Best Tips for Preventing Dizziness during Aerial Yoga

You may sometimes experience lightheadedness or dizziness during aerial yoga practice..

And you are not alone!

Thousands of yogists have reported experiencing some sort of dizziness, during their yoga practice. The dizziness or lightheadedness may be a result of common reasons which we’ll discuss below.

So, what causes dizziness during aerial yoga and how can you prevent it?

Read on to find out!

 

Causes of Dizziness During Aerial Yoga Training

Dizziness during aerial yoga is generally caused by 3 different things, however there are more tips below..

First, you may experience dizziness after taking a deep long breath and then holding it for some time during some asanas which you should avoid doing this at all costs.

When there is too much carbon dioxide in the blood, it may become less acidic, thus triggering a chemical alteration in your body’s nerve function, leading to a feeling of light-headedness. Consequently, your entire body will be deprived of oxygen, fluids and vital nutrients, and you may end up feeling lightheaded or weak.

Whenever you are doing yoga asanas, your body needs free blood circulation, to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen to the organs and muscles.

Second, you may also feel lightheaded when you transition from one move to another too fast.

For example, standing up abruptly from a seated forward bend pose may cause an excess amount of blood to flow downhill to the lower extremities, thus reducing the amount flowing to the heart.

When this happens, the body will adjust by constricting the blood vessels to increase the pressure while increasing the heart rate.

But if the body’s response is too slow, pressure will significantly drop in the chest, heart, head and neck, leading to dizziness.

Third, and similarly when you do full yoga inversions without building your tolerance over some time, beginning with partial inversions and working your way up.

Also, even when you are familiar with being upside down in your yoga swing you may not ease into it properly.

In either case, you will experience an extreme rush to the head, with a lot of pressure and potential pain and dizzy-ness. It may also increase pressure around your chest area, thus making it difficult for the blood to return to the heart from the head.

 

Preventing Dizziness and Light-headedness

As noted above, you may oftentimes experience some dizziness when you are doing various poses throughout your yoga hammock workout.

And while it’s not completely avoidable, there are a few changes you can make to your yoga practice, to minimize the occurrence of lightheadedness.

Here are some tips that can help to prevent dizziness during aerial yoga.

 

Snack Before Your Aero Yoga Practice

Most yoga teachers recommend doing yoga on an empty stomach. Some will tell you that you shouldn’t have a meal 3 hours prior to your workout.

And while there is nothing wrong with this, this advice may not be practical or applicable for some people, especially individuals who experience hypoglycemic attacks.

So, if your blood sugar levels tend to be lower than normal, then you shouldn’t attempt to do yoga swing poses on an empty stomach, as you may end up feeling dizzy.

Instead, it will be highly advisable to eat a light meal like a protein bar, an hour before your session starts.

This light meal will go a long way in helping to maintain optimal blood sugar levels in your body, thus preventing the occurrence of light-headedness.

 

Hydrate Adequately

If you normally experience dizziness when you stand up or lift your head from a position lower than the heart, then there is a high chance you may be suffering from postural hypertension.

In simple terms, postural hypertension is a situation where low blood pressure occurs in the body when you shift from a sitting to a standing position.

The good news is, drinking enough water before your antigravity yoga workout will help to boost blood volume while helping to stabilize blood pressure levels.

Be sure not to drink to much just before or during your session. This is more of a lifestyle change and drinking herbal teas will also help to prevent dehydration, which is one of the most common causes of dizziness.

 

Breathe from the Belly

As mentioned earlier, incorrect breathing during your aero yoga practice can lead to dizziness. However, if you happen to experience dizziness during pranayama, then it’s highly likely you are not breathing into the belly.

Mastering proper abdominal breathing will help you to execute a wide range of pranayama exercises with ease.

So, how do you breathe from the belly?

First, you need to close your eyes and observe your breathing. If your belly is not expanding and contracting, then your breathing is incorrect.

Both thoracic and clavicular breathing are a sign of anxiety and physical exertion. Furthermore, they tend to reduce the body’s oxygenation level, while causing unnecessary stress.

Practicing abdominal breathing every day will help to correct bad breathing habits, thus helping to alleviate incidences of dizziness during your yoga swing workout.

 

Balance Your Breath

Besides mastering abdominal breathing, you will also need to learn how to balance your breath.

Unfortunately, most people tend to adopt improper breathing techniques, leading to a wide range of issues such as dizziness during aerial yoga.

For example, if you breathing too fast, holding your breath for too long or exhaling deeply then you may end up feeling woozy.

The good news is, you simply need to slow down your breathing and avoid making/holding deep exhales. With this approach, your body’s carbon dioxide levels will be balanced, thus preventing dizziness.

 

Avoid Hot Conditions

If you are doing your aero yoga workout at home, then you should pay attention to the heat levels in the room you are using.

According to recent studies, a significant number of people who have experienced dizziness during yoga experienced it when temperatures were high.

Too much heat may leave you dehydrated, thus further bringing on dizziness.

So, make sure the room you are using for your aerial yoga home setup has good airflow. If it’s during summer, then you can just shift your workouts outdoors.

For example, instead of working out indoors, you can instead set up your antigravity yoga swing in your yard, under a tree.

And if it’s not possible to shift your set-up outside, then you can instead invest in a high output ceiling fan, which will help to keep to keep your workout room cool and fresh.

Also, you should consider practicing early in the morning or late in the evening. Temperatures tend to be lower early in the morning and late in the evening.

Therefore, you will avoid the excessive heat that causes dehydration and dizziness.

 

Slow Down & Focus

Aerial yoga is designed to be more of a recreational activity, meaning it’s not a competitive sport. Simply put, you are not competing with anyone.

Also, you are supposed to be enjoying your aero yoga sessions and not being too hard on yourself.

So, if you feel dizzy at any point during your session, you should stop whatever you are doing and take a break. Trying to push through with a workout when you are feeling dizzy or lightheaded can make the situation worse.

 

Modify Your Workout

Some aerial yoga workouts tend to aggravate dizziness. Such poses include standing forward bends and the camel pose aerial.

If you start feeling dizziness when you are doing any of these poses, then it’s probably time to change your workout and do something less tasking and modify your workouts accordingly.

If you start feeling even the faintest hint of dizziness, you should stop doing that pose right away and maybe do some warrior poses instead.

Also, don’t be afraid to support yourself on your yoga swing or a nearby wall, if you feel as if you are going to topple over.

 

Preventing Dizziness during Aerial Yoga

Lightheadedness and dizziness are common during aerial yoga practice. However, if the problem keeps recurring, then you shouldn’t shrug it off, instead, check in with your physician even if you are fit and healthy just to make sure.

We hope the above tips will help you to avoid dizziness and lightheadedness during your antigravity yoga practice.