The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Hot Yoga Facts
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in reply to: Tired all the time, can't manage classes every day #9840
Hi everyone! So glad to see all the posts on this topic. So much more research is needed in this area. I wish you well!
I stopped Bikram because trying to come off the Cymbalta medication, for pain and depression, even slowly, with a doctor’s help, interfered with my body’s natural ability to deal with the heat. Unfortunately, I only realized this after practicing for 3.5 years, when I gradually started showing more and more signs of heat exhaustion on top of the C.F.I.D.S. and Fibromyalgia. I haven’t practiced in 2 years and I am still not back at my baseline energy level. At this point I can only exercise 20 to 30 mins a day on a very good week. Thank goodness it doesn’t sound like you’ve ever gone the Cymbalta route! Hot Yoga teachers please make a note of any of your students who are taking antidepressants or other psychotropic medication. The combination can be very dangerous.
Best to all.
in reply to: excessive sweating #6929That would be great Gabrielle. Thanks for the encouragement too. I will PM you for more info!
Valeria
in reply to: excessive sweating #6873Hi Gabrielle, an update… I’ve taken time off due to extreme fatique. I had a bad reaction between the too-hot studios, not quite enough hydration, + discontinuation symptoms from the drug Cymbalta. Since beginning Bikram three years ago, I easily came off all antidepressants and sleep medications, but I didn’t realize that Cymbalta withdrawl can cause night sweats, hot flashes, sleep disruption and increased blood pressure, which put me at greater risk for dehydration and heat exhaustion. I tried taking a week off from yoga, then went back, but the weakness just got worse. I could barely function and had to stop work for awhile. Now, I’m back at work and have started doing light exercise like walking and Tai Chi a few times a week. In the meantime, I’m “practicing” drinking loads more water and have found something good called “Ultima Replenisher” for electrolytes. For some reason though, it’s still really hard for me to get several liters liquid down per day. I did have to go back on the Cymbalta to stop the above symptoms, and will have to come down again much more slowly, as in 1 mg less every three to four months. (That’s my plan anyway, since my doctor’s only plan was to put me back on Prozac to try and “bridge the gap”, but I really don’t want to do that.) Hopefully, this will be slow enough to keep from activating the withdrawl/discontinuation symptoms, so I won’t have more problems when I go back to class. I’d love to hear from anyone who has come back from something like this.
Thanks so much. Take care.
in reply to: Breathing Exercises #6872Hi everyone! Just wanted to mention that I have read that the final breathing excercise, Kapivatti, can bring on mania, for people who have bipolar illness…
in reply to: Help! Excessive Tiredness #6850Hi! so sorry you are having this problem. I have experienced this because of chronic illnesses and interference with a medication that messes with the heat regulatory system of the body. I thought I was drinking enough water, but my studio was way hotter than it should have been and I got heat exhaustion.
Make sure you are drinking several liters of water on days you don’t do the yoga, and 4 or more when you do the yoga, or until there is no color of your urine in the toilet…sorry for the description. 😆 Another thing that is very important is what you are eating hours before the class and then later during the day. Maybe others like Gabrielle, can help you with that. The other thing is that everyone is different in the time it takes to recover from a class. I would try fewer times per week til you get something that is managable and only then increase one class at a time.
Good luck. Try to be patient with things, it will be worth it, but do listen to your body.
Namaste,
Valeria
in reply to: excessive sweating #6714Thanks Gabrielle, I have been doing much better with the fluids since I found something called Ultima Replenisher. It doesn’t make me nauseous like the fizzy electrolyte tablets do. I had no idea that I’ve been at a low level of dehydration the entire 3 years I’ve been practicing. The person’s post about the 3 Cs helped me see that. Thank you for that description!
Unfortunately, I think I now have the effects of heat exhaustion and cannot seem to get my strength back. The studio where I practice is very hot; they have it going to 110 and above. This, plus not enough fluids, medication discontinuation symptoms, chronic fatigue immune disorder/fibromyalgia have me with hot flashes, night sweats, waking up every hour to go to the bathroom, then up at 3am after only a few hours of sleep, constant upset stomach, barely enough energy to do daily activities. I can barely take a walk, let alone go to class. When I feel a little more energy I try to do a posture or two at home or some chi gong.
