The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › The Heat › Anyone else ever have a panic attack in Bikram class?
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › The Heat › Anyone else ever have a panic attack in Bikram class?
-
AuthorPosts
-
I’ve suffered from anxiety disorder/panic attacks for over 20 years, tho it’s been very manageable for the last 10 years or so. But the triggers for me always involve heat, feeling like I can’t breathe, and not being able to get OUT of wherever I am. Yes! The Bikram studio is the Perfect Storm of panic attack triggers. But I’ve done well up until this very hot and humid summer, when the heat, crowd, panicky vibes from all the newbies just got to me. At our studio, we are not allowed to leave the room unless it’s an emergency. I left the room. I felt so bad, but I think I would’ve felt worse had I stayed. The instructor was very kind and understanding, but he expects me to “be a rockstar” and get back in there and kick ass.
I know I can do it . . . but I’m a bit nervous. I can’t keep running out of the room. I have to find a way to deal with this.
Anyone else ever experience this?
I’m interested in your experiences because I have been impressed with Hot Yoga’s ability to treat anxiety. Much of what we do in that room is very similar to a technique psychologists use to teach relaxation and thus treat anxiety. At the same time, I can see where heat and feeling oxygen deprived would trigger that panic feeling.
I’m curious when you are feeling the panic come on? Is it always around the same time? Is it when you are calm between a pose or when you are active in a pose? Do you have any sense of what your eyes are doing as you start to feel that panic come on? Have you had any injuries lately that are impacting your practice?
I haven’t had panic issues in general, but after injuring my neck in a class, I did experience a bit of panic and felt like bolting from the room. I can tell I’m not relaxed as my breathing changes and my eyes dart around.
Also, tell us a bit more about how you attempt to handle the panic as you feel it coming on….what is going on in terms of breath, in the mind, and any other physiological sensations you notice.
You have obviously been dealing with it for years and I’m sure you can regain control over it. Just need to figure out the exact triggers and how to change the response.
-Kristin
Hi! Thanks for responding.
It makes sense that hot yoga (probably any kind of yoga) would help with anxiety. Unfortunately for me, my anxiety is triggered by the heat. But as I said, I’ve done very well up to these last few weeks.
The panic comes on when I’m breathing hard and overly conscious of my breath. I feel like I have to make myself yawn or gasp to get that deep breath. Once I do, I feel better. For the most part, I do breathe normally, trying always to breathe steadily and deeply and through my nose. But once I become too aware of getting that deep breath, I start to feel a little panicky. Usually it goes away; this last time, it didn’t.
When this happens, I just try to remind myself that I’m breathing perfectly normally and nothing is wrong. I try to focus on the pose or, if between poses, on standing tall but in a somewhat relaxed manner. I’m good at keeping my eyes straight ahead and keeping my face calm, so that helps.
I’m sorry you hurt your neck. I hope it’s better now. Thanks for the interest!
Well it sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing, which is to focus on the breathing and calm it all down, and keep the eyes still. I find that when I am out of breath I start that shallow gasping breath, which always makes it worse…I feel like it increases my heart rate. Its hard to do, but I try to inhale for a count of 2 and exhale over 6, to slow it down.
Some of Gabrielle’s tips on here have helped, including standing in savasana with the “elbows in the back pocket”, using the throat to breathe, and so forth.
It sounds like you are getting the panic feeling even during a pose. I was wondering if the stillness between poses let your mind come to focus on feeling out of breath, then get occupied with it.
I wish I could be of help. I wish you the best in this current challenge. Namaste.
-Kristin
PS: thanks for the concern…my neck is back to 100% normal now. At least now I know how NOT to come out of fixed firm pose. %-P
Yeah, I try to avoid the shallow breathing, but it can be hard sometimes. I figured out the other day in class that I feel worse when I sit out a pose — tho that can be problematic because sometimes I simply NEED to sit out. But I realized by sitting out, I’m not only more likely to let my mind wander but I’m giving myself the message that something is wrong. I’ll have to work on that.
I’ll dig around the site for some of Gabrielle’s tips. I do love the “elbows in the back pocket” tip. That’s helped me immensely with my posture, both in class and out.
You have helped, just by responding and giving me some food for thought. It’s nice to know there’s someone out there who cares. Thanks again.
Hi Julia
Thanks Kristin for ‘running with the baton’ ;).
Julia I have a sense of something and want to ask you to consider that when you start getting panicky that the attention is not just on your breath but there are thoughts that are critiquing what is going on… That then starts the cycle.
It seems that you have been able to be the observer really effectively up until recently.
It is a question of where you put that attention and the nature of that attention. Not just the act of paying attention. For example (borrowing a technique from a really interesting book called The Happiness Trap) you could notice that your mind (not you!) has decided to run that old story about heat and panic. So at that instant you say to yourself “Oh, I notice I’m telling myself that same old story about the heat again!, Thanks mind!”
Now that is going to sound trite out of context but if there’s even a kernel of curiosity there then try it. You see, I am guessing that you’ve been attending to the breath, some kind of quality of it has triggered the THOUGHTS that lead to the panic. The heat is there and it’s part of the picture but it is not necessarily the trigger. It’s the escalation of the thoughts of urgency that happen after…
So if it happens again, do that relaxing thing you do like yawning or whatever and for a few moments instead of really attending to the breath, (now this is not really the purpose of yoga but…) be curious about what you see in the mirror, how the light is shining on your body in the reflection, or what you’re hearing, trying not to look around but being curious about your environment. I am sure that within a very short time you can bring your attention back to your breath.
There could be something about the rhythm of your breath which we can discuss but let’s start with the above.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Gabrielle,
Thank you so much for the thoughtful response!
I’m going to put this plan into action. I think I’ve done it to some extent by really concentrating on the instructor’s words. Even to the point of repeating them to myself.
I love that you make a distinction between me and my mind. That’s very apt. I don’t necessarily have to worry about what my mind may be telling me at any point. I can just notice it and move on (I hope!)
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thank you again!
Please do Julia,
I am sure it is something that in some way or another many of us are working on – to separate our identity from the voices in the head and the thoughts that don’t serve us.
I will look out for your progress with great eagerness. Oh, and continue to work on that myself! Curiosity and detachment, responsiveness and peace.
Namaste
GabrielleYou must perform all the meditative forms of asana at home or outside the classes. I have heard many people coming out of panic attacks and anxiety after they tried Pranayam. You must try to practice as much as you can on controlling your breathing. I didn’t know that breathing properly alone can lead to better concentration and focus.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.