From Tired to Toned: What Yawning Really Means in Pilates
“I’m so sorry for yawning so much, I did really enjoy the session” is one of those statements that I wish I had a £1 every time I hear it.
Understandably, people are often embarrassed or self-conscious about letting a yawn go during a physical movement class feeling that they ‘should’ be more energised.
But the good news is, you’re not alone…& I’m not offended by it when I see it in my sessions.
Stretch, Breathe… Yawn? The Pilates Mystery Uncovered
Here are some of the reasons why your Pilates practice could be making you yawn:
1. Are you tired?
If you’re not sleeping well or are particularly busy, then it’s perhaps not surprising that you’re yawning more.
And let’s face it when it comes to mid-life as a woman, peri- & post-menopause can hit our rest time in so many ways:
- insomnia,
- needing a wee(s) in the night,
- waking with our brain on overdrive and unable to get back to sleep (and why is that always at 3am?!),
- waking way before the alarm then dozing and struggling to get up at the right time.
Changing hormone levels can affect the brain’s sleep centre as well as other areas that impact our sleep.
Pilates can help reduce stress levels and improve your ability to stay asleep and potentially sleep well – I know my clients always comment on how well they sleep after a session
2. Feeling hot?
Yawning – along with sweating can help bring your temperature down by exchanging warm air from your lungs with cooler air from around you
This may also help cool down the brain helping it to stay more alert.
For women in the lead up to a period, or experiencing effects of menopause, the body’s internal thermostat may respond differently making you feel suddenly hot (or cold) in a space where previously you’d felt fine.
That yawn can help to cool down the brain and reassure your internal thermostat (hypothalamus) that all is ok.
3. Heard of the ‘stretch-yawning syndrome’?
Also known as pandiculation some people experience yawning when they stretch or are otherwise using peak forces in certain muscles.
This could be a central nervous system reset rousing you ready for activity, particularly if you’ve had a more sedentary day. Or perhaps just your body getting ready for movement and adapting to your Pilates environment.
4. Wake up sleepy head
– yawning is sometimes associated with increased heart rate and alertness – so it may be your reflexes trying to wake you up (part of that stretch-yawn-syndrome I mentioned above).
5. Are you used to breathing more shallow and short?
If so, the breathing patterns used in Pilates, in connection with movement may feel unusual until you get used to them.
It’s not uncommon for people to hold their breath when concentrating, balancing or co-ordinating movements and so a yawn may be triggered as a way to regulate your breathing.
And because breathing is one of the original 6 founding principles of Pilates, there’s a lot of focus on breathing in our sessions…making you more aware of your breath and potentially triggering yawns as a result.
6. Are you hydrated?
Being even a little dehydrated can affect our cognitive function and energy levels…cue that yawn!
It does more than that though too. Struggling to find the right word for something? Forgetting where you’ve put your glasses when they were on your head all along?
What’s often referred to as brain fog in mid-life women experiencing menopausal effects can be helped a great deal by staying sufficiently hydrated.
And that also means not avoiding drinking before exercising to reduce the chance of those ‘oops moments‘.
While it may seem logical, this ‘trick’ can actually make matters worse by concentrating your urine in a way that can irritate your bladder. Want to know more about how to support your pelvic floor while exercising? Click here
7. Feeling safe and relaxed
– if you’re doing Pilates at the end of a hectic, busy or stressful day and it’s in a space where you feel safe and supported your brain and body may be relaxing
And that’s a good thing, right?
We all need that safe space where we can be ourselves, relax in our own bodies and do what feels good. And if that’s your Pilates session, I for one am absolutely thrilled to hear it.
8. Yawns are contagious
– so if you see someone else yawning it can trigger a response yawn in yourself.
Chances are reading this blog, and looking at the pictures in it is making you want to yawn (imagine the effect it had on me while writing it! ) – which totally proves this point.
No vaccinations needed though, just stretch, yawn and enjoy it.
9. Nutritional deficiencies
– if you’re often low in energy, feeling sluggish or never feeling refreshed despite sufficient sleep it’s worth talking to your doctor to have levels of vitamin B12, Vitamin D, iron, thyroid hormones tested.
Ensuring you’re consuming enough zinc and other essential minerals may also help.
Perimenopause can also affect our energy levels and feelings of alertness – click here to read more about whether this could be a factor for you.
10. Time of day.
The time of day when you go to your Pilates session may also influence those yawns nudging at your airwaves.
If you’re attending an evening class when you’re usually putting your feet up on the sofa and breathing a sigh of relief at the end of a long day, it could just be that your natural rhythms recognise that point in your usual cycle of activities.
Morning sessions for non-morning people can also prove a challenge if you’re trying to avoid yawning as your body is trying to nudge itself into action.
11. The caffeine trap.
This can be a vicious cycle. You have your cup of caffeine (are you a tea or coffee person – or one for energy drinks?) in the morning to get you going, then when you hit that lull mid-afternoon, it’s caffeine that you reach for again to give you that boost to get you through the rest of the day.
The trouble with this is that caffeine has a half-life of 4-6 hours, which means that 4-6 hours after you’ve drunk it, half of the caffeine is still in your system. Which could be about the time you go to bed, or even in the early hours of the morning – knock-on effect is poor sleep.
So you wake up tired, reach for caffeine and start the cycle all over again.
Combatting this one is multi-faceted:
- Ensure you have adequate protein sources in your lunch
- Stay well hydrated with non-caffeinated drinks throughout the day
- Pepper short movement breaks throughout your day – 1-5 minutes going for a walk, taking the stairs, or if you’re working from home dancing in the kitchen or doing a few Pilates moves could be enough to revive you without that caffeine.
Other Things that may help
If you feel those yawns are affecting your enjoyment of your Pilates practice or you’d just rather avoid them if possible, here are some things that may help.
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Breathe through your nose
- studies indicate that this can cool the brain and potentially reduce yawningBreathing through your nose is also the best way to regulate the temperature of the air that you’re breathing in due to the unique filter and warming system in your nostrils
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Drink cool water
- increasing your hydration levels and cooling you down. Ensure you’re well hydrated before exercising too
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Wear appropriate clothing for your workout space to help your body stay at a comfortable temperature
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- I recommend my clients wear layers that are easy to remove and add back on as they warm up at the start of the session and cool down at the end.
- In my sessions you’re also very welcome to bring a blanket to snuggle under for our breath focus at the end
- I recommend my clients wear layers that are easy to remove and add back on as they warm up at the start of the session and cool down at the end.
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- and guess what – there’s full permission to wide-mouthed yawn within this section
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Enjoy the stretch!
Are you sure it’s nothing serious then?
If you only notice that you’re yawning when you’re tired, or doing stretch type activities as described above then everything is most likely just fine.
However, if you notice you’re yawning a lot all of the time for no apparent reason,
OR
the amount you yawn has suddenly increased substantially
THEN
do talk with your doctor. They can help determine whether excessive yawning is occurring as a result of a medical condition.
Some medications may trigger an increase in yawning as a side effect so do consult your doctor if you recently started taking medications for an underlying condition and have started yawning a lot more than you typically do.
To find out more about my in-person Pilates sessions in Potterhanworth please click here.
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