I’d love to hear how others have recovered from heat exhaustion, especially those who are being treated for high blood pressure. Also any tips for getting in all that water per day. I’m temporarily down, but definitely not out of hot yoga!
Take care everyone.
Namaste.
in reply to: Is it possible to be too overweight for this pose? #6597From the title, it might be possible to be too overweight, but I started at over 350 pounds. So at least for me it would have been something more than that. I couldn’t go down all the way at first due to a lot of stiffness and tightness in the knees, hips and back. Eventually that all works itself out.
Keep working with the arms. Remember your body adapts to increased demand. As for the knees do what you can but pay careful attention to how you are really physically feeling. Our minds can create all kinds of fears to keep us in our comfort zones. I suspect if you let go of the fear you’ll find that your body will pleasantly surprise you with how capable it really is.
Take Care,
LeeThanks Lee. I’m trying to really focus on the arms and not going too far down at the moment, since right now it is everything I can do to just attempt each pose. I have several chronic illnesses that I’m trying to work around. But I will keep working on it! Thanks for the inspiration!
in reply to: Bikram for weight loss – any stories for me?! #6594I’ve lost 30 pounds in the three years I’ve been practicing Bikram yoga, but I think some of that is due to coming off of some antidepressants that put weight on you. I still have 35 pounds to go and my doctor says that in order to take off weight put on by those medications, I need to exercise 60 to 90 mins/day, 7 days a week. I’m not strong enough to do Bikram everday yet and I haven’t lost any weight on the scale in a few months. But, my clothes are swimming on me and people are always making remarks about how much slimmer I look. I’ve gone down 4 or 5 dress sizes, and constantly try to better refine a vegan vegetarian food plan. Take heart!
in reply to: Too Exhausted to Go to Class? #6587Well, I took off a week from Bikram yoga and I got no relief from the exastion. I also tried adding some cooked foods like soup, more vegan protein and whole grain bread to my diet as my homeopath suggested, but that didn’t help either. So I think it must be a flare-up of the CFIDS or a discontinuation effect of the Cymbalta…anyway, I took my first class back the other day and it was pretty tough. Had to sit out of a few sets because I was feeling so weak and nausous. I think I’ll try not going as deep in the poses and not necessarily do both sets, especially since the studios I go to are almost always 110+degrees. I’m also going to try and reach Rajayshree to see if she has any info on CFIDS and hot yoga practice.
Gabrielle, “Food Matters” looks great. I’m going to use the educational version dealing with mental health issues as a training for work. Thanks so much everyone. Take care!
Namaste.
in reply to: Is it possible to be too overweight for this pose? #6571Ah, ha, thanks so very much, both of you! I let you know how I’m doing.
in reply to: Is it possible to be too overweight for this pose? #6562Thanks Shona. I do understand you.
Gabrielle, it’s the part where you turn your knees toward each other and then go down to the floor and back up again.
in reply to: excessive sweating #6555Hi Everybody,
I sweat soooo much. By the end of first set Pranayama I am dripping. There are rivers running down my arms and POURING off my fingertips. My eyes are red and burning from so much liquid dripping in them by the end of class. It is really remarkable how much I sweat. My towel is soaked and there is a puddle on my yoga mat that will spill off if I don’t roll up my towel with my mat. Any upside down involves sweat POURING into my nostrils. No one else in any class I’ve been to sweats like me. I’m not embarrassed by it but it does concern me. I’m thinking about going to teacher training and I’m worried that my body can’t possibly tolerate that much sweating for so many days in a row. I take electrolytes before and after class. Im five feet ten inches tall and weigh about 130 pounds, I can’t really “afford” to lose all this moisture.
My teachers say that it’s because Im effectively heating and cooling my body and that I shouldn’t worry about it. They say I am lucky to be able to sweat like that. But besides the prospect of teacher training there are two other reasons why this is a concern for me. One is that since starting Bikram about two months ago I now sweat like crazy EVERYWHERE! At the beach, whenever I’m in the sun at all, out dancing. It’s like my spiggot was turned on or something. The other reason I am concerned is that my digestion has been a little ummmm…….how to broach this taboo subject….ummmm…it’s been a little scant. It’s been a lot scant actually and you’d think what with all the twisting and wind removing postures that this wouldn’t be a problem but it is and I think it’s because Im sweating everything out that should be staying in my colon. Anyone have any thoughts on this….I found this old post and I can definitely relate…any thoughts anyone?
