Strike a Pose: Can Yoga Help Hair Growth?

You've seen the pretzel-like yoga poses that demand you to suspend your disbelief of what the human body is capable of, flaunted all over social media by perfect hair and makeup sirens, with surreal lighting at some unnamed paradise location. As the sun set over the ashram walls, you felt like yoga was not for you. You're no siren, have no funds  to travel the world to perfect your sun salutation alignment or spend months away from work, Namaste-ing your way through a gorgeous yoga retreat.

Don't worry. There's no need for additions or pzaz. You can reap yoga benefits right from your living room or a tiny balcony. If you have enough space to squeeze a mat somewhere, you can do yoga. If you can breathe, you can do yoga. If you're 5 or 95 and even a little bit mobile, you can do yoga. The first yogis were far from fancy. They never mentioned brands in the original texts, and tights were out of the question.

What is Yoga?

Some 5000 years ago in northern India, a tradition of balancing your entire self through controlled body movements (or stillness) emerged. The word yoga roughly translates from the original Sanskrit as "union." Not a religion nor a sport, but a philosophy, a practice, and a holistic approach to physical, mental, and emotional health, yoga combines physical postures (yoga positions or asanas), controlled breathing to calm the autonomic nervous system, and ground us in your most natural biological function, with meditation or relaxation techniques.

Doing yoga, even badly while you're learning, will reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and reduce heart rate. However, there are some other benefits you would not expect, such as systemic health improvement, boosted immune function, chronic pain relief, or hair growth.

What benefits of yoga reflect on hair growth?

Although yoga benefits can stretch for pages and pages, we'll focus on just a few of these directly impacting hair growth - such as improvements in stress management, circulation, hormone balance, sleep, and a more intense detox.

STRESS REDUCTION: Appropriate short-term stress response is what kept our species alive. It prepares us to be faster, stronger, and more capable to run or fight. This useful body reaction gets hijacked by chronic stress, as we perceive each bank loan installment or Skype ringtone as a lioness licking her fangs. Chronic stress and its psycho-physiological profile are some of the main causes of hair loss. Yoga exercises combined with breath work and mindful acknowledgment of the present moment, reduce cortisol levels, and take us out of the fight or flight, which is very expensive for the body, resource-wise. The body can, therefore, allocate energy to the peripheral, non-essential systems such as hair follicles.

BLOOD FLOW STIMULATION: Any movement makes the muscles hungrier, so the body increases blood flow to deliver adequate amounts of glucose and oxygen. There is no burning without oxygen; the alternative is cell fermentation, which is what cancers do. Blood flow is also impacted by gravitational pull, which we rarely escape in our bipedal, upright lives.  And this is where the catch lies - Yoga for hair growth focuses on inverted poses. We want to deliver more of the fresh blood to tired, weak, and starving hair follicles, and as there are no muscles to suck it in greedily, we'll have to rely on gravity and be  (sort of) upside down for a while.

HORMONE HEALTH IMPROVEMENT: Hormones do it all. They are the "man behind the curtain", pulling the "magic" strings. You can eat 5000 calories a day, and you'll gain zero pounds in the absence of the hormone insulin. You may eat 1500 and store every calorie you've ever met if insulin is too high. You might have that indestructible cortisol belly hanging around even if you're the healthiest person you know, get depressed, or ravenously hungry for no obvious reason. Sometimes hormonal imbalances such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) can lead to hair loss due to excess androgens, or our thyroid can get out of whack for any number of reasons. Yoga postures such as Saravangasana (shoulder stand or candle pose) help stimulate the thyroid gland and regulate hormones affecting hair health. 

BETTER SLEEP QUALITY: Yoga hair restoration may not always be as direct as delivering more nutrients and oxygen to the follicles. Sometimes, it supports the most critical recovery mechanisms, such as sleep. Many of the hairs limply hanging on your hairbrush have shed due to reasons accumulating from poor sleep patterns. Practicing yoga will improve sleep patterns, which is crucial for the body's natural repair and restoration cycle, which includes hair growth.

DETOX EFFECT: How fast does hair grow? Well, it depends on many things, including how many toxins your body is burdened by. Still, the body has amazing abilities for self-cleaning and elimination and can clean itself if we stop inserting more toxins. Yoga stimulates the lymphatic system and organs, including those responsible for elimination. This can help stimulate metabolism and speed up the elimination and detoxification of compounds causing damage to help you grow strong, shiny hair.

Five yoga poses to help with hair growth

So, how to make your hair grow faster? There are a few asanas that you should focus on to get the most out of your practice.

