Vertigo

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

hi, I have searched and searched on internet for the answer to my vertigo. I am writing this post for help with my vertigo. I want to ask how other people resolved their vertigo and their yoga practice. I have seen a few posts on vertigo. Please answer and be more specific how you resolved your vertigo in the yoga practice.

I have joined this forum especially to find the answers to my vertigo.

I have developed vertigo, BPPV in the last year and a half due to my yoga practice. I have been practicing ashtanga yoga for the last 7, 8 years. I have had vertigo on and off for the last year and a half and sometimes quite severely after my yoga practice. I know what it is, I have spoken to ear specialists and they told me to stop doing yoga. I am quite confident that yoga causes me the vertigo. I do ashtanga yoga primary series, where you do 10 sun salutations and then all the postures. I am practicing my own version now where I eliminated all positions that have my head hanging or inversions. This way I do not get verigo. I cannot do downward dog, or anything that I have my head down or any inversions. I first took the inversions off because I got severe vertigo when I did the inversions. I stopped doing yoga and then when I started again without the inversions I still got it. I then took out all the positions that have my head hanging, such as downward dog and I do not get vertigo that way. It is sad. I love yoga so much and I do not want to give it up. I need help.

Please post if you can help me out. Have you experienced vertigo and how did you resolve it in your practice.

Thank you so much.

#2

Welcome to the forum. Thank you for posting.

Since you’ve opted to post about this not only here but on another thread, started by another member, about something not related to vertigo, I’ll try and reply to both of your comments.

First, as a community member it’s helpful when we do not “hijack” an OPs thread. Yes it can happen and I certainly understand your position relative to vertigo. And of course you are entitled to it … but know that it redirects the other person’s inquiry and we really try to stay focused here in the thread on the topic at hand. Hopefully you’ll join us in that endeavor.

In your other post you state specifically that “yoga causes vertigo”. I’m sorry, this simply is not accurate. First, the discourse is about asana, the physical practice. Yoga is a much broader practice encompassing meditation, yama, niyama, pranayama etc. Even with that in mind, asana doesn’t [I]cause[/I] vertigo. If asana [I]caused[/I] vertigo every practitioner that took up asana would also have vertigo.

So let’s clarify this …
Poor practice causes problems. This statement applies to dance, martial arts, tai bo, pilates, and piano … as well as asana. If there is a lack of integrity in the practice, a lack of proper alignment, a lack of sound intention for it, and a propensity on the part of the doer to approach said practice with aggression, violence, and pushing … there are problems.

What is important to understand is that a sound practice, properly guided, with a wholesome intention doesn’t create harm. The absence of these things, a choice not to listen, or a poor choice in guides, may.

Specifically to the issue, there are ways to deal with vertigo. For persons wishing to do so through yoga I suggest a properly trained instructor above the ERYT-500 level, who is therapeutically trained by someone of some worth, and knows what they are doing. Further, I suggest the avoidance of inversions until the issue is cleared or clearing. It would also be helpful for said persons to consider seeing a skilled chiropractor to make sure there’s no vertebral subluxation in the cervical spine. In those cases it is possible to have remedy in one visit.

Again, a qualifies yoga therapist (which the consumer must shop and vet) can absolutely provide helpful practices to remedy vertigo. And just as vertigo isn’t caused by yoga it isn’t “cured” by it either. Both are created by the student

1 Like
#3

hi, thank you for your reply.
sorry for posting multiple times on this subject. however, the threads are related to dizziness and vertigo and hence I am entitled to my own opinions like everyone else. after all this is a public forum.
as much as I appreciate your comments and I am thanking you for posting them, I do not agree with you at all. Please understand I am not a novice yogi, have tons of yoga and Hinduism knowledge. I have been practicing yoga for a long time. I know what I am taking about and unfortunately yoga can cause vertigo. I have seen specialists on this matter and I have experienced vertigo after my yoga practice. This is not a simple dizziness spell, I am talking about a medical condition called BPPV, which can give you quite severe vertigo attacks. If you have never experienced this, it might be hard to relate.

I have spoken to quite advance yoga teachers about this, such as David Williams and have not had much luck.

I am not here to cause trouble or fight with no one. I am simply in search of people who have experienced vertigo and have somehow resolved it.

Thank you.

