Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Hi folks

Part of the answer lies in what your habits are! For me, I actually drink quite a bit of water just about as soon as I get up (up to a liter). Somehow this gives me less likelihood of interrupting a morning class. So if you aren’t in the habit of drinking a lot at one time, then you can create that… just go slow, and don’t slam it down (as suggested by axiomista).

I also believe that one should drink a reasonable amount before and not just leave it til after class. Perhaps a pint/600ml would be a good amount. It shouldn’t have you leaving class for a bio-break. The fact is that we significantly dehydrate during our sleep hours. Case in point; your pee is usually quite dark in the morning – at least darker than during the day. So yes I also agree, drinking sufficiently the night before is also important. Once again create the habit over time.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Catrina

Oh that’s good – a gentle suggestion is better than an order! I have met people who have been new to a studio but with a regular practice who have been ousted from the front by the teachers.

What I was trying to explain (but I don’t think I was as eloquent as I could have been) is that new students don’t necessarily benefit from being at the back with all the other newbies. A mix of students around the room is much better. A newbie at the front row can be perfectly fine – but is definitely easier for them to be behind someone IF they have NEVER done ANY yoga before.

There IS a lot to be said for working hard: it is very satisfying. Your job is to find the balance between the effort you expend and the amount you are able to surrender to the pose. This is often the path for many new yogis.

I really think that your difficulties do lie with your newness of your journey. That by now your heat acclimatization process is definitely over now – in the physiological sense. How you are responding to the heat mentally is a different process. 😉

No doubt you can now apply many more distinctions to your practice than was possible when you wrote your first post after having been to only 12 classes. Each day, each class brings a different kind of experience. It is wonderful how this path unfolds. In fact my guess is that you are still here because you are really being bitten by this hot yoga bug and you are seriously calling into question the initial concerns that your PT had that it was too athletic for you. I am sure you will proudly prove them wrong – and that will be a pleasure for both of you!

And for the record, if and when I run any kind of educational events, yoga retreats, or trainings it would be more likely to be in the US or thereabouts. So thank you very much for the lovely feedback about my manual. I appreciate it.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Jed

Thanks for writing about this very interesting issue. I know of some studios that have actually stopped teaching Toe Stand because of potential issues.

One of the issues (and I am NOT saying this is you) is that students think they ought to be ready for the pose when perhaps they are not. Sometimes they say, I have been coming for x amount of time. This approach works sometimes but it could simply be that you a) don’t know the signs of when to attempt the descent or even b) your teacher may not know either. With the common belief that this yoga heals everything and that it rehabilitated someone with crushed knees, no wonder students are in a hurry to do Toe Stand.

Now for some questions:
>> You say that you hurt your knee ‘after’ doing toe stand. Have you got any awareness of whether it was when your right foot was on the floor or at your left hip?
>> Can you pinpoint a moment where you felt undue pressure or tension in that knee?
>> Would you consider yourself to be flexible?
>> When you lift either of your heels up to your hip, do you have to hold it in place with your hand or can you let go of your heel?
>> If and when you do let go of your heel, where does your foot settle? And please try to describe that in terms of where your lifted heel is in relation to your hip, your femur or the inside or outside of that thigh.

The click is of some concern, so let’s hear your answers first…

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Steve

That’s great news. I knew that it would be the start of great things for you in this pose (and the others like it!).

There is a common thread between these 2 Janushirasana poses. The best practice you can do is to learn how to set up the dynamic in the right way (and I guess that is what you meant by working harder in Sitting Head to Knee! This is your key. The forum posts will help you.

If you are talking about something you can do to set this up and practice it while working then I can’t offer you anything off the top of my head that could be practiced at a desk. Is that what you mean?

