Can We Bath After Yoga Practice? (Answered!)
You’ve sweated it out on the mat, and now all you want to do is to stand under a shower. A good question to ask yourself at this point is – can I take a bath immediately after yoga?
It is not recommended to take a bath immediately after yoga; ideally, wait for about 20 to 30 minutes before taking a bath. Allowing your body to cool down after your practice is crucial for it to return to its resting state and reabsorb some of the lost essential minerals. It also helps in normalizing heart rate and body temperature.
In this article, we’ll get to understand the effects of taking a bath immediately after yoga.
We’ll share some tips for taking a bath after yoga and discuss if it is better to take a bath before or after yoga.
Let us dive straight into the effects of taking a bath immediately after yoga.
Is it better to take a bath before or after your yoga practice?
The decision to take a bath before or after your yoga practice depends upon several factors. If your practice is aerobic or intense, where you sweat, it is good to take a bath after yoga. If yoga for you is also a spiritual pursuit, yogic texts will advise you to take a bath before your practice.
One of the limbs of the eight-fold path of Ashtanga yoga is the list of observances that a practitioner should follow.
Saucha, or cleanliness, is one such observance.
Some yogic texts talk about the benefit of doing yoga early in the morning after taking a bath.
This is symbolic of treating your practice as a form of worship.
However, if you take a bath before your yoga practice, bathing with hot water can create stiffness in the body, making it difficult to stretch.
In this case, it is advisable to bathe with cold or lukewarm water.
Taking a bath before yoga also freshens up the body and mind, useful for a focused and safe practice.
Tips for taking a bath after yoga
Here is everything you need to know about taking a bath after yoga.
Relax for some time before taking a bath
It is essential to give your body time for recovery, something like a cooling down period.
You can do a less vigorous activity, like taking a slow walk or sitting quietly in nature.
Observing your breath is a great way to allow your body and mind to assimilate the benefits of your yoga practice and let it come to its normal resting state.
This will also help to regulate your heart rate and body temperature.
Do not wait for more than 30 minutes to take a bath
Especially if your yoga session has been intense and aerobic, the sweat on your body will cause a buildup of bacteria and yeast on the skin.
While it is crucial to allow the body to cool, it is also important to rinse the bacteria off.
Anything between 20 to 30 minutes is an ideal time to wait before taking a bath.
Waiting any longer can cause skin irritations.
Cold shower or hot – which is better?
A cold shower is much more effective for physical recovery than a hot shower.
The cold water helps constrict blood flow, lowers inflammation, and is beneficial for the body’s immune system as it increases the production of white blood cells.
It aids the muscles and joints, tightens the skin, and constricts the hair cuticles, strengthening the follicles.
Cold water also maintains the skin’s natural moisture and prevents the skin from drying.
On the other hand, hot water dries up the inner layer of the skin, which provides moisture and protection to the body and hair.
Do not use anything with harsh chemicals
Soap is overrated.
While it is not essential to use soap every day, if rinsing with only water does not feel complete or clean, you can use natural cleansers like clay, flours, oatmeal, or pre-made herbal powders.
These are gentle on the skin, do not strip the skin of its natural oils, and are safe to use as a daily regime.
Exfoliate to clean clogged pores
Sweat, bacteria, toxins, and pollutants can block the pores of your skin.
You can use a soft cloth scrub to gently exfoliate the dead cells’ layer.
Another option is to use sea salt.
You can soak yourself in a bath or add some sea salt to your bathing water. Sea salt is not only a natural and effective remedy for exfoliation; it also brings relief to aching muscles, helps in better blood circulation, and maintains the skin’s natural oils.
Do not drastically change water temperatures
It is advisable not to switch immediately from cold to hot water or vice versa as it can adversely affect your blood pressure.
If you are not used to bathing with cold water, you can start with lukewarm and end with cold water.
What about if you should take a bath before your yoga practice? Is it better than taking a bath after? Let us find out.
Effects of taking a bath immediately after yoga
Here are the effects of taking a bath immediately after yoga on the body:
1. Puts more strain on the body
Bathing is an activity that can put more strain on the body.
After an intense yoga or a workout session, you do not want to exert your body further.
Therefore, it is advisable to wait for some time until all the sweat has dried and the body is feeling rested and calm before taking a bath.
2. Redirects blood flow to the surface of the skin
When you take a shower immediately after yoga, it draws blood from the internal organs and glands of your body and redirects it to the surface of the skin.
This is why it is essential not to take a bath immediately after yoga.
3. Drains away prana or vital energy
A yoga session activates the flow of prana or vital life force in the body. It is believed that taking a bath or showering immediately after yoga drains away this prana that is generated during the practice.
Waiting for some time before taking a bath will ensure that prana is not depleted and flows freely in the body.
4. Can cause flu-like symptoms
Depending on its intensity, a yoga session generates heat in the body; taking a bath immediately after yoga means the body will experience fluctuations in temperature.
This temperature variance can lead to developing cough, cold, and fever.
It is best to wait for some time before getting into the shower or bath so that the body can return to its average temperature.
And now, some of our best tips for taking a bath after yoga.
Parting Thoughts
How you spend the first half an hour or so after a yoga session determines how you recover and re-energize for the rest of your day.
It is as crucial as the practice itself.
Therefore, it is essential to take care of your body during that time by being mindful of what you should and should not do, one of them being how and when to bathe.
Another vital question to ask yourself is if you should be doing yoga in a closed room.
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