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in reply to: Strain question #4243
Hi Steve
fraseram asks some good questions. At times I have too felt that same strain on the inside of the half moon curve.
You are right in considering the weight in the heels. You can experiment with not lifting your toes for now, while you work on other aspects of your alignment.
For example, you can try not to push your hips so far forward. It is possible that you have pushed them too far toward the mirror (front wall) and you are leaning your upper body back incorrectly. This often happens when people try to compensate for the shift in moving the weight backward. The body is trying to stop you falling over. Just let up a little.
Another thing to do is focus on the upper body. Lift up through the chest and you will find quite a bit of pressure comes off the hips area. Your shoulders will drop and your arms will come back but it does take your body into alignment without overly pushing the hips forward.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: felt weak for the 1st time #4227Oh yes peregrine
that DOES happen. It is not something I can predict. But sometimes I feel physically weak (lacking some stamina), and sometimes emotionally weak (unable to do some of my emotional-body-exposing poses to the same extent).
Observe, breathe, and do what you can! Also recognize if you think it is related to your nutrition (by checking on hydration, electrolytes, food) and your frequency of practice (I don’t mean too often, maybe too seldom can be a problem too!).
Namaste
Gabrielle:)in reply to: shoulder help in ardha chandrasana #4223Hi Jenilyn
Hmmmm I know the feeling! You see some people bring their arms back by their ears, and others’ are not even in proximity of their heads!
See if you can use this little tip!
Now when most people finish the side bends they then have their arms up and then just drop their head back. What helps is to relax your shoulders as much as you can before you put your head back.
So before you do relax your head backward, keep your fingers interlocked, bend your elbows quite markedly (they will bend kind of forward toward the mirror) at the same time as lengthening the neck and dropping the shoulders back. Now drop the head back. Only then extend the arms back up over your head.
When you are in the pose you can make more slight adjustments. Relax the shoulders in a similar way while you are backbending and notice how much more your neck relaxes, you will notice that not only does your backbend deepen but now you will feel some extra freedom in your arms to move back further.
Let me know how that works for you!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: 30 Day Challenge Difficulties #4220Hello everyone
Congratulations on your challenge. I know these challenges become an important commitment to all that attempt them.
While I do warmly encourage you to do what you want to do I would like to offer an opinion that may even seem a bit controversial.
Here is a list of some possible things you can do for recovery:
** Take an epsom salt bath
** Meditate
** Massage and many other things!!!!
** and the biggie (which for me is a no-brainer if you are experiencing the relevant signs): TAKE A DAY OFFWhat you need to do is learn proper recovery skills. Recovery is a crucial part of any exercise program. It seems to me that MANY people are having difficulties in their physical regime by not taking a day off per week. These 30 day challenges are fairly new. Bikram first had 60 day challenges and they always incorporated 1 day off per week. Now however that seems to have been thrown aside.
From a commercial standpoint, they are not good for business for many reasons. The most important thing to be aware of is that for some a short term challenge is well, a challenge. 😉 Beyond this finite commitment you have to have what you REALLY need and that is the stamina, the fortitude and the commitment to have a regular and frequent practice — one that goes beyond 30 or 60 days. One where the reward is the yoga itself, not the t shirt, the public accolades, not the name on the wall, just the yoga and what it means to you. Many people simply don’t come back to a regular practice once their challenge is finished with. With a studio in a smallish resort town we always geared our promotions and policy toward building our business. You may think that is a no-brainer, but a friend of mine owns a studio in a city with 5 million inhabitants. They have more new people in a week than they know what to do with. Almost 200 newbies. Too many to even enter them into the computer. They don’t care if people come back or not. They don’t even measure (or even need to measure) if people continue after finishing a challenge. They are too busy just coping.
Yes, it is possible to do 30, 60 or many more yoga classes in a row without a day off. But doing ANY amount without paying due care and attention, without listening to your body when it is screaming out for some rest, well, that doesn’t make sense to me.
What your yoga practice is supposed to do is develop and finesse your intuitive skills, by paying attention, by being the observer. So if what you are observing is a tightening up of your body, and a whole lot less ease (aka you notice that you are struggling and are even in pain) then surely your yoga would be to observe that and take rest.
I have given an idea elsewhere in the forum that I have used which works for many and that is, if you insist on continuing to work beyond what appears to be a reasonable physical limit (where your body tightens up and resists your asana) then go to class as early as you can one morning, and then late as you can the next night. At least then you will be satisfying your daily commitment in your personal challenge, AND getting what FEELS like 2 whole days off. Then try to rest at least one of those days.
It may even be advisable to check into some other aspects of your health.
For example have you had a recent blood test? Is your blood showing all its markers within normal range. Have you checked your Vitamin B levels, your Iron levels, what about Potassium and Magnesium (for starters). Is your diet sufficient during this potentially physically and mentally stressful time? Is there enough protein in your diet, or raw vegetables or sprouts or whatever else does it for you! Are you getting enough rest? :cheese:PS since I started writing this response Gabi has posted and says to relax! I think she is right. It does sound a little as though you could be trying so hard to do this that your effort/surrender equation is a little weighted on the effort side.
