Yoga doesn't treat epilepsy or replace medicine
Epilepsy Action: "Complementary therapies cannot cure or control epilepsy". The NHS (National Health Service): "Do not change your dose or stop taking your medicine without talking to your specialist."
Yoga guide
Yoga for epilepsy: safety on the mat, slow breathing not over-breathing, hot rooms, sleep and stress, what the trials show, and a class
Most people with epilepsy can do yoga. Exercise rarely brings on seizures, and yoga may help with stress, anxiety and quality of life, which matter when stress and poor sleep are the triggers people name most. Whether yoga reduces seizures isn't known: the Cochrane review found too little evidence, and in the best trial since, fewer seizures were a secondary finding from self-reported diaries. Yoga goes alongside your anti-seizure medicine and your epilepsy team's advice, never instead of them.
This guide covers how to set up a safe practice, why slow breathing is fine but fast, forceful breathing such as kapalabhati is best left out, hot rooms, relaxation, flashing lights, water and heights, what the trials show, seizure first aid for a class, and a free 30-minute practice that follows the order the trial used.
The short version
Most people with epilepsy can do yoga
Exercise rarely brings on seizures: in 204 adults with active epilepsy, only 2% had seizures in more than half of their sessions. The international task force: "in general, sport activities are unlikely to provoke or facilitate the occurrence of seizures."
The evidence on seizures is thin
The Cochrane review found 2 small trials (50 people): "no reliable conclusions can be drawn at present". The best trial since, 160 adults in New Delhi with a sham yoga comparison, found a small fall in felt stigma, and less anxiety. Fewer seizures were a secondary finding in 72 people, from self-reported diaries. A 2025 Cochrane review says mind-body treatments "may reduce seizure frequency slightly", on low-certainty evidence.
Breathe slowly; leave out fast, forceful breathing
Deep over-breathing is used in EEG (brain wave) tests because it can change brain activity, and it brings on absence seizures in most children with childhood absence epilepsy. Kapalabhati, bhastrika and breath of fire are fast breathing: skip them unless your epilepsy team agrees. The trial's breathing was all slow.
Set up for a seizure, not for fear
Tell the teacher what your seizures look like and how to help. With seizures that aren't controlled, keep balance poses near a wall and leave out headstands, handstands and other poses you could fall from onto your head (our suggestion, from the task force's way of judging risk by what would happen if a seizure struck; it hasn't been tested).
Heat, sleep and medicine on time matter more than any pose
A high temperature is a common trigger, and topiramate and zonisamide can reduce sweating; avoid hot yoga while seizures aren't controlled or on those medicines (our suggestion). Stress, lack of sleep and tiredness are the triggers people name most, and missing doses is one of the most common.
Epilepsy, and what a yoga class asks of it
What epilepsy is
"Epilepsy is a condition that affects your brain and causes seizures (sometimes called fits). It cannot currently be cured, but treatment can often help manage it." (the NHS) Seizures range from brief absences or odd feelings to tonic-clonic seizures, where the body stiffens and jerks: "Most tonic-clonic seizures last between 1 and 3 minutes." (Epilepsy Action) Our exercise and epilepsy guide has the numbers.
Treatment
"The main treatment for epilepsy is medicine to prevent seizures, called anti-epileptic or anti-seizure medicine." (the NHS) If medicine is ever to be stopped, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) says it's planned with the specialist, reducing it gradually.
Triggers that matter in a class
Epilepsy Action: "Missing one or more doses of your epilepsy medicine is one of the most common seizure triggers." and "Many people with epilepsy say that feeling tired or not sleeping well can trigger seizures." A high temperature from an infection is a trigger, "particularly common" in children, and "About 3 to 5 in every 100 people with epilepsy (3-5%) have seizures that are triggered by flashing or flickering lights." The Epilepsy Society lists essential oils "not recommended for use by people with epilepsy", including rosemary, fennel, sage, eucalyptus, hyssop, wormwood, camphor and spike lavender.
Where a class meets these
A class can include fast breathing, a heated room, upside-down poses and arm balances, long eyes-closed relaxation, scented oils, music with lighting effects, and versions on water (paddleboard yoga) or in the air (aerial yoga). Each has a note below (our list).