#4

actually InnerAthlete sorry, I just re-read your post… sorry you are correct in saying that yoga is broad and only the asanas are what can cause the vertigo and yes it is the asanas that I preform that are causing me the vertigo.

as for the discussion that I had with David Williams, he suggested the same thing as you that I remove all inversions from my practice. He also said to try out what works for me and remove what I would think cause me the vertigo, which this is what I am doing.

However, I do want to do yoga for the rest of my life and that is why I want to find out if there are people out there who experienced what I do, the vertigo after their yoga practice. keep in mind, my vertigo happens only after my practice. i have stopped and started yoga and realized that it does happen after I do yoga. If I do not do it I do not have it. My vertigo attacks is something like the room keeps spinning round and round.
the ear specialist told me to stop doing yoga. that is not what I want.
I want to find a resolution to this.

#5

Any movement in asana that rocks the calcium deposits in the inner ear can trigger the issue you’ve broached. The practice of your choosing contains many such movements, not to mention several inverted poses in the Finishing Sequence which place undue strain on the cervical spine as they are not propped to maintain it.

Were you my student I’d suggest a more malleable practice, oriented in alignment, absent of Surya Namaskar, vinyasa, and fiery pranayama. And, as I’ve previously mentioned, a chiropractor familiar with the Epley Maneuver may be very helpful.

I’ll now politely bow out and leave this to others who’ve experienced the vertigo in their own bodies.

#6

Thank you inner athlete. I am very familiar with the eplay maneuver. That is the only thing that fixes my vertigo until the next time I do yoga with inversions or downward dog. I feel so cursed to have developed this condition since I love ashtanga so much and wanted to get more advanced in my practice such as second series, but without resolving this vertigo I doubt that I will even be able to do the downward dog ever again. Unfortunately there is no medical permanent fix for this other than the eplay maneuver which puts the crystal back in its place. My problem is that I get vertigo fairly often after I do yoga with inversions or downward dog that the specialist told me that I can put the crystal partical in a different ear canal where it might be harder to place back. There is a surgery you can do which has great risks and not worth it. So my options at the moment are a gentle practice and hope for the best that this will go away one day… Not everyone develops this condition but some do.

#7

I am nearly 60, started yoga at a ripe age, mostly doing Hatha yoga in a large studio setting. I rely on DVDs / books / occasional workshop in Iyengar yoga to improve alignment, keep practice safe.

I have experienced vertigo 2 times, once after I came down from shoulder-stand, the other was when I got out of bed. The first experience was really frightening as a small shake or movement of head send my whole world spinning. It lasted many days. I searched the internet, found the maneuver technique and removed the inbalance in 2 tries. When the second time it happened (gap of 2 years or so) I got rid of it quickly with the same method.

I realized when it happened the first time, I was exerting myself in shoulder-stand and my head got up too fast after releasing from the pose.

Since the incident I have learned to practice with less exertion (especially to neck and head) and rely on breath as my guide. Whenever I find myself holding my breathe I will release and ease out. I continue doing inversions but avoid vinyasa type class which require quick movement.

Good luck in finding your solution !

#8

antaraayaah, thank you for your suggestions. I will give that a try and see.

#9

I have no direct experience with vertigo other than knowing a few people that had issues that were resolved with allergy therapy, perhaps another avenue to explore.

#10

Usetobeyogi, inversion may help cure vertigo! Watch this video at 1:39 :slight_smile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQR6b7CAiqk

#11

Antaraayaah, u r kidding right? The eplay maneuver and the manouver in the video is a sequence of head positions to put the crystal back in its position. The inversions in yoga is just one position. If you don’t come up with the right sequence the crystal never goes back.
I took the advice of inner athlete and contacted a yoga therapist which advised me to see a chiropractor for spine and neck alignment. I am doing that these days. Will keep posting with my progress of my vertigo.

#12

Thanks for the link, I found the content to be sound and helpful.

gordon

#13

usetobeyogi, as you are of opinion inversion caused your vertigo , I forwarded the video hoping to dispel your belief, and hope in the near future you return to yoga asana practice without any restriction of lowering head below heart.

Greatful to InnerAthlete for verifying the content to be sound and helpful, plus many readers obtained relieve from vertigo for good, why not you conduct an experiment by first learning, then adopting the sequence when the next vertigo came? If you recover after the sequence, do mild / supported inversions and see what happens.

Wishing you well !

#14

There is so much of what you say here that deeply resonates with me. Thank you