dangers/risks and adrenal fatigue

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blue
Participant

October 4, 2008 at 7:56 am

Post count: 32

#1192

I have heard about this….. any thoughts.
I’ve heard that after about 3-4 years of aggressive practice people can start to fail. they become tired, gain weight, lose zest for life and break down in terms of health muscle and endurance.
I’ve done research on adrenal fatigue and these are the conclusions I’ve walked away w/
Adrenal fatigue is caused when your body has more stress put on it than it can make up for. (always in flight or fight mode) When you are taxed physically or emotionally your body produces certain hormones and after a period of time it just can’t keep up.
any body doing extreme athletics and/or stressful go go go life is at risk. not enough rest and poor nutrition also play a role. If you don’t fuel yourself right that puts your body under stress….
what did I take away?
yes Bikram can be intense… breath through the nose is SO important. ( the mouth breath stimulates the flight or flight response )
remember that this is for a calm peaceful balanced life not to “pound it out and kill yourself”
listen to your body about depth when in class and out of class as well
drink lots of water and ener-c to replenish
take a day off once in a while, have fun….. and you should be OK!!!!
I did not get the impression that the practice itself was the problem but the other underlying issues on top

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

October 5, 2008 at 7:40 am

Post count: 3048

#3528

Hi blue

I guess if you know someone who has burned themselves out doing hot yoga then they must be approaching it the wrong way. You used the word aggression and that already speaks volumes about adrenal fatigue. Adrenaline is that neurotransmitter that is secreted in fear, flight and fright situations. However in yoga you are learning a way to attenuate and handle stress, to develop a better way of coping with emotional and physical stress.

I guess I have to ask you if you have actually heard that 3-4 years of practice of hot yoga specifically causes these problems? And what is your source of information? Do tell!

I also wonder whether you are actually inquiring whether you could put more stress on your body than ‘it can make up for’. In my experience, the answer is no.

Yoga is a self-limiting activity. You are to find a comfortable sense of challenge and to explore your limitless potential by doing so. I would certainly be talking with a student who seemed to be practicing with a ‘no matter what’ attitude. For sure, I have seen students ‘muscle’ their way through their practice. But that is only temporary. It only takes some compassionate guidance to show or teach them how to let go and introduce some ‘surrender’ into their heart, mind, body and life.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Wallflower
Participant

December 27, 2009 at 5:23 am

Post count: 10

#6079

Okay I know this thread is old, but for other newbies like me reading through all these wonderful threads, I want to share that I have adrenal fatigue, and if I go to a 4:30pm class, I don’t suffer the late afternoon energy crash. If I take an earlier or later class I do, so Bikram is the best thing for me to do at that time. By the time 6pm rolls around, cortisol levels are starting to rise, and with the euphoria generated by the yoga, I feel great and have averted the slump.

I also don’t do it more than 4-5x/week. More than that would push my energy reserves over the brink.
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