Valeria
in reply to: Too Exhausted to Go to Class? #6548Hi Gabrielle! The Forum looks great and I have finally pushed past my shyness and said hello to everyone. Hope you all are well! BTW, did I read that you get fresh, organic veggies that have been minerally enhanced?!! I’m so jealous!
I will definately check out Food Matters. As for the drinking, I try to remind myself to drink throughout the day, but I can’t seem to chug down much more that a few gulps at a time. One of my yoga teachers said that he can drink a liter of water in one sitting; it takes me a whole day to do that, unless it’s right after class. Then I feel so thirsty I want to drink a liter and a half immediately. Otherwise I must admit that there are a lot of times when I get so caught up in just trying to get through all the things I have to do in a day that when I look, a few hours have past since I last had something to drink.
Yeah, I’m really puzzled by this extreme new bout of exhaustion…but then I was thinking that a few years ago I would literally be bed-ridden with fevers and flu like symptoms for weeks and weeks at a time everytime I had a flare-up. Now, since I started Bikram Yoga, I no longer have the fevers, etc… and I am not stuck in bed, which is so wondeful. I have come a long way, but there is still room for improvement. I think things like diet, hydration, sleep, vitamins/minerals/supplements, type of daily activities need to be as perfectly matched as possible.
Thank you so much!
Namaste.
in reply to: Too Exhausted to Go to Class? #6538Hi, thanks for the encouragement! Actually, all of my doctors have strong reservations about Bikram Yoga for me. Trouble is, they have nothing else to suggest for these health conditions except medications that have made me gain weight and have yucky side-effects.
I’ve just been snooping around the site and have been checking out what you and others have written, for instance, about hydration and sleep. Definitely problem areas for me. I just can’t seem to get down enough water and my eyes have started drying out so I know I’m slightly dehydrated. I didn’t know it takes an hour for your body to absorb water and that plain water isn’t enough. I’ve tried Emerg-C and others but they make me so nauseous, because of the fizz, I think. I’m going to try Ultra-replenisher and Vita-lye though. Just the other day my homeopath suggested Trace Mineral Drops by Liquimins, so I’ll try that too. She is supportive of my Bikram practice but would prefer I did regular Hatha yoga. And I did for years, but I was just as exhausted and not getting better in terms of the pain, flu-like symptoms and insomnia.
Then in terms of sleep, since I’m not taking antidepressants for complete insomnia, and the Cymbalta used to work by interrupting the deep sleep cycle, I think my brain is having to learn how to sleep properly again by itself. So waking up every hour and getting 3 to 5 hrs a night = more pain from the Fibromyalgia and more fatigue.
With all these problems, I definately have to focus on even the slightest improvements or else I’ll just give up, which is just not an option! 🙂 I’m not off of disability yet, but I am working part-time for the first time in 15 years!
in reply to: Too Exhausted to Go to Class? #6536Hi. Thanks for bringing that quote to rememberance! It is one of the things that has kept me coming back for so long. Unfortunately though, I’ve never felt energized from this yoga. Well, actually, once in my first month I only did half the class, but stayed in the studio the entire time. Many days I can barely make it up the steps to the studio, let alone down the steps afterward. After 3 years of practice, I can finally peel myself off of the mat and go get showered, without 30+ minutes recoup-time in savasana after the class. Now I can manage to stand after about 20 minutes. Overall, I do see my energy improving over the long haul, it’s just so slow.
in reply to: What Awesome Books Are You Reading? #6530Hi! Hmmm some really great reads out there.
Here are my current favs:
The Life of Milarepa by Lobsang P. Lhalunpa
Free From Lies: Discovering Your True Needs by Alice Miller, MD
12 Steps to Raw Foods by Victoria Boutenko
The Yoga of Vibration and Divine Pulsation by Jaideva Singh
The Heart of Meditation: Pathways to a Deeper Experience by Swami Durgananda
Enjoy!
Valeria -
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