Source 11
Functional seizures are different
Functional (dissociative) seizures look like epileptic seizures but have no epileptic brain activity, and are treated differently. In a 50-person pilot, adding a yoga nidra recording to education "did not provide measurable additional benefit over the control condition". This page is about epilepsy.
Source 17
Setting up a safe practice
Tell the teacher, if you want to
Epilepsy Action: "If you take part in yoga classes, you can tell the person leading the class that you have epilepsy and how they can help if you have a seizure." Show them your care plan if you have one.
Source 1
How much care you need depends on your seizures
The ILAE (International League Against Epilepsy) task force judges each activity by what would happen if a seizure struck during it, and says people "with uncontrolled seizures associated with impaired awareness may practice and compete in group 1 sports", which include dancing. A mat class is closest to that group (our reading). If your seizures are controlled, or never affect your awareness or make you fall, few changes are needed.
With seizures that aren't controlled
Our suggestion, untested: practise with someone who knows what to do, put your mat away from hard furniture and edges, do one-leg balances beside a wall, and leave out headstands, handstands, forearm stands, shoulder stands, plough and arm balances such as crow, because a seizure in them means falling onto your head or neck. No study shows these poses bring on seizures; the reason is the fall.
Time of day
If your seizures tend to come soon after waking or after a poor night, practise later in the day (our suggestion).
Source 18
Bones
Long-term use of carbamazepine, phenytoin, primidone or sodium valproate is linked with lower bone density, NICE says. With osteoporosis:
Modify or avoid exercises that round your back deeply or repeatedly, especially with a weight: sit-ups, toe touches, Pilates roll-downs and curl-ups, and extreme yoga forward folds. Bend from the hips instead. You do not need to avoid bending, twisting or lifting altogether: move smoothly and keep your upper back straight.
Twisting should be safe if you do it smoothly and comfortably. Slow down and shorten fast or forceful twists, and leave out the added weight.
Source 15
Breathing: slow, not over-breathing
What over-breathing doesStrong evidence
In 433 people with epilepsy, 5 minutes of over-breathing during an EEG brought on a seizure in 2. In childhood absence epilepsy, over-breathing brings on absence seizures, usually within 90 seconds, in most children. It is far less often a trigger in adults with focal epilepsy. Epilepsy Action's EEG page: "There's a very small risk that you could have a seizure during these activities."
Fast yoga breathing: a caution from physiology, not from reports of harmStrong evidence
Our search found no case report of a seizure caused by kapalabhati, bhastrika or breath of fire, and a review of 76 yoga adverse-event reports found none. But fast, forceful breathing is a form of over-breathing (our reading), and the Epilepsy Society says extreme breathing techniques in yoga may need extra care.
Breathing deeply for a few minutes is part of an electroencephalogram (EEG), a test of brain waves, because it can change the brain's electrical activity, and Epilepsy Action says it carries a very small risk of bringing on a seizure. The Epilepsy Society says extreme breathing techniques in yoga may need extra care. Skip breath of fire unless your epilepsy team agrees.
Slow breathing and meditation are fine for most peopleEmerging evidence
The Epilepsy Society: "Relaxing activities such as meditation, visualisation, yoga, or slow, focused breathing can help reduce stress and so help to reduce seizures for some people." The trial's breathing was alternate nostril breathing with a 2-second hold, left nostril breathing and humming bee breath, all slow.
Deliberate fast, deep over-breathing can bring on absence seizures in some children, and the Epilepsy Society says extreme breathing techniques in yoga may need extra care. Slow, gentle breathing is different.
Humming bee breath (bhramari), as the trial used it
There's no 3D demo for this one. The trial did 3 minutes of it; these steps are our wording.
- Sit comfortably on a chair or a cushion.
- Breathe in slowly through your nose.
- Keep your mouth closed and hum gently as you breathe out, slowly, like a bee.
- Keep the hum soft and the breath unforced; breathe normally for a moment if you need to.
- Carry on for about 3 minutes.
Source 10
With absence epilepsy, and for childrenStrong evidence
Leave out fast or forceful breathing altogether (our suggestion): over-breathing is far more likely to bring on seizures in children with absence seizures than in adults.
