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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to dislike yoga because it makes me feel sick?!

23 replies

Hallomother · 05/03/2019 22:59

Long have I yearned to be a svelte floaty yoga butterfly type, effortlessly moving from one bendy pose to the next, swan of neck and lithe of limb.
Sadly the reality is more slightly porky, ready to vom after the first couple of downward dogs.

Does anyone else get this?
I don’t know if it’s the being upside down, then moving upwards then upside down again that does it as I don’t get it with Pilates or any other exercise

In my youth I spent much time doing hand stands and head stacks and weird crab poses but I seem to forget that was 30 odd years ago and there’s not much call to be upside down anymore in my day to day life.

Does anyone else get this?
I really WANT to like it but always give up after the first couple of sessions because of the faint nausea (sometimes quite strong nausea!) I get.

If you’ve got any tips to help a wannabe yogi out and transform my limbs into willowy grace they’ll be gratefully accepted!

OP posts:

Crowdo · 05/03/2019 23:02

Yes, I sometimes feel sick after yoga and I've been doing it for years. Maybe try having a banana before and stay hydrated.

Original poster

Hallomother · 05/03/2019 23:04

Good point, I didn’t drink much water during the day when I have it a go this evening (it was such a slow beginners one as well I was hoping it wouldn’t happen)

I think there’s an element of adding extra motion sickness by looking up at the tutorial on the tv screen as well!

OP posts:

Singlenotsingle · 05/03/2019 23:08

Maybe try Pilates instead?

keepforgettingmyusername · 05/03/2019 23:09

Yes I hate it! It makes me feel queasy too and I HATE being told when I can and cannot breathe.

Original poster

Hallomother · 05/03/2019 23:13

@singlenotsingle I do like Pilates but everyone RAVES about yoga and I get frustrated because I want to be able to give it a proper go

@keepforgettingmyusername so glad it’s not just me! I did last half an hour today but felt queasy from about half way through and a bit headachey and had to have a ten minute lie down afterwards! I find the breathing difficult actually and find I’m concentrating so hard on holding pose correctly I forget to breathe!

OP posts:

Kintan · 05/03/2019 23:18

I don’t feel sick, but I hate hate hate downward dog. Everyone else seems to find it relaxing but when I do it everything hurts! Ahh been wanting to get that off my chest for a while :)

RedHatsDoNotSuitMe · 05/03/2019 23:19

I hate yoga because I find it dull and there's a definite "type" of person who does it, which I most certainly am not.

So, it's a YANBU from me.

However, I do think you should keep trying with exercise until you find one that suits you. I say this as a person about as far away from ideal as you can imagine, but I do plenty of exercise. I don't find it easy but I have (finally) found some I enjoy. So do keep looking - there's so many different types out there, you're bound to find one that suits you...

Off the top of my head

C25k (running). Not my cup of tea, but I've known loads of people get into exercise that way

Swimming (quite good for hiding your body, you set your own goals and it's also quite good for not being too hard on any of your joints)

Gym stuff (you can usually get a session where they'll set an individual programme for you)

Classes for me were the way to go... You can get quite sedentary ones (like Body Pump, which is weights) and various aerobics ones (things like Legs, Bums and Tums tends to attract the less fitter, or Zumba which is fun).

Maybe once you're slightly fitter, you could try Yoga again if you're really keen.

Original poster

Hallomother · 05/03/2019 23:30

Haha @kintan I do not find it relaxing either!

@redhatsdonotsuitme thanks for your post and suggestions - I’m not actually that unfit, I ran a lot until the last couple of months and did weights three times a week but my anxiety got bad so I stopped everything. I suppose my fitness could have dropped quite a bit in that time though, typical seeing as it takes so long to build it up! And yoga is a different kind of fitness too I guess.

OP posts:

FishBulb · 05/03/2019 23:40

Yoga teacher here. I've heard this occasionally from students. And although a lot of the "yoga types" that RedHats mentions will tell you that it's because of energy shifting or some other wackadoodleness, personally, I think Crowdo is closer to the mark. Make sure you have a little something in your tum, and are hydrated.

Keep, if a teacher is telling you when you can and can't breathe, find another teacher! Yes there are guidelines to breathing, but the most important thing is to breathe!! The synchronization to the poses will happen over time when you're ready.

Yoga is great, on many levels. But there are some weirdo ideas out there about it. I have university degrees in health and biology, and I don't teach anything that doesn't make sense within that context.

Oh, and downward dog is hard!!! Especially if you're like me and have piano wires for hamstrings!

