Pimples a form of detoxing?

Hello boolet!

You could definitely be experiencing some detoxing.

I am definitely in support of hygiene and cleanliness in everything around your yoga practice. Robert and I would never finish a class without taking a shower. It is refreshing and cleansing. Besides body hygiene I found the smell in my car really tenacious. We tried it once or twice because the drive to the studio’s only 3 mins. Personally I cannot understand how students can leave without showering. You don’t need anything long or involved. After class, your cleansing sweat only needs rinsing off. Sure, do what you like but sometimes all you need is a quick rinse without soap from head to toe.

The studio environment can be a breeding ground for microorganisms due to the heat and moisture. Rinse your body and hair. If my gear and towel is sitting around for a while before washing I add a antibacterial, antifungal agent to my wash. This keeps everything fresh.

The other thing I would recommend is using your own mat. You can make sure you clean it. Nothing more horrible than using someone else’s sweat-laden mat or lying in someone else’s pool of sweat if the studio doesn’t have good policy and systems in place to manage the environment.

Use fresh towels (of course). Those people who have problems with acne should makes sure that they lie down on an additional fresh towel for the floor series rather than placing their faces or backs on the towel where the feet have been.

Sounds complicated but just pick and choose the systems you need for your issue.

Skin conditions don’t usually stick around for long.

Enjoy your practice
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

I tried showering after class. . . but I find the water sooooo cold after heating my body up.
So I drive home and shower then.

Hey everyone!

I’m new to this forum but this topic really strikes close to home for my own practice. After practicing for about a year straight (and lovin’ it!), I started to break out all over my back and chest. I never had any real history of skin problems to speak of prior to my serious and recent dedication to Bikram yoga, and perhaps this is not a coincidence at all that these are the major areas that come into most frequent contact with the sweaty mat or towel.

And having made friends with the teachers at my local studio I saw firsthand how much “effort” actually went in to washing the public towels and mats traditionally available for rent at most studios…and let me tell you this immediately prompted me to purchase my own mat and towel combo. And things have started to improve.

I think I would resort back to Occam’s razor on this one – “Of several acceptable explanations for a phenomenon, the simplest is preferable” – and decide to invest in a new towel/mat combo for class as opposed to chalking it up to detoxification…

Just my humble take…

Andrew