Hot rooms, flashing lights, oils, water and heights
Hot yogaEmerging evidence
A raised body temperature, with or without a fever, can lower the seizure threshold, and "Some ASMs, particularly topiramate and zonisamide, may predispose to hyperthermia or heatstroke in some PWE by disturbing thermoregulation via insufficient sweat production during high ambient temperatures" (ASMs are anti-seizure medicines; PWE, people with epilepsy). Epilepsy Action says the evidence on extreme temperatures is mixed. Our search found no study of hot yoga in people with epilepsy; the one hot yoga seizure on record came from low blood sodium after drinking 3.5 litres of water, in a woman without epilepsy. Our suggestion: avoid hot yoga while seizures aren't controlled, and on topiramate or zonisamide; otherwise, drink normally and leave if you feel unwell.
Flashing and flickering lightsStrong evidence
About 3 to 5 in 100 people with epilepsy are photosensitive. With photosensitive epilepsy, avoid classes with strobe or flickering lights, and keep a follow-along video at a sensible brightness and distance (our suggestion).
Source 27
Essential oils
Ask for an unscented class, or a mat away from diffusers: the Epilepsy Society lists rosemary, fennel, sage, eucalyptus, hyssop, wormwood, camphor and spike lavender as oils "not recommended for use by people with epilepsy".
Source 16
Paddleboard and aerial yoga
Paddleboard yoga carries the water risks of swimming, and aerial yoga the height risks of climbing (our reading). Follow our exercise and epilepsy guide's swimming and heights advice: never on the water alone, someone with you who knows what to do, and a buoyancy aid; talk to your epilepsy team first.
Sleep, stress and relaxation
Stress and poor sleep are the triggers people name mostEmerging evidence
In 1,677 people, "Emotional stress, sleep deprivation, and tiredness were the three most frequently reported precipitants." A UK clinic survey of 104 people found the same. Epilepsy Action: "Yoga can improve your general health and wellbeing by helping you relax and reduce stress. Stress can trigger seizures for some people."
If your seizures come when you're very relaxedEmerging evidence
The Epilepsy Society: "If your seizures tend to happen when you are very relaxed, or during sleep, then deeply relaxing activities such as meditation and hypnotherapy may increase your risk of having seizures." Then keep the final rest and yoga nidra short, rest sitting up, or keep your eyes open (our suggestion).
Source 16
Sleep and medicine first
A class won't make up for a missed dose or a short night. Take your medicine at the same times each day, and keep a regular sleep pattern; a gentle evening practice can be part of winding down.
Source 11
What the trials show
Yoga hasn't been shown to reduce seizures. The best trial found a small effect on felt stigma, with less anxiety and better quality of life; anti-seizure medicine carries the evidence for seizure control.
The Cochrane review: too little evidenceStrong evidence
Two trials, 50 people, who all kept taking their medicine: "Overall, we assessed the quality of evidence as low; no reliable conclusions can be drawn at present regarding the efficacy of yoga as a treatment for epilepsy." One trial tested Sahaja yoga meditation in 10 people against two comparison groups; in the other, acceptance and commitment therapy reduced seizures more than yoga in 18 people. Both were tiny and unblinded.
The best trial: less felt stigma, a small effectEmerging evidence
At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 160 adults with epilepsy who felt highly stigmatised were randomised to yoga or a sham yoga (movements without slow breathing or attention to the body), with the assessor blinded. Both groups had education sessions, 7 supervised group sessions over 3 months, and home practice "at least 5 times a week for a duration of 30 minutes". At 6 months, yoga reduced felt stigma more, but the effect was small, and the confidence interval for it crosses zero (Cohen's d 0.23, 95% confidence interval -0.08 to 0.55) even though the paper reports a significant P value. Anxiety, mindfulness and quality of life improved more with yoga.
Source 6
Seizures in that trial: a secondary, self-reported resultMixed evidence
In the 72 people who'd had seizures in the past year, seizures more than halved in 14 of 35 (40%) with yoga against 5 of 37 (13.5%) with sham yoga, and 11 against 2 became seizure free. But this was a secondary outcome, from self-reported diaries, and the authors say "there was no statistically significant change in seizures per week across interventions" and "an adequately powered, large-scale trial is required". Attendance was about 60% and 54%, and blinding wasn't checked.
