Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Hi Trefor

Thank you very much for your detailed account. I am sorry that you have to go through this. I agree with you (as you probably are aware if you’ve read even just a few of the forum posts on this website) that many teachers do overdo the heating and really think the hotter the better. It’s unfortunate because it doesn’t allow students to be as mindful as they can be. It’s very clear that students will override feelings and no longer ‘listen to their body’ in order to get through class. Breathing, presence, attention to detail (etc) and executing the poses correctly suffer.

Ideally the heat and moisture should facilitate great focus, a great practice and of course a satisfying sweat (which is definitely a strong aim!). It’s obviously not just the heat and I can tell you know that. It’s that marvellous interplay of moisture with heat to provide a flexible solution. As you know, one can lower the heat and raise the humidity and create the same feeling (and a particular heat index). That is much safer and gets far superior yoga outcomes than having super high temps.

I actually do have a question for you. What’s the air movement like in that room? Are there cooling fans set up anywhere? Or is a heating system of any sort plus humidifiers? I want to know the answer to that question before I can answer whether there’s anything you can do besides not going.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello Stas

Can you confirm for me in what period of time you have practised those 20 classes? How many days, weeks or months has it been?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Becca

Yes, it certainly seems you are doing the right thing regarding your habits. I of course have to check!

The main thing to know about the environmental conditions is this: If the heat and humidity are more than a challenge but create struggle, then something has to change. One of the major precepts involved in the practice of yoga is to “listen to one’s body”. If you consistently can’t manage a whole class (particularly if you have managed before) then something is definitely wrong. It usually points to high heat, or high combined heat and humidity. (The problems associated are often–as suggested before–hyponatremia and heat exhaustion.) This is why I suggest that temperatures never really go much beyond body temp. You can get that same satisfyingly sweaty feeling by having a temp in the low-mid 30s (centigrade) or the low 90s (F) and combine that with a mid-range humidity rating and get ALL the benefits and more. The major advantage is to enjoy great challenge by being able to push yourself (within safe limits) and listen, rather than TRY too hard to get through class despite what your body is saying. One is yoga. The other is a competitive sport.

Keep us posted! I really want to know how you go.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Becca

I have some questions I have to ask you. Don’t lose hope just yet. I feel your disappointment and want to explore the details of what’s going on. I have a full day (and weekend) so I will only ask you firstly this:

Can you please give me information about the studio you go to, in terms of how big the room is, what conditions, how many people in the room, how hot does it feel like it’s getting, do you know the actual temperature that the room is heated to, how easy or difficult is it for you to get class, are you attending a scripted class? I just need to know as much about your practice environment–what’s going on inside that studio in detail.

I will respond when I can!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Of course, Henry, you do have to be 100% sure that what you’re ingesting is OK for humans. Does it have anything else in it, such as epsom salts? Just check.

Hi Janet

Thanks for the fast response! OK so, you’re definitely going in the right direction.

Regarding Rabbit: When you used to go fully into the pose (before the unlatching of the chin) did you walk your knees up? If you did, I would say, try this:

Go into the pose as you used to. Do NOT under any circumstances walk the knees in. Use the traction in your arms (with shoulders up away from ears which is down and back but upside down! 😉 ) and see how that feels. I think you’re going to find that works for you.

You see, the reason the teacher wants you not to tuck as much is they’re attacking the problem from the same level that they are experiencing it. As such they are not really addressing the stenosis, they seem to be addressing the chin forward posture that you exhibit. You probably are well on the way to handling that part of the equation. 😀

It seems that the word is that, if anything, one ought to avoid backward bends and lifting the chin for stenosis. But you’re not complaining about any of that. My sense is that the space you’re needing (ie decompression) is happening through a balanced yoga practice.

I am keen to hear what you find out in January. Clearly, you don’t want to be causing any more damage. Remember a couple of things: You don’t need surgery (yay!) so that speaks a little to the severity of your condition. And, remember to listen for signs of hot-yoga-phobia. It’s not unheard of that people uninitiated in the benefits and practice of hot yoga can say they don’t think it’s good for you simply because of their ignorance. So just make sure you’ve really got your excellent skill of curiosity handy and analyse what’s being said. I am sure you must have been looking up stenosis on the internet so go armed with tons of questions.

Re Half Moon. I am not exactly clear on whether you have issues during the pose or after. I get that bending of arms is helping. Now that you do that, is there less pinching afterward? Where exactly are you feeling the stiffness?

Happy holidays

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello pickeles

Isn’t amazing what surgeons can do, what can be done about all sorts of ailments and conditions? I hope the results of your surgery are everything you hope for.

You pose some interesting questions. Firstly, I have experience with some eye surgery…recently.

My first thoughts are these:

It’s clear to me that if you follow the regular post-op instructions and everything is in order than your trabeculectomy should behave as intended. Yet I think you should ask your surgeon some other questions. I would really like to know the answers too in order to give you specific yoga advice about what to do with the bikram poses.

