Endocrine Issues

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lisdel
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August 27, 2011 at 8:19 am

Post count: 1

#2187

Dear Gabrielle

I have been devouring your amazing Forums and learnt so much, so I thank you for it.

I have a question about trying to conceive and Bikram, and hope you can help.

I started Bikram Yoga in 2000 and practiced 3-4 times a week until 2006 when the yoga room in my area closed down. From then until 2 weeks ago, I had not taken up Bikram again, but as a new room opened up, I rushed back and have just done 9 classes in 10 days. I had forgetten how good the hot yoga made me feel.

From 2006 to date, I have had trouble conceiving. I went through 3 miscarriages including an ectopic pregnancy where I lost my right tube (all natural conception) and have since gone through 4 rounds of IVF, all unsuccessfully. I am 41, a “poor responder” with very low ovarian reserve. My Anti-Mullarian Hormone level is less than 1, but I still manage to produce 2-3 eggs on each IVF round, all of which fertilise.

I have read in some Forums that Bikram can deplete Progesterone and other necessary pregnancy hormones and also put stress on the adrenal glands. With my precarious endocrine problems, I am concerned that I may be doing more harm than good with the Bikram.

Could you please give me your thoughts on this issue?

Warm regards
Lis

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

August 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm

Post count: 3048

#8880

Hi Lis

You’ve been on some journey.

I would personally be very wary of any spurious and unsupported claims about Bikram yoga depleting progesterone. There is much propaganda and misinformation out there.

I can NOT tell you whether that happens but I would be asking the person or people who are claiming that, the precise mechanism by which that depletion happens.

I would be checking on the temperatures of the studio I was practising in. Perhaps the temps are too high. Well, this is in fact very common in the BY world. Heat is a stressor and although higher temperatures (body temps) are useful for progesterone production, (or so my research indicates) my gut feel is that you don’t want to stress the system too much. That’s easy if for example the heats are very high and you don’t seem to be sweating a lot. The perception is that the heat is not so high. This could be happening.

So do some homework and find out the bases for the progesterone claim, see if you can find out REAL temp readings for the studio in which you practise and then come back and we can talk about that.

You could consider practising in your own studio. You could control the conditions.

There are plenty of people who have had children having been in the hot environment so of course we know that is possible. If your system is already quite sensitive then placing it under undue stress (adrenally and hormonally [generally] could be something you want to avoid or at least control closely.

Having said all that, I can swear that in 2 cases of women that I KNOW not just third hand ‘a friend of a friend’ stories, both these women have had children. One of them after having tried for years. Both of them after developing their regular frequent Bikram yoga practice. One of these women was told from puberty that she was infertile and would NEVER, ever have a child (that it was impossible). So she never tried. Now she has 2 children.

Coincidence? The yoga? We will never be able to tell. We can only surmise.

Knowledge yourself up and know what’s really going on. Examine your belief systems (around say that comment you read on the other forums). AND do the yoga in SAFE conditions. Limit the temperature to about body temperature and not those nosebleed temperatures that many studios subject their students to. Oh, and come back and tell me what resonates for you!!!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
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