A Muslim student in my yoga class once asked me whether it is OK to continue to do yoga during Ramzan (or Ramadan). This got me thinking about the suitability of yoga during such periods of fasting, when the body is denied food and water for long periods of time. Of course there are several other types of fasts that many of my other students also observe – for religious reasons, personal reasons or for reasons of health. So, I did some research on this aspect of yoga and found yoga and fasting to be very compatible.
Should you do yoga while fasting?
While there could be many different types and durations of fasts, in general, gentle yoga is a beneficial accompaniment to fasting. Fasting is a process of detoxifying and cleansing the body from within. Yoga and pranayam help this process by improving oxygenation and blood circulation. Specific aasans can help to improve the digestive process and make the detox process more effective.
In addition to this, the meditative aspect of yoga helps to reduce and control food cravings that can occur during fasting. In particular, the body may crave sugary or high fat foods during the detox process. Yoga helps control these cravings. Fasting and yoga both help to improve the immune system of the body. Yoga and fasting also work in tandem as an anti-aging system. As fasting detoxifies the body, yoga enhances circulation. Both combine to fight free radicals that are responsible for the aging process. In this way as well, yoga and fasting are complementary to each other.
Continuing to do gentle yoga when fasting is important, because it keeps stimulating the metabolic system of the body. When intake is low, the metabolic rate can fall. However doing yoga prevents this and keeps the body full of vigor. Hence, yoga gives the body energy at a time when one may be feeling low on energy.
Yoga during the month of Ramzan fasting
According to one source, yoga is very much suitable for the month of Ramzan because it matches several other aspects of the holy month of fasting. Cleanliness, nonviolence, detoxification, moderation and meditation/prayer are all a part of the yogic lifestyle and are all recommended during the month of Ramzan as well. Yoga improves physical strength and mental resilience, which are the perfect accompaniments for fasting over 30 days, which can be fairly arduous.
I must, as always, remind my readers that it is important to decide whether or not yoga is suitable based on expert advice and based on the type of fast you plan to observe.