You obviously know during your recovery it is essential to avoid those physical positions of head below heart (inversions) and avoiding the strain. The question is NOT about how long to avoid these things during the initial period of whatever they quoted to you (anywhere from 4 – 8 weeks as far as I know, depending on healing and margins of safety).

Rather, the questions I think you can ask are:

• Do you have to avoid engaging the valsalva maneuver after healing?
• Under what circumstances (or how often) can you do it safely? Is it occasional or won’t it matter?
• Does the trabeculectomy, once healed manage the situation in times when the valsalva is engaged?
• What are the things that you could possibly do that would increase intraocular pressure to a level that could be dangerous to you in the short term (episodic and one-off experiences)?
• And what are the things that could cause an increase risk by long term behaviours?
• Will life be normal again, can you do everything you could do before, now that you have had a trabeculectomy?
• Once healed and stable, if you go to yoga say, 3 times a week and engaged behaviours that increase intraocular pressure during class, is that OK?

The questions above should generate some good discussion and hopefully, even if the questions elicit the same response for all (which is actually quite affirming), you’ll know the parameters of the situation. If/when you can find these things out from your surgeon then please come back and share what s/he said. Hopefully you’ll be told information that is practical and useful. Sometimes care professionals take an almost scaremongering approach and take too many things “off the table” (especially when it comes to ‘hot yoga’ or things with which they have no experience. It’s kind of an ‘err on the side of safety’ when it’s something that is not personally known or understood, which is understandable but not always acceptable!).

You may come back and say “everything is normal” after you heal. You may find out you have to avoid certain things. When you know, come here and I can suggest modifications to your practice if necessary. I definitely have things in mind, but I am not going to suggest anything until we both know what your surgeon says. (While I cannot give medical advice (hence the wait for the answer to questions), I certainly can assess how that medical advice affects you in the context of the yoga class.)

You can write me an email directly so I can tell you something specific that I won’t share here. Up to you.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello L

Quick questions so I can understand a little more of the circumstances: Do you already practise Bikram yoga? And if so, for how long, how frequently, and how experienced are you at it? And, do you practise at a studio or at home and if at a studio, is it a scripted class? If you are practising at the mo, is there anything about the practice that gives you relief in any way?

Phew. Haven’t answered your question yet but I promise I will. 😉

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi D

So, the shorter leg is the one you lean on. When you stand with your weight on that leg, you affect the mechanisms that support that leg and hip and you use the skeletal system (via a locking of sorts) rather than musculature to hold your body in space. You’ll notice that if you try to switch weighting and lean on the other leg, you can do it but it’s not as comfortable or comforting, so pretty quickly you’re leaning back on that dominant leg. By standing the way you do, you’re actually affecting a difference in the way your ligaments (and muscles) hold your hips/pelvis. Whether or not one leg is shorter than the other is immaterial here really. What you actually have to focus on is standing with your weight evenly distributed between your legs. It is possible that your legs are exactly the same length but you notice a relative leg length difference because of the habitual patterns of standing and weighting that have been set up unconsciously.

In case you’re not convinced, I have to tell you that when I first started Bikram yoga I noticed a leg length difference, used a folded towel under my heel. It felt good. For a shortish while, I hid it under my mat so that I wasn’t chastised by the teachers. The osteopath the studio recommended, corroborated the leg length difference story. He gave me orthotics. All because I had a shorter leg. I spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on treatment. Anyway, as time went on I dispensed with the prop and the orthotics and simply focused on precision pose techniques and mindfully weighting my feet and legs. That did the trick. When I went to ‘training’ where you do almost 100 classes in 2 months, all my ‘differences’ and issues disappeared, including leg length difference and my apparent scoliosis. Be aware that when you do little yoga or go through times where you are not practising much or at all (and that happens), or you’re only going say, once per week the change is not going to be as obvious. But definitely mindful awareness is key.

I’m only going on the words you write. There could be something else going on, so let’s see. I would be very interested to know what happens with you and whether your leg is longer than the other and by how much. Unless they are truly and markedly different lengths, your body should be able to cope and adapt without presenting lopsidedness. Keep me posted.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Slipjig

I always worry about any studio who shows no interest in ailments or conditions, because it usually means that they think the yoga will fix EVERYTHING and that (and this may not be the case here) the Bikram dialog is just perfect and you can rely on the scripted class for any and everything… and all you have to do is just refer to the words.

What happened at the studio is wrong on a good few levels. There has definitely been some reactivity on both sides of the equation. You were certainly brave enough to share your proclamation when you were asked by the teacher what was wrong. It is natural to feel strongly that there was a connection between the push on the ankle (gentle or ungentle) and then the cramping in your biceps.

However, I don’t know whether anyone could blame the push of the ankle with the cramping of your arm muscles. So rather than ascribe blame there, I would like to draw your attention to what happened after that.