What I can also add is that somehow it is the HARDEST thing to do to NOT do your best (aka go to your limit WITHOUT struggle) in your class. This is what your practice is about and it is hard to pull back from there and still feel that immense satisfaction. There is a fine line between backing off and not pushing to your limit every day and listening to your body. Personally I find it hard not to work hard :cheese: if you know what I mean. Recovery for me is the key.
In summary, I am not trying to dissuade you from a challenge, I am underlining the need for recovery. I for example might approach it like this: start my 30 day challenge with the intention of doing at least 6 days per week. On the 7th day I would listen to my body and decide at that point whether it was a recovery day I needed or whether I felt physically like going. I know it is possible. I used to go 8 times a week when I started
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: broken hip #4191What can I say Amy
YOU ARE AMAZING! :cheese:
So committed. And an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many others.Isn’t it amazing that a little incident can prove so ‘serious’ in its result? Incredible that you are up and walking and strong. I wish you all the best. I know you to be very attentive to your body and your practice so beyond doing what you are doing (not fully weighting it for too long in standing balancing just yet) continue to listen to what works for you. I guess it is a real balance you are playing here: between allowing the right amount of healing time and working your tissues to their previous ranges of motion. I am interested to keep a track of your progress.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What are the benefits of a 30-day challenge #4181Hi kinks
just a quickie 😉
Was your 30 day challenge a 30 day no break challenge or one with a day off every week? As I understand it these new(ish) 30 day challenges do not ‘allow’ the punter to take a day off. I am happy to be informed by anyone as to the modus operandi of the different challenges. The 60 day challenges are 6 days per week and the 7th day ye shall rest. :cheese: Recuperation and regeneration is very important. Others like you have reported feeling stiffer as their challenge progressed because they were not giving their bodies time to rest and recover.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Foos
For the past month I’ve done Bikram yoga between 6-4 times per week. Somewhere after week two, I noticed that drinks no longer passed straight through to my bladder. I’ve had this condition for 14 years or so (I’m 52 now). Now I’ve cut back on the amount of fluid I drink before class because I can feel it in my intestines (and it makes some forward bending poses uncomfortable).
There are lots of Bikram poses which supposedly benefit the kidneys. Any suggestions on which poses most likely caused my sudden improvement??
How satisfying to know that what you are doing is giving you tangible benefit!!! There is some truth in saying all poses in the series are helping you heal.
I would like to look at it a little differently.
Much of your overall health and wellbeing comes from your ability to breathe more fully. This effects great stimulation of your lymphatic system and ridding yourself of your body’s wastes. The different moves in your asana, the compressions and stretches and the twists are affording you greater manipulation, massage and cleansing in all your organs, in your circulatory system and toning your nerve function. So your hormonal systems are being “RESET” to much better function.
In particular you have a handful of hormones that DIRECTLY effect your kidney function. One of these ADH or ANTIDIURETIC HORMONE is produced in the hypothalamus, released by the posterior pituitary (all deep in the brain), angiotensin II and aldosterone are produced locally in the kidneys, and there is even a hormone released in the heart that effects balance in this system.
So when you talk of which poses actually benefit the kidneys it is not simply those that stretch, compress or twist the kidneys themselves. Naturally, there are some poses that won’t effect change in some systems. I think you can take a global or holistic view and see that you can’t really separate one pose from another in its ability to help, just as no system in the body works in isolation. Having said that it doesn’t hurt to check out the list of benefits of poses as a guideline to what they can do for you. It can certainly help you focus your intention or be more mindful of your body.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Reoccuring Neck Injury #4175Hello iwanttobelieve
Welcome to the forum!
Would you clarify something for me please? You say that you “recently injured my neck after a Bikram class”. I was just wondering if I am to assume that you believe it happened DURING class? Your post seems to reflect that. I just want to be sure. You mention some chiropractic x rays. Did they indicate you didn’t have the problem before? If you have some indication of how and when that happened in class that would be helpful for me.
Regardless of the cause of injury you want to know what to do to avoid further injury and also to effect some healing right now!
I think it is possible to get hurt in yoga. If you are not applying correct principles of movement and techniques then sure, damage is possible. There are certainly plenty of things you can do to screw up different parts of the body. They could be due to:
a) the degree of ‘body awareness’ of the student
b) the degree of ‘body awareness’ of the instructor
c) the ability of the student to take on instruction that is consistent with their current understanding; and that expands it in a way that doesn’t overwhelm their conscious mind with TOO MUCH NEW STUFF to take on at any one time
d) the ability of the instructor to CONVEY the instructions consistent with the current level of awareness of each student in the room… and that’s just a few things to consider.
I would really like a little more info from you. For example have you been back to yoga since? What limitations have you in your neck now? I actually do believe that the answer is in CORRECT use of your neck in yoga. There are some great modifications you can do to manage this to get you back into your practice without the fear so often associated with taking the head back on a sore neck.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Scott, hello outward1 😉
Welcome to the forum Scott. Thanks so much for your question and thanks for that extremely comprehensive response outward1.
I can add a couple of things. Another reason apart from filtration that you want to draw the air in through your nose is actually humidification.
So what does humidification actually do? Well it makes you less susceptible to respiratory infection; helps oxygen transfer through the lungs (hmmm that sounds good); keeps passages lubricated (