Come back if you need more help!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Steve

Re range of motion: just as I thought! 😉

I am going to PM you!!!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Spring

Wow, breakthroughs in Janushirasana, Paschimottanasana, Spinal Twist and Sit-up in one class. Thank you for posting all 3 ‘success broadcasts’. Makes the HYD very happy. :cheese:

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Steve

You must feel so satisfied with your practice with your breathing breakthrough!

Next question re your wife’s arms. You mention she can only lift her left arm up to 45 degrees. If she were to put her left hand on her left shoulder (or bend her arm in some way) how far can she lift her left arm? Is movement still limited to 45 degrees?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi David

Can you please tell me about what is going on in your shoulders? Please tell me when you are trying to get your arms close in under the body do your shoulders also move in.

It is possible that you have locked yourself into a position with your long arms(!) that is preventing you from distributing the weight correctly.

See what happens if you were to externally rotate the arms to seat your shoulders back and down and then position your arms under the body. Then try to ‘push your heart’ into the floor to create the opening where you need it.

Anyway see if any of that means something to you and get back to me. In the meantime I remember posting responses to similar questions before that I can’t quite seem to find at this moment.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Catrina

I was told the studio is heated to 110 degrees. At a certain point in the class, windows are opened a bit to let in more oxygen and, I assume, reduce the heat.

For me that is the upper end of reasonable temperature for the studio. If your room is really OVER crowded then there is a slim chance that the windows are being opened for more oxygen. It is more likely to allow the temp or even the humidity to lessen, to make conditions more comfortable. Sometimes it’s also psychologically easier for students when the windows are opened! 😆 It also means the system is not ideal – but I am not being critical of the system. I have a personal preference based on my beliefs that the upper level need be no higher than 105F.

the beginners are asked to stay further back in the room and watch advanced students in the more difficult poses for direction (not while practicing but sitting out during the first series of a posture). There’s very little individual attention and, if you’re doing a posture incorrectly, injury may follow. Also, there’s much emphasis on going deeper in the poses and working harder, which can also lead to injury if you’re not ready to do so.

I actually don’t believe that all beginners should be forced down the back of the room. I like to move them through the room so that there may be someone in front and to the side of them that I know knows the poses with great technique. This way the new student can look forward at themselves. They have good examples near them and can see their reflection too and they can see all that with their peripheral vision.

[Actually I have to say as a teacher, there is almost nothing worse than having all your new students together. They don’t feel as supported and they don’t get the good start that they deserve.]

It is not reasonable to expect that this is the way a beginner should learn. You ALSO need quality instruction. Otherwise you are going to learn what you see – and what you see may not be either seen or understood with clarity, or you could be learning how to do the poses the wrong way. What guarantee have you that what you are seeing is correct? If the level of expertise supposedly reduces as you move back from the mirror what chance have you if you are right at the back. There are plenty of regular students who like to move around the room so that they can experience different learning perspectives.

Yes I agree with you that doing a pose incorrectly can lead to injury. It really depends on the quality of teaching, the environment, the care and attention and how you are expected to learn.

Re the emphasis on going harder and deeper:
Do you perhaps attend a studio with a militant style? Without a basis of good solid technique and appropriate guidelines any student is at risk of injury.

How can I help you Catrina? Is it with a pose by pose approach, with direction to other posts in the forum or asking your own specific questions? I think I have talked enough about the quality of teaching but really what it boils down to is how you are going to get your outcomes and ENJOY your experience and feel supported.

Please let me know what I can do for you?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Alice

Firstly, thank you for asking these questions and thank you very much for ordering my manual etc. I appreciate it. :cheese:

Can you remember taking on a new task or learning something new in the past that was so easy that you got everything first go? Unless there is a huge amount of overlap with what you already know then it is likely to take some time to ‘get’ it. For example if you practice and are proficient at Power Yoga and you go to another similar style say Vinyasa Flow (it’s just an example 😉 ) that has some overlap, then it may be just a small step where you can use your basic understanding of your existing practice including pose principles to get you through more easily. Your yoga practice is a work in progress.