Source 6
Mind-body treatments: maybe a slight short-term dropMixed evidence
A 2025 Cochrane review of adults (searches to 2023, before the trial above): "Three studies showed that mind-body interventions may reduce seizure frequency slightly at six to eight weeks", by about 3 a month, on low-certainty evidence, with no long-term data and no reported side effects. The children's review found one small yoga study, with uncertain results.
Weaker studies and an auditMixed evidence
A trial of 20 children reported that none in the yoga group had seizures at 3 and 6 months, an implausibly strong result from 10 children. An audit of 15 yoga and epilepsy studies concluded: "it is imperative to be cautious before widely recommending yoga in epilepsy."
Exercise in generalEmerging evidence
A review of 14 studies (331 people) found moderate exercise didn't significantly change seizure frequency, and quality of life improved a little. Seizures brought on by exercise are rare.
Loosen up, sitting
The trial's loosening practice took "approximately 5 minutes; 5 rounds each": wrist circles, shoulder rolls and ankle circles, 5 each way; neck movements as 5 slow nods, tilts and turns, done separately (from the move page's dose, "use separate nods, tilts and turns instead"). Sit on a chair or a cushion.
Slow breathing
Alternate nostril breathing: 5 minutes (the trial); the trial held the breath for 2 seconds after each in-breath, and the move page says the basic version doesn't need holds. Slow breathing: 2 minutes, in for about 4 and out for about 6, with no holds (our gentle yoga for beginners class), or 5 minutes in our yoga for epilepsy class, which follows the trial's left nostril breathing and humming bee breath (2 and 3 minutes). The humming bee breath steps are in the breathing section above.
Standing poses, beside a wall
Mountain pose: 5 slow breaths; chair pose: 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths; warrior II: 3 to 5 breaths each side; tree pose: 2 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each side, fingertips on a wall (our gentle yoga for beginners class). With seizures that aren't controlled, keep a wall beside you for every balance (our suggestion).
On the floor, and rest
Cat-cow: 6 slow rounds; bridge: 6 to 8 slow lifts; lying twist and reclined figure four: 45 seconds each side (our gentle yoga for beginners class). Corpse pose: the move page's dose, "Lie still for at least 5 minutes, up to 10", or 15 minutes as in the trial; keep it short, or sit up, if your seizures come when you're very relaxed. Easy pose: 1 minute sitting to finish, for the trial's positive resolve.
3D demoCat-cowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupine spinal twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoReclined figure four (eye of the needle, Sucirandhrasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoCorpse pose (Savasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoEasy pose (Sukhasana)Beginner · No equipmentPoses and practices to change
Each change is our suggestion, from the sources named; none has been tested in a trial.
Fast, forceful breathing
Kapalabhati, bhastrika and breath of fire: leave out unless your epilepsy team agrees, and leave out altogether with absence epilepsy and for children. Box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing hold the breath; no harm has been shown in epilepsy, but they aren't needed (our reading).
Upside-down poses and arm balances
Headstand, handstand, forearm stand, shoulder stand, plough and crow: leave them out while seizures aren't controlled, because a seizure in them means a fall onto your head or neck (our suggestion, from the ILAE task force's way of judging risk; untested).
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
Source 4
One-leg balances
Tree, warrior III, dancer and half moon: beside a wall while seizures aren't controlled (our suggestion).
Source 4
Long relaxation and yoga nidra
Fine for most people; shorten them, or rest sitting up, if your seizures come in deep relaxation or sleep.
Source 16
Classes to follow
Our yoga for epilepsy class follows the trial's 30-minute home practice: seated loosening, slow breathing, a lying meditation and a positive resolve. It isn't a seizure treatment. The gentle class adds standing poses beside a wall; the hatha and stress classes need only the changes above; the restorative class is rest and slow breathing. If seizures make you fall, chair yoga keeps you seated.
Yoga for epilepsy: a 30-minute seated and lying practice with slow breathing, in the order a trial used
A 30-minute yoga practice for epilepsy in the order of the best trial: seated loosening, slow breathing, a lying meditation and a positive resolve.
30 minBeginner8 movesNo equipment
Gentle yoga for beginners
A 25-minute gentle yoga class for complete beginners and over-50s: slow breathing, a warm-up, supported standing poses, floor poses and a closing rest.