Original poster

Hallomother · 06/03/2019 07:53

@fishbulb thanks for the advance. I HAD eaten dinner only an hour before but maybe that was too soon and a banana an hour before rather than a meal would have been better. I hadn’t had that much water either.

OP posts:

Meadowland · 06/03/2019 08:04

Another one here who couldn't get on with yoga. I had a rush of blood to my head with every Downward Dog and it was an uncomfortable feeling. Also too repetitive.
However I am aware that everyone likes different things. Have found Pilates is much more me.

bilbodog · 06/03/2019 08:11

I wouldnt eat a full meal before yoga as there is a lot of bending but having a small snack is better. I have a hiatus hernia so i sometimes get reflux if i do anything like yoga. Ive stopped now and do tai chi instead.

NakedAvenger · 06/03/2019 08:19

Don't eat or drink much before a class. I used to yoga every day and would never go to a class within 3 hours of eating something substantial. Also drink plenty of water during the day so you are hydrated but don't suddenly neck a few litres on your way to class. You WILL feel sick. Try and ensure your stomach is as empty as possible.

floppyflappy · 06/03/2019 08:19

if you'e out of practice or a beginner, then some of those sensations are because it's new to you. You may be a good runner but yoga uses lots of different muscles in different ways. You're not supposed to be good at it at first, it comes with regular practice and building up tolerance.

And it should be noted that we lose strength quicker than we build it, so if you have some time off then you can be back to square one relatively quickly.

Maybe having a light snack would be better than a full meal before yoga class and then eat after?

But also, if you don't like yoga, don't do it!

ivykaty44 · 06/03/2019 08:21

Yoga swishes my blood round and makes me feel queasy sometimes

DisplayPurposesOnly · 06/03/2019 08:25

You shouldn't eat for at least two hours before yoga (precisely because bending forwards/inversions and digesting are not a good mix).

I get reflux so I don't eat in the three hours before my class, and don't drink two hours before. My meditation often drifts towards marmite on toast...

BasinHaircut · 06/03/2019 08:25

First time I did yoga, the first time I put my head upside down I had a nosebleed!

I can still feel a bit lightheaded sometimes but I agree it’s probably down to making sure you are hydrated and having had a little something to eat and hour or so before.

I love yoga and also dream of being really bendy but I’m not. However stick at it as you will notice improvements in a few months.

LordEmsworth · 06/03/2019 08:28

I HAD eaten dinner only an hour before

Aaaaand - there we find the problem.

There's loads of different yoga classes out there - styles, teachers, methods, approaches. I would suggest trying a few before giving up. But you need at least 3 hours to digest a meal beforehand.

If something makes you feel sick though then of course YANBU to dislike it.

Yogagirl123 · 06/03/2019 08:29

😂 I am probably not a “yoga type” LOL

Yoga really helps my disability, I have never felt sick, however I attend my yoga for the less able class in the morning before lunch etc.

Uggywuggy · 06/03/2019 08:56

Yeah I had to lie down on the mat for about 20 minutes as I felt so sick. I swore never again!!

Then a couple of years later I did a hot yoga class...I have no idea what I was thinking!! Again, laid out on the mat.

Yoga’s not for me!!

MysweetAudrina · 06/03/2019 09:01

I really don't think there is a yoga type. I am a 44 year old working mother and I started attending a yoga class every morning for the last year. The morning after my dd's birthday I popped a sliver of chocolate biscuit cake into my mouth and every time I did a forward bend in class I could feel it coming back up my throat, not a good feeling. I practice best on a empty stomach but hydrated. I'm still shit after practicing for an hour every day for the last year but my anxiety is much more under control and I tend to have a good day once I have made to effort to get on the mat and spend that first hour of the day focusing on me, my breath and my body.

Lululemonade · 06/03/2019 09:09

The first 10 times i did yoga i hated it, i felt all squished up inside and found everything hard (apart from the relaxation at the end . I used to go on an off as I kept thinking I should give it a try. Now I love it and I go 2 or 3 times a week to hotpod yoga.
I should add that I never eat beforehand as that would be a recipe for disaster!

2rebecca · 06/03/2019 09:09

I sometimes get benign paroxysmal positional vertigo so do my yoga more slowly than others in the class especially head dangly poses like forward folds and downward dog. I'm happiest with the sort of yoga where you hold a pose for a while and gradually move to the next than the quick succession of moves yoga. Sun sequence is OK but I'm often slower than everyone else. Agree re not eating before which is near impossible with my current 8pm class as I don't like eating late and don't finish work until 6

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