Here is what I would like to recommend for you. In the introductory chapters (if you haven’t already read that) go to the section called “Learning About Learning”. What follows will help you understand your learning process and some other very helpful hints and tips.

When you use the DVDs try this: DVD 1 has double set classes which means poses are run through twice (just as would happen in a studio class). DVD 1 has separate chapters of each pose or exercise, so you can review them separately. You can do number of things:

>> run through a pose (or 2 or 3) on the DVD before you do the class. Treat them as a mini tutorial. Follow that up with reading about one of those poses in the manual.

>> as the DVD Vol 1 has double set classes you could watch the first set, then do the second set.

>> Perhaps even start on one of the very short classes (the 35 min double set or the 20 min single set). Not only will there be less to focus on and learn but you can carry those principles with you as your understanding and body knowledge expands.

It is definitely more challenging to learn it from scratch at home without an instructor to show you or help you. The step by step information in the manual and the onscreen info should make that easier.

You know, it is a rare student, even under an instructor’s eye that can get everything in the first few classes. Be easy on yourself.
You can use this forum or write to me too!!!

And lastly, having the shower on for a while or some way of creating humidity (even consider a humidifier) is a great thing to do. The perception of the heat will increase and you will have that satisfying sweat.

I hope you feel more relaxed about approaching your practice now with these pointers.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Catrina

It seems as though your problems are more likely to be instruction related. There is also the possibility that the studio could be superheated. I can’t tell from your post. It is normal for people to feel fatigue during class. Whether that fatigue is because you don’t know many of the techniques that help you economize your efforts and yield greater results, or whether you are simply not fully acclimatized to the heat I can’t tell. But if you are in your first few weeks of practice then don’t be concerned.

I know when we talked about your questions today, Robert said that he would come and post and say that his issues with his lax ankle ligaments and his meniscal problems IMPROVE when he does yoga, they never get worse. That is his experience of course.

Remember that you are but a babe in the hot yoga woods. I really don’t think this style is too athletic. When you understand the techniques better (in whatever form you wish to learn them 😉 ) then you will get a lot more satisfaction from your practice.

There are ways to learn that. You can scour this forum for hundreds of tips and techniques. At the risk of sounding like an ad (which I don’t want to do) my manual would certainly help out and it would last longer than a private class.

Thanks Rebecca for your comments. There is really not much in this world that is for everyone. Oxygen is one that definitely is. :cheese: All bodies are different. There aren’t many there can’t do at least most of the poses taught in a hot yoga room (with or without the heat).

The principles that I teach are really not wild modifications but are based on sound biomechanical principles. Unfortunately it is an approach that is not used by many/all teachers. Every body is different and that includes teachers. Hopefully they bring something different to their classes in some way.

Iyengar yoga is considered postural. I don’t know if it makes it any more strengthening than this yoga. There are certainly occasions where some will teach a more anatomically aware or technique based class and I am not sure if it is confined to certain styles.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Gena

Am I to presume you are on the oral contraceptive pill? This may have something to do with the pill you are taking or the length of time you have been taking it or that a reassessment of the brand/type could be made. All of these issues are those you take up with your doc!

It can be difficult to work out the cause of something when it has happened for the first time. There could be other reasons for the irregularity. It is my experience that regularity happens over time with changes to the hormonal systems.

I would closely monitor what is going on with your dates. I know many people who have had unusual occurrences with their periods with and without the pill.

This could be a one-off. I would be interested to find out if anyone else has had the same thing happen. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions at this stage so if you feel the need for a gyn appointment go ahead. You could wait for your next cycle too and see if with regular practice everything settles down (that is if your practice has anything to do with it).

It is worth asking yourself if your level of comfort has improved with your yoga or make any other comparisons to your normal experience.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Michelle

I only received that email 24 hours ago!!! I am onto it now! Thanks for the reminder.

Keep me posted on your progress – your back and your challenge!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