Help! Advice Needed! Bad Practice Week! :(

Hi Devi

I am sorry to hear that you’re not feeling so well. Thanks for asking your questions and welcome to the forum.

I would really like you to go and search for Heat Exhaustion signs. See if those things resonate for you.

Can you tell me about the heat conditions in the room? Perhaps you know what temperature the room is heated to. Perhaps you have noticed that people are on the floor instead of doing their yoga poses, on and off throughout the class. Perhaps you can comment on how much humidity you perceive? Anything that comes to mind.

MANY yogis take care of their hydration needs by simply drinking lots of water. But is that enough? Hydration is not going to help you IF you don’t have your electrolytes topped up.

Can you tell me if you avoid salt? This is very common. How do you incorporate salt into your diet? I would like to recommend sea salt in your diet if you don’t already take it. Even a pinch of the stuff in your water for yoga will be like an elixir (add a few drops of lemon juice if you like).

If you’re not avoiding salt and or you take electrolytes in some form or another the other culprit is the heat itself. So get back to me when you can.

That should get us started

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Devi

The way you perceive the heat is going to depend NOT just on the heat but also the humidity. The higher the humidity when there is high heat the more of a multiplication factor it has… It’s actually measured by something called the heat index.

Without getting too technical, at certain temps (even in dry heat) the body is unable to cool down (think ‘desert’). At certain humidity combined with high heat the body cannot cool down… (sometimes this cooling down effect is hampered, as was probably the case for you and those other students, but when both are too high the body may not even be able to cool down at all). There are 3 major mechanisms by which one cools down so I am just generalising so that you can appreciate the importance of a well-controlled heated environment.

Core temperatures do rise in the hot room and if you are unable to cool then the conditions can actually be life threatening. This did not occur for you. I am showing you the extreme situation of a wildly high hot and humid environment.

However it is possible that you and many others are experiencing heat exhaustion of a mild-moderate nature. This is why lots of regulars could NOT handle the conditions the other day. See later, high heat and low salt which could in fact be your issue.

There are many threads on this forum discussing how people overheat their studios. Some cover up temperature readings so that their students cannot see/measure/confirm how hot it is getting. To me, that is irresponsible behaviour. While one should not look at the temperature, one should be in a safe and secure environment, one where the conditions are consistent.

The point is that your body needs to recover from some heat exhaustion. Repeated exposure to an environment which causes that kind of exhaustion could (repeat could not will) lead to heat stroke (another research project for you 😉 ). Just knowing the signs will be a very good thing for you to recognise in yourself and others.

My aim is for you understand that it could be the heated environment and that if this is happening a lot then you really need to request better heat control at your studio. Honestly, even in a big class, there should not be people lying on the floor unable to go on. That’s a big clue. One down every so often and maybe a couple of people, but not for extended times – a set, a side or a pose is a reasonable break. That’s the general rule of thumb.

For you there could be an issue with your electrolytes. What is in your lo-salt? If it’s just sodium and chloride then there is evidence to suggest that using sea salt rather than sodium and chloride (table salt) is far better for your body. Your body thrives on electric connections that the electrolytes provide. Sea salt has minerals essential for the body. When one goes to the hospital often the first thing they do for someone with a serious condition is put them on a drip to re-establish electrolytes. You may also want to explore what science and medicine are now starting to say (and something I have been aware of also for years) and that is that there has most likely been a gross over exaggeration of the effects of salt on people with blood pressure and other conditions.

Enough said, I am not your doctor so it’s just friendly advice to investigate. You need minerals and you are possibly not just having problems with heat exhaustion but also need to dose up on sea salt on a regular basis.

FYI there is almost NO circumstance where you can overdose on salt (just a couple of things that happen in hospital for particular systemic conditions). The cure for overdoing salt intake is not having salt for a day while the body rebalances. The opposite however, when you do not take enough salt is SERIOUS and can cause death. Wow, that sounds dramatic. Just look up Hyponatremia which I believe happens mildly in many hot yoga students.

Don’t be alarmed! Eat/drink stuff with sea salt in it. Possibly add some to your water with drops of lemon for class. Investigate the heat in your studio. And take care of YOU!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Listen to the doc, but I had a bad couple of days recently and here’s what I figured out: track it with your hormones. It may be on a certain part of your cycle, you’re more susceptible to heat/strain. Also for me, drinking a sports drink supplement stuff (like Emergen-C or Propel) before class really made a difference. Water’s great, but electrolytes can really help!