By your account, there appears to be no enquiry into the real problem and there appears to be a lack of compassion. If someone’s arm were cramping I would be perhaps getting them some electrolytes, (at my studio there would be salt at the desk for that purpose) asking them to drink, finding out if they minded if I helped by massaging the area or any number of things.

How does anybody talk about ‘fault’ when it comes to a muscle cramp?

Anyway, the rest of the account appears to be a childish ‘he said she said’ exchange which shows little customer service ethic.

My questions to you are these: Are you considering going back to this studio? Do you really need an apology? Do you think you’ll get it? Do you think you can ask them if they can simply say “may I push on your ankle?” or other simple question before they help you or anyone else?

If they rarely help anybody and rely on the script, then it is good manners to ask every single time. If the culture is one of helping students often, then there tend to be unspoken transactions of permission that occur between student and teacher and in such studios, it may be a look or a nod or something similar that seals the deal. I often just approach someone and before I put my hand on them I say: “may I?” I don’t even have to say anything else. They’ll nod, say yes. Or on the odd occasion, they’ll say no.

As far as I know, teachers who train with Bikram are told not to touch anybody, they are taught the script will suffice for everything. Your last question is obviously rhetorical! 😉 Typically, if a person is injured in class, a yoga teacher may say (and this is not what I believe) “oh, that happened because you have an old injury and the yoga is causing it to become obvious/come to the surface.” Or similar words are used. In my experience, if you do the yoga with precision techniques properly applied, then you can avoid damage, heal what’s there and not have to re-experience old injuries!

But, if someone experiences pain or injury in class, the first thing to do is show caring. If it’s serious, then help the person. If it’s not, they can rest and rejoin when they want. It would be rare to turf someone out of a studio for saying they hurt themselves.

If the tables were turned, can you tell me if everything were the same as you detail it, would you have had that student leave immediately?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Beverly

Standing Separate Leg Intense Stretch: Ankles are fine for the grip as long as your thumbs are near your fingers and grasping around the front. 🙂

Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee: As long as hips are in alignment and flat to floor or ceiling and square to wall, you’ll be fine. The weighting is such that it only FEELS like it’s in the front leg because of the mechanism of weight-shifting that occurs in walking. So, if your attention is on your hips and their alignment the weight distribution will be perfect. Swivel dem hips to make the adjustments. Many people cannot get their head to knee. Another question for you, have you ever tried to put your feet in position (ie back foot at 45 degrees and front foot parallel to side of mat) BUT with your heels NOT lined up back to front? Try this experiment and get back to me: Step out to the side, pivot on heels to get perfect alignment, then introduce lateral space so that you have about 3 inches between the imaginary parallel lines that run through your back heel and your front foot. Tell me what happens to your pose. Tell me what happens to your legs, front knee, hips, hands, head and proximity to knee. I am wanting a better sense of your pose.

For pigeon pose, check Dr Google. Actually, I am pretty sure I have written instructions within the ‘walls’ of this forum. Get a photo through on online search. Then before you try it, look on the forum for the written instructions.

Floor Bow: Wait until you have some runs on the board with the Half Moon arm technique that you apply to other poses. I want you to feel some improvement there before you try this pose. However, please answer this: Can you reach ONE arm back at a time? If so, what can you reach, touch or grab on your leg ankle or foot? Recognising that your hip may lift as you grab that part of your leg, can you tell me if, after you settle into a grip of that part of your leg, both hips are on the ground?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Stuart

Rehabilitation of the lungs is a real possibility when you stop smoking. But, to actually be able to breathe fully and deeply and to draw the breath deep into the lower parts of your lungs is a universal need (of all breathers, whether they smoke/d or not). Breathing needs practice and attention and yoga can give it to you. I imagine that your capacity to breathe as well as you would like, is limited at the moment. Any yoga practice will help you enormously. And the hot yoga is really going to make those changes for you even more quickly than in a regular unheated room. Also the fact that hot yoga has you practise in front of a mirror can greatly help. You focus will naturally be on the breath, but know too, that the way you hold your body, your posture and your yoga alignment in the poses will also give you a better foundation to a better and deeper breath.

So, yes, there is most definitely a solution to your problem in yoga! Go find yourself a class and let us know how you go.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello lemoncurdmama

Would love to know what’s happening? You still doing hot yoga? I have had students who have had a similar issue and don’t seem to be able to gain shape. They also worry about doing the exercise they love.

The issue might be best handled from a nutritional standpoint. I have on occasion suggested calorie-dense ideas. One that has had particular success is choosing something like a dense nut milk or a smoothie (green or otherwise) filled with good quality ingredients such as nuts, coconut cream, greens, some fruit etc, and drink that after your meal, or as a between-meal snack. Instead of just drinking a big glass of water it could be a nut milk (or upgrade to a smoothie if you have the space for it). No need to drink it fast.

Have you ever tried anything like this suggestion before?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