Yoga and yawning
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 6 years before Feb 08, 2017
Bhagiratha 6 years ago
This might sound strange, but I want to know if anyone has noticed that they tend to yawning a lot during yoga/pranayama practice.
For me personally, as soon as I begin my practice, the body goes into a sort of yawning motion.
Yes, I know how this sounds, but believe me when I say that I would just start yawning, and it usually continues well into the session.
In any case, whatever it is, I am hoping that someone will provide some sort of explanation.
Thanks
MiBeloved 6 years ago
See the medical explanation for yawning:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003096.htm
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In terms of yoga, yawning will hardly happen if one takes the proper rest and has a steady pranayama practice. Infrequent practice is not steady practice and some things which happen with infrequent practice has nothing to do with yoga really but is the body’s way of alerting you to other problems.
My guess is that you are not getting sufficient rest and that you are in buildings where there is hardly any free air from the outside where the ventilation is machine regulated and the filters and apparatus is not doing a good job.
Thus when you try to do pranayama practice the kundalini realizes that it is oxygen starved and it yawns to alert you about that.
Yawning and stretching just after awaking like the cats do, is done by kundalini for its own purposes.
Stretching is done by kundalini to open nadis and let energy flow unrestrictedly to certain areas. Yawn is its way of saying that it is fresh air starved or that the muscles of the body are achy and tire and need rest.
Rest is not meditation. Rest is not yoga practice but it is necessary for the kundalini to rejuvenate the millions of cells which it has to service from moment to moment.
What I am saying is that the kundalini uses the exercise session to alert you to the fact that it is tired and needs to rest and that it does not need to do the exercises. In other words yoga practice is not a substitute for rest. Yoga practice can enhance rest by giving kundalini a lot of energy to use for rejuvenation during rest but kundalini does not realize that. It is not that sensible, you have to make that decision and then when it goes to rest it will realize the energy is there and it will use it during resting.
But again let me stress that the exercise session will not replace rest. You still have to get a certain quote of rest or the physical and psychological systems will suffer, with or without yoga.
Ravi Kant Sharda 6 years ago
The same is true for me.
This yawning is a little different for the yawing that we have when we are sleepy or tired as you don't feel sleepy or tired.
This happens every time and anywhere not only when you are doing yoga or parnayama but even when you are chanting mantras or offering devotional prayers.
Marcia Beloved 6 years ago
Whenever I enter a Home Depot store I begin constantly yawning and this continues until I exit. There must be a chemical in the air, or something or a lack of something, in the ventilation system that my body rebels against.
I also begin to yawn and get drowsy if I miss a meal or haven't gotten the proper food nourishment. Fasting and skipping meals is not something I've been able to do successfully, yet, by substituting breathing for food nutrients.
Deep breathing has assisted me with some of the drowsiness and yawning. This deep breathing is done by paying attention to breathing, and by inhaling and exhaling from a point about 2 inches above the navel. One is not to force the breathing, but to watch it and follow it mentally. By being attentive, the breathing actually improves and more oxygen is processed.
One can pay attention to breathing anytime, anywhere. You don't have to wait until a practice session to do this. It can be done as a complimentary practice to bhastrika breathing.
As you can see, you are not alone in the struggle you described. Just acknowledge the problem, understand that it is a normal problem, and try troubleshooting to find some relief. Solutions might slightly vary according to the individual.
For me, this is a persistent problem. I expect it to be my companion for awhile and I do not empower it by being fearful or negative about it. It is natural. It can be coped with, to a greater or lesser degree, by self adjustment.
