward dog if my body temp has gone up and my temples are pulsing if I am not hydrated it is very easy to get a headache but the same positions with hydration I'm fine.
Good luck, I hate migraines. so sending you healing vibes...
(on my water if anyone is curious I bought a gallon jug of water and wrote on it MOM's JUG Don't Touch.) I keep it in the fridge and pour my water from it throughout the day at the end of the day I refil it and can tell how I've done on my water. If I have water bottles for the gym they don't come from that jug though--so I can add them in etc. it helps me otherwise I can't keep track for the life of me how much I've had in a day)

Hello, K..
Definitely, yoga exercises MAY cause problems for health,
IF being practiced without the blessing and guidance of the Master.
If you love Yoga exercises, please do A LOT, and I mean a l o t of research on what and how you are practicing asanas, especially if you combine it with pranayama.
I would suggest, as a very good set, the work of Shri Ijengar: He suggests a very balanced set, with the indication on how to start from little and move towards improvement.

At all times, if you have headaches often, hypertension, dizziness,and problems with your eyes (wear glasses), all the asanas that include headstands, are stricktly NOT recommended.

One more advice: research HISTORY of yoga: how, where, and why. You will find that this is a device for balancing the energies of your physical, astral, and so on systems FOR working on further improvement of the growth of your Soul. The whole system is involved, and ON THE LONG RUN yes, it starts healing. but before you see the results, all old tensions, clogs, blocks need to be released.
What happens if the bad wound does not heal for a long time? Once it starts healing, there will be more pain, puss will be coming out, ugly, uncomfortable and not looking like healing at all. Same happens on the energy level, and only a skilled Master knows how to direct energies that you wake up and set to motion, as the excess of a new flow of energy may start creating new blocks, because your system does not have the channels for the new flow cleaned and cleansed yet. This might lead to new inllesses. BE VERY CAREFUL !!!!

If you do pranayama also, my strong advice is: do NOT even try doing Khumbhaka, until you find a Master.

As it is stated, if the Disciple is ready, the Master will come.

BE CAREFUL! Yoga is not a set of exercises for healing the physical body without any connection to the energy (prana) that flows through our body. It is an ancient set that requires wisest approach: we are not taught, skilled, or authorized to do it on our own.

Wishing you GOOD LUCK, and a lot of happy healthy days.

Really think about focusing on your breath while doing the Yoga poses. You can not completely relax into a yoga pose without incorporating the breath. The breath used in all traditional Yoga classes is called Ujjayi breath, (all breath in Yoga is in and out through your nose) so to use the ujjayi breath, the easiest way to explain it is, inhale through your nose and as you exhale open your mouth and breath out like you were to fog up a mirror. Notice the feeling and sound that comes from the back of your throat, now repeat the inhale and this time with your mouth closed exhale but through your nose, making the same sound. Each movement should flow with the breath, coming up on an inhale and coming down on a exhale. Bring your focus inward, notice if you find pockets of tension and breath into them. You could practice the breath on the meditation exercise on the Wii Fit.

Hopefully this helps, but on a side note the Yoga on the Wii Fit is basically a set of individual poses. Poses can have a much more relaxing a freeing feeling when done in the correct sequence. You will find a Yoga class with a knowledgeable instructor is more beneficial.

If you like yoga maybe try taking a few classes to see if you are in the right positions. Some of the movements may be pinching a nerve if you are forcing it. Make sure you are breathing. ( It sounds funny, but when I started I would catch myself holding my breath) Also I am not sure what the Wii is having you do, but if you are doing things such as plow, bridge, or shoulder stands, you may not be tucking your shoulder blades under you enough. I still have trouble and I wind up putting too much pressure on the bone right on the back of my neck, and that would cause horrid headaches. Also drink plenty of water before and after. Some positions are flushing your lymphatic system out and that is releasing a lot of toxins into your body. If your headaches persist, make sure that this type of exercise is right for you with your doctor. Yoga is a wonderful exercise and can balance your body and mind. Good luck.

Hi K.. I am a and wellness consultant and certified yoga instructor (6 years teaching experience, 13 years practice experience). My first question is whether you've ever gone to a class where a teacher has looked at your alignment. You might be doing the poses with your head, neck, shoulders or pelvis askew and that may be aggravating your migraines. My second question is whether you drink enough water. I'm guessing you live in Colorado- it is sooooo dry here. You should be drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day at a MINIMUM. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, you need to drink a minimum of 75 ounces of water per day. Drink more on the days you sweat and if you drink any coffee, tea, or soda, you need even more. It can take up to 3 days to rehydrate your body if you are chronically dehydrated. Third, have you noticed any correlation of your migraines and your period? Migraines often have a hormonal component. I suggest trying these things and if you are already doing them I've found a very effective supplement that has helped a ton of people with chronic migraines. I'd be happy to get you more info. Know that yoga is soooo good for migraines in general, but you may need to adjust a few things in your life to support your body and the transformation that happens. I hope you find some resolution fast!

When I first started yoga years ago I was discouraged because I was getting headaches too. My instructor said I was standing up too quickly. So on poses like sun salutation, go a little slower than the wii instructor when you are standing up (we have one too and this is what I have to do) and stop when your head gets in line with your knees, take a deep breath, let it out and then stand all the way up. Hopfully that helps so you can keep at it. Yoga has really helped me a lot with stress and pain.