25 minBeginner14 movesNo equipment
Hatha yoga class: a 45-minute beginner session
A 45-minute beginners' hatha yoga class in the order trial teachers used: relaxation, breathing, floor and standing poses held for a few breaths, then rest.
45 minBeginner20 movesA step, Firm cushion
Yoga for stress relief: a 20-minute class to breathe, loosen, move and slow down
Twenty minutes of yoga for stressful days: the NHS breathing exercise, neck, shoulder and spine moves, standing poses that warm you up, then a slow wind-down.
20 minBeginner13 movesA wall
Restorative yoga sequence: 45 minutes of supported rest
A 45-minute restorative yoga sequence: five fully supported poses held for 4 to 10 minutes each, with slow breathing and a long final rest.
45 minBeginner6 movesFirm cushion, A wall
Seated chair yoga: 15 minutes, no standing
A 15-minute chair yoga routine done entirely sitting: slow breathing, neck, shoulder and wrist stretches, seated twists and side bends, and a calm finish.
15 minBeginner16 movesA bench or boxSeizure first aid in a class
These are the lines from our exercise and epilepsy guide, word for word, apart from the line marked as our suggestion.
During a tonic-clonic seizure: stay calm, and
- Protect them from injury by moving harmful objects away, and cushion their head.
- Look for an epilepsy ID card or jewellery, and time how long the seizure lasts.
- Don't hold them down, put anything in their mouth, or move them unless they're in danger.
- Once the jerking stops, gently roll them onto their side (the recovery position).
- Stay with them until they've fully recovered, and don't give them anything to eat or drink until then.
On a mat
Move blocks, bolsters and anything hard away, and cushion their head with a folded blanket (our suggestion, from the NHS's "cushion their head if they're on the ground").
Source 35
During a focal seizure
Stay with them and keep them safe, gently guide them away from danger, stay calm and reassuring, and time it. Don't restrain them.
A care plan
Many people with epilepsy have a care plan, which may include rescue medicine, and don't need an ambulance every time. If you exercise with someone regularly, show them your plan.
Source 2
Warning signs: when to call 999, and when to see your team
These are the warning signs from our exercise and epilepsy guide and our yoga guides, word for word, apart from the lines marked as our suggestion. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999.
Call 999 (911 in the US) for a seizure if
- It's their first seizure.
- It lasts more than 5 minutes, or longer than is usual for them.
- One seizure follows another without them recovering in between, or they've had 3 or more in 24 hours.
- They're seriously injured, or have trouble breathing afterwards.
- The seizure happened in water and they may have swallowed or breathed in water, even if they seem fully recovered.
Also call 999
For a collapse during exercise with chest pain, palpitations or breathlessness, or if someone faints while exercising. A collapse during exertion isn't always epilepsy, and NICE says it needs an urgent heart check.
Overheating on topiramate or zonisamide
Very hot skin with little or no sweating, confusion, muscle cramps, or a fast heartbeat or breathing: move to a cool, shaded place, sponge the skin with cool (not cold) water, drink cold water and get urgent medical help.
Source 12
Urgent GP appointment or NHS 111
If you think you've had a seizure for the first time and didn't go to hospital, or you've had a seizure after a long time without one.
Source 2
Talk to your epilepsy team if
Talk to them before you try fast breathing practices, hot yoga, aerial or paddleboard yoga, or long relaxation if your seizures come when you're relaxed or asleep (our suggestion), and if:
- You've had seizures during or soon after exercise more than once.
- Your medicine is being changed or reduced.
- Side effects such as dizziness or tiredness are getting in the way.
- You've broken a bone easily, or have taken a medicine linked to bone loss for a long time.
Medicines
"Do not change your dose or stop taking your medicine without talking to your specialist." The ILAE says changes to medicine should always be made under close medical supervision. Missing doses is one of the most common triggers.
Epilepsy Action: "Complementary therapies should not be used as alternative treatments. This means they should not replace any epilepsy medicines prescribed to you".
In pregnancy
The NHS: "If you're planning to get pregnant or you find out you're pregnant, keep taking your medicine but speak to your specialist team straight away to review your treatment." Our yoga in pregnancy guide has the pose changes.
Source 2
Chest pain or collapse: call 999
Call 999 if:
- You get sudden pain or discomfort in your chest that doesn't go away; it can feel like squeezing or pressure, burning or indigestion.
