Ayurveda has an interesting concept called Vega Dharana, which warns us against the suppression of natural urges. There might be harmful consequences to our body when we suppress these urges (called Vegas in Ayurveda). In the old classic text Ashtanga Hridaya, there are around 13 Vegas that are mentioned.
Before we have an urge, we always get a sign from the body first. We must be sensitive and learn to read these signs and help the body release them. Usually, after it happens many times, you can pick up the sign easily. For example, before you actually sneeze, you get an itchy feeling or you feel some pressure building up. When you become aware of the sign, just follow it, do not hold your sneeze. A baby does all of his urges without hesitation. But as we age, we start ignoring these urges depending on what we are busy doing at the moment.
There are many other urges, apart from sneezing, that we should not hold. These include: the urge to fart, the urge to defecate, the urge to urinate, the urge to burp/belch, the urge to sleep, the urge to cough, the urge to drink water when feeling thirsty, the urge to eat when feeling hungry, the urge to yawn, the urge to cry, the urge to breath deeply after exertion, the urge to vomit, and the urge to ejaculate.
For each of these urges, there might be certain associated symptoms or imbalances from holding that urge in the long term, and they can get quite serious sometimes! Every time you suppress an urge, you are messing up with your vata, which is linked to your nervous system, so basically you are somehow affecting your nervous system negatively. At some point your nervous system might give up on sending you signals since you always ignore them, and that will provoke imbalances in the physiology of your body.
Some symptoms derived from suppression of farts, for example, could be: bloating, pain in the abdomen, lower Agni (digestive strength), diseases related to the heart or due to the upward pressure, obstructions in the elimination of excrements (stools, urine, gas).
Symptoms derived from the suppression of the urge to defecate include: headache (people who are constipated can experience that), running nose, feeling of tightness in the chest.
Symptoms derived from the suppression of the urge to urinate include: urinary stones (calculi), pain in the groin/penis, or pain in the region of the urinary bladder, menstrual cramps.
Suppression of the urge to sneeze can lead to symptoms such as: headache, stiffness around the neck, facial paralysis or facial palsy, feeling of weakness in the sense organs.
Depending on your body constitution, you will have a certain tendency to have an urge more often or less often, so you should totally watch out for them. If you are a person with a body type that has the tendency for vata imbalances, then you should pay attention for your urge to poop, for example – because it might not come that often, so you must grab the opportunity when it comes. If you are a person with a body type that tends toward pitta imbalances, then you should pay attention to your urge to drink water or to eat, or else you might end up ‘burning up’.
In short, learn to respect the physiological urges from your body and that can save you from many unnecessary complications. This can also include other body needs such as menstruation, which is not really an urge per se, but is also something very important that you should make sure flows out smoothly since it is also connected to vata. Therefore, be aware of the consequences of using birth control methods and blocking your menstrual cycle. And if you do menstruate, it is a good idea to avoid tampons or mooncups.