The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › The Heat › Wiping the sweat
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › The Heat › Wiping the sweat
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Posted by Barb
Hi Gabrielle,
Wonderful job with the web site.
I’ve been doing Bikram for 4 months and really love it! I have a question about wiping the sweat. I noticed in one of the other threads, that you advise against students to wipe off sweat while their practicing. I sweat profusely and couldn’t imagine not being able to wipe the sweat off of my face or my hands, especially during standing head to knee. I never wipe my body, just hands and face. I know that sweat acts as a natural “air conditioner”, but why not be able to wipe just my face?
Thanks!
Barb
Hello Barb
Thanks for the great compliment.
My general rule in class is this:
Only wipe your sweat if it is stinging your eyes. The rest you will get used to.
I guess if something is getting in the way of doing your practice then you would take care of it.What bothers a newbie, or what a beginner finds challenging is different to the challenges or distractions of a seasoned yogi. I guess we are all on our own path – which thankfully takes on different characteristics over time.
Thinking back, it used to be the same for me. I would use a hand towel or my yoga shorts to wipe my hands before Standing Head to Knee or Standing Bow. It wouldn’t even occur to me now. Perhaps in another few weeks or months you will realize you no longer need to do it either.
Kind regards
Gabrielle 🙂Posted by Barb
Hi Gabrielle,
Yes, the eye stinging from sweat is not fun! %-P
I’m going to try to restrain from using the towel on a more consistent basis and see how it goes.
Thanks!
Barb
Hi Barb
You know something else? That after a while your sweat will sting you less. I know many students have had the exact problem as you: one day it doesn’t sting anymore. Just a little FYI. 😉
Cheers!
Gabrielle 🙂Posted by Robert
Ha ha – you just reminded me – after a weekend where, shall we say, the diet and fluid intake was “less than optimal” (ie a few glasses of red and some rich food), I noticed that my sweat would sting a little again.
I do not mean to imply the possibly false assumption that sweating in yoga “rids one of toxins” but it does seem to back up the fact that the skin is a powerful elimination system given the right circumstance.
Cheers,
Robert
Hi,
I am totally new at posting and hot yoga. I don’t even know if I am in the right spot so if I am doing it wrong just let me know.
Speaking of sweat ridding the body of toxins… My sweat is very pungent and not pleasant. Is there any way I can deodorize or should I just not worry about it?
Thanks, shiwilHello shiwil
Welcome! and thanks for the post, which is incidentally in the right place :cheese:
It has been my experience and that of many others that sweat smells much more pungent toward the beginning of their practice. As you have indicated you have not been practicing very long at all.
If it is bothering you, it could be an annoyance to others. They have to look after themselves and their reaction to it. But you can also do something too: You may consider having a shower before class if you are particularly aware of it and it is causing a personal distraction.
From puberty the odor that we get under the arms is actually held in the hairs. This is one of the reasons that women who remove the hair from here have an easier time controlling odor.
Most likely the odors will not linger for a long time. With a regular and frequent practice you should find that the smell becomes very normal.
For me I notice that if I have a break from yoga for a while (yes that happens) that my sweat may sting my eyes. After a class or 2 that no longer happens. I wonder what other people’s *barometers* are and how they know how well their bodies are doing?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Great topic
I used to wipe my face quite a lot. I recently stopped taking hand towels into class altogether because I realized it was only a distraction. I also sweat profusely and have found that I can tolerate it. My sweat no longer stings my eyes but it does collect at times and blur my contact lenses. Sometimes I simply wipe it out of my eyes to keep it from collecting so I can still see. As far as the wiping of the hands for the postures where the foot is gripped, I have found it’s a total waste of time. As well as wiping off the knees for Wind Removing. The sweat just comes right back. Also, if you start with a dry hand and dry foot, by the end of the posture they are both wet again and you end up slipping more. I think it’s better to start with the sweat so you have to learn to grip with the moisture, it strengthens the hands. Also, I have found that if I am really gripping properly, with my hands at the ankle (in standing bow) the sweat is irrelevant because of the traction created.
The smell issue is interesting. My sweat doesn’t smell pungent at all. I practice daily (sometimes twice) and shower before and after. I do also believe that the longer you practice, the less your sweat stinks. HOWEVER, I also think this has MUCH to do with diet and what we put in our bodies. I also think it has a great deal to do with hydration.
Hi Mammaren
thank YOU for sharing! Doesn’t it feel empowering to get rid of the props and habits that distract you? The strength you build, builds so much more quickly too.
You are so right! What you pump in does affect what gets sweated out. If you don’t believe me/us, then try practicing next to someone who has eaten say, garlic salami/sausage and compare it to the experience of practicing next to someone who eats a vegetarian diet with no garlic or onion. Two very different experiences I assure you! :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂This is a great thread since I was looking for info on wiping sweat from my face. I have noticed that the sweat does not sting my eyes and it made me think of something. I go to a holistic chiropractor who works with nutrition, as well as adjustments. She told me I should give up deodorant because with as healthy a lifestyle as I have, that my sweat should not smell bad.
I did give up using deodorant and have found she’s right. I guess the same thing that makes sweat smell bad is what makes it sting the eyes.
I’ve only been doing Bikram for 5 weeks but I did regular yoga before that, plus other workouts and I drink green smoothies for breakfast and lunch. I use almost all organic ingredients too and eat little meat.
I hadn’t even thought about why my sweat probably doesn’ sting my eyes til I read this thread.
Joan
Hi Joan
Actually what makes the eyes sting is salt. There are different rates of losing salt. Mostly, the majority of people lose salt in higher amounts in the first 2 weeks of their practice (or when they return after a break) which makes the eyes sting (for many and not all). This usually settles after acclimatization. Some people will always have salty sweat while most loss settles to a non-stinging level.
There are minuscule levels of toxins in sweat. The fact that one loses toxins in sweat is a myth. But because of the repetition of this tidbit, many millions believe this happens.
That’s great news about the deodorant!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
I was wiping my face a lot the first couple weeks so maybe my sweat was saltier then.
Even though toxins don’t come out in the swear, tho, it sure does open and clean out pores! My skin is really feeling smooth and soft.
Joan
Hi Joan
Indeed that happens. It’s great isn’t it?
By the way, may I request you try clicking through to your blog link yourself. It wasn’t working for me the few times I tried. There may be a typo. 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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