- The pain spreads to your left or right arm, or your neck, jaw, stomach or back.
- You have chest pain and feel sweaty, sick, light-headed or short of breath.
- Someone faints while exercising, can't be woken within 1 minute, or has chest pain or a pounding, fluttering or irregular heartbeat.
During yoga
A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
Support
Epilepsy Action's helpline is 0808 800 5050, and the Epilepsy Society also runs a helpline: check its website for the current number.
Before you start
The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
Myths
"Yoga can replace seizure medicine"Strong evidence
Epilepsy Action says complementary therapies "should not replace any epilepsy medicines prescribed to you", and the Cochrane review found no reliable evidence that yoga controls seizures.
"Yoga or yoga mudras cure epilepsy"Strong evidence
No trial supports a cure, and we found no trial of mudras (hand positions) for seizures.
"Breath of fire is safe for everyone"Strong evidence
Over-breathing brings on absence seizures in most children with childhood absence epilepsy and is used in EEG tests for that reason, and the Epilepsy Society says extreme yoga breathing may need extra care. No case report links yoga breathing to a seizure, but the caution stands.
"People with epilepsy shouldn't do yoga"Strong evidence
Exercise rarely brings on seizures, and the ILAE task force says people with epilepsy have often been kept from sport by fear and overprotection.
"Yoga cut seizures by 86%"Mixed evidence
That figure comes from 10 people practising Sahaja yoga meditation in 1996, unblinded. The larger 2023 trial found no significant change in seizures per week.
"Meditation always lowers seizure risk"Emerging evidence
For people whose seizures come when they're very relaxed or asleep, deep relaxation "may increase your risk of having seizures", the Epilepsy Society says.
Source 16
"Hot yoga sweats out toxins and is fine with epilepsy"Emerging evidence
Heat and fever can lower the seizure threshold, and two common medicines reduce sweating. Sweating doesn't remove toxins.
Read next
Questions people ask
Is yoga good for epilepsy?
Yoga is safe for most people with epilepsy and may help with stress, anxiety and quality of life. Whether it reduces seizures isn't known: the Cochrane review found too little evidence, and the best trial since found fewer seizures only as a secondary, self-reported result.
Can yoga reduce seizures?
Possibly a little, but it isn't proven. Mind-body treatments may reduce seizures slightly in the short term, on low-certainty evidence, and in the best yoga trial seizure counts came from self-reported diaries. Keep taking your medicine.
Can yoga replace epilepsy medicine?
No. Epilepsy Action says complementary therapies should not replace any epilepsy medicines, and the NHS says never change your dose or stop without talking to your specialist.
Which yoga is best for epilepsy?
No style has been shown to be best. The one well-run trial used a 30-minute practice of seated loosening, slow breathing, a lying meditation and a positive resolve, done 5 times a week; our class follows that order.
Is pranayama safe with epilepsy?
Slow breathing is fine: the trial used alternate nostril breathing, left nostril breathing and humming bee breath. Leave out fast, forceful breathing, which can act like the over-breathing used to bring on seizures in EEG tests.
Is kapalabhati safe with epilepsy?
Skip it unless your epilepsy team agrees. No case report links it to a seizure, but fast over-breathing brings on absence seizures in most children with absence epilepsy.
Is bhramari (humming bee breath) good for epilepsy?
It was part of the breathing in the 2023 trial, as a slow breath with a hum on the way out. It hasn't been tested on its own, but it is slow and gentle.
Can yoga cause seizures?
Rarely: exercise seldom triggers seizures, and no study links yoga poses to them. The risks are fast breathing, heat, flashing lights and, for some people, deep relaxation, plus falling if a seizure happens in a balance or upside-down pose.
Can I do hot yoga with epilepsy?
We'd avoid it while your seizures aren't controlled, and on topiramate or zonisamide, which can reduce sweating. Heat and fever can lower the seizure threshold.
Is yoga nidra safe with epilepsy?
For most people, yes. If your seizures tend to come when you're very relaxed or asleep, the Epilepsy Society says deep relaxation may increase the risk, so keep it short or sit up.
Should I tell my yoga teacher I have epilepsy?
You don't have to, but Epilepsy Action suggests telling the person leading the class and how they can help if you have a seizure. Show them your care plan if you have one.