Prasarita Padottanasana: Put your legs wider than hip-width apart, feet forward. Lean forward from your hip joints, placing your hands on the floor. If possible, rest your head on the floor or against a yoga block to maintain stability. Stay in this position for a few seconds, and with an inhale, slowly bring your torso back up.

Sasangasana: This pose can increase blood flow to the scalp without the need to be completely upside down. Kneel on the floor with your feet on tiptoe and the top of your head touching the floor. Lean forward at the hips with the top of your head on the floor. Interlace your hands behind your back and raise your arms up to stretch your chest and the front of your shoulders. Move your body slightly back and forth, creating a massaging effect on the scalp.

Uttanasana: This is one of the first postures for new yogis. You must stand with your feet hip-width apart and bend forward at the hips, keeping your spine straight. Hang down your head towards the ground and try to reach the floor with your hands on the floor. Stay in this position for 30 seconds and come up slowly. This pose stimulates digestion, supports better nutrient absorption, and stimulates abdominal organs, which are involved in the detoxification process.

Vajrasana: Also known as "Diamond pose," is one of the simplest poses in yoga. Kneel down and sit with your buttocks touching the heels, and keep your feet together. Sit with a straight spine and neck and put your hands on your knees. Breathe deeply and keep your eyes closed. Hold for 2-8 minutes.

Ustrasana: Begin by sitting on your heels. Root through the thighs and knees, lifting the spine while the chest and throat are opening. Your pelvis will be directly over your knees. Stay there, breathing fully, for 5 to 10 breaths.

Tech tips for extra hair growth

If you are not interested in yoga, go insane holding still for more than two seconds, have found it's not your cup of matcha, or simply want a targeted solution for how to grow hair faster, some leading beauty-tech brands are making this dream come true with no yoga pants in sight.

They have incorporated proven hair growth technologies, such as red LED light therapy, into simple, easy-to-use, and highly effective handheld devices, serving millions of fans wondering how to get thicker hair at home. Red LED light addresses hair loss and promotes healthier hair growth by enhancing cellular activity, improving blood circulation to the scalp, and prolonging the hair growth phase to minimize shedding.

The latest devices grabbing the problem by the short hairs (you will be subjected to a few lame puns on this blog, you're welcome), FAQ Swiss star FAQ™ 301 and FOREO's LUNA™ 4 hair are changing the landscape of the hair growth market, putting years of research and development into delivering professional results, non-invasive treatments, and user-friendly interfaces. 

As part of the FAQ Swiss family, FAQ™ 301 brings the benefits of powerful light therapy developed through its hero sister, the anti-aging facial LED mask: FAQ™ 202. 20 red LED lights in FAQ™ 301 boost sluggish follicles while T-Sonic™ massage enhances microcirculation and, with the stimulating effect of the silicone bristles, helps to dislodge product buildup and oil accumulation on the follicles. This improves the absorption and effectiveness of other hair treatments, such as the Divine FAQ™ Scalp Recovery & Thick Hair Probiotic Serum. Enriched with red clover extract and Centella Asiatica, it supports the scalp and hair strands to enhance their health.

GET YOUR FAQ™ 301

If you are a dedicated FOREO LUNA™ lover, you'll love their expansion into hair care in the fourth generation. LUNA™ 4 hair is the 2-in-1 scalp-massaging device that promotes healthier hair growth at the level of the scalp, and you can use it to spread the product and evenly coat the entire strand when you're doing any intense regeneration treatments, deep conditioning, hot oils, or serums, such as the one designed specifically to create synergistic effects with the LUNA™ 4 hair device - FOREO’s brand new LUNA™ Dual-Peptide Scalp Serum. Featuring Cica, and Portulaca Extract with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers, it calms the scalp, shields it from oxidative stress, and keeps it moisturized as the Peptide Complex boosts scalp and hair health by ramping up collagen production and fortifying the hair shaft to reduce breakage and improve hair texture. 

Conclusion

"Your body exists in the past, and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present," said B.K.S. Iyengar, one of the most famous yoga teachers worldwide. This is exactly the mystical and Yodaesque way a yoga teacher would put the simple truth of movement and breath that helps your mind and body call a truce. The different types of yoga have now captivated people all over the world. You can choose between yin yoga, hatha yoga, ashtanga, or vinyasa… but yoga for hair growth is, regardless of the type of yoga, mostly focused on specific inverted positions that will increase blood circulation in hair roots or hormone balancing positions, improving the look and health of hair strands.

So, bottoms up or red lights on, choose the hair growth technology or method that works best for your life and is sustainable long-term. Stay curious, stay beautiful, relax, let your hair down, and enjoy living in your skin. Namaste!