What should a teacher do if someone has a seizure in class?
Move blocks and anything hard away, cushion their head, time it, and don't hold them down or put anything in their mouth. Roll them onto their side when the jerking stops, and call 999 if it lasts more than 5 minutes, it's their first, or another follows.
Sources
- Epilepsy Action · Complementary therapies and epilepsy (2024, updated 2025)
- NHS · Epilepsy
- Nakken 1999 · Physical exercise in 204 outpatients with epilepsy (survey, Epilepsia)
- Capovilla 2016 · Epilepsy, seizures, physical exercise and sports: a report from the ILAE Task Force (consensus report, Epilepsia; read in full)
- Panebianco 2017 · Yoga for epilepsy: 2 trials, 50 people (Cochrane review)
- Kaur 2023 · Yoga or sham yoga for felt stigma in adults with epilepsy: 160 people (randomised trial, Neurology; read in full)
- Huang 2025 · Service, behavioural and self-management treatments for adults with epilepsy: 36 trials, 5,834 people (Cochrane review; read in full)
- Epilepsy Action · EEG (electroencephalogram) tests (past its review date: published August 2023, review due August 2026)
- Rao 2024 · Over-breathing in diagnosing and managing childhood absence epilepsy (review, J Child Neurol)
- Kaur 2023 · The trial's yoga and sham yoga practices (supplementary appendix, Neurology; read in full)
- Epilepsy Action · Seizure triggers
- Gulcebi 2025 · Medicines, epilepsy and climate change: anti-seizure medicines and heat (review, Br J Clin Pharmacol; read in full)
- Nakken 2005 · Seizure triggers reported by 1,677 people with epilepsy (survey, Epilepsy Behav)
- Epilepsy Action · Tonic-clonic seizures, and first aid
- NICE NG217 · Epilepsies in children, young people and adults (2022, updated 2026)
- Epilepsy Society · Complementary therapies and epilepsy (2026)
- Gomathy 2026 · Yoga nidra added to psychoeducation for functional dissociative seizures: 50 people (pilot randomised trial, Epilepsy Behav)
- Epilepsy Action · Sports and leisure (2024, updated 2025)
- Holmes 2004 · Does over-breathing bring on seizures? 433 people with epilepsy (EEG study, Epilepsia)
- Rana 2023 · Over-breathing and seizures (literature review, Neuropediatrics)
- PubMed · Search for kapalabhati, bhastrika, breath of fire or pranayama with seizures, epilepsy or convulsions: 19 records, none a case report of a seizure (1 November 2026)
- Cramer 2013 · Adverse events with yoga: 76 case reports and case series (systematic review, PLoS One; read in full)
- Epilepsy Society · Exercise and sport
- Gulcebi 2021 · Climate change and epilepsy: body temperature and the seizure threshold (review, Epilepsy Behav)
- Europe PMC · Search for hot or Bikram yoga with seizures, epilepsy or low blood sodium: 9 records, none in people with epilepsy (1 November 2026)
- Reynolds 2012 · Low blood sodium after Bikram yoga, leading to a seizure (case report, BMJ Case Rep)
- Epilepsy Action · Photosensitive epilepsy
- Ferlisi 2014 · Seizure triggers in 104 people with epilepsy (clinic survey, Epilepsy Behav)
- Panjwani 1996 · Sahaja yoga meditation and seizures: 32 people (small trial, Indian J Med Res)
- Lundgren 2008 · Acceptance and commitment therapy or yoga for drug-resistant epilepsy: 18 people (randomised trial, Epilepsy Behav)
- Fleeman 2025 · Service, behavioural and self-management treatments for children with epilepsy (Cochrane review)
- Kanhere 2018 · Yoga in children with epilepsy: 20 children (randomised trial, J Pediatr Neurosci)
- Das 2022 · Reporting and bias in 15 studies of yoga in epilepsy (audit, Neurol India)
- Duñabeitia 2022 · Physical exercise in people with epilepsy: 14 studies (systematic review and meta-analysis, Epilepsy Behav)
- NHS · What to do if someone has a seizure (fit)
- NHS · Fainting
- NHS · Heart attack
- NHS · Chest pain (past its review date: reviewed August 2023, review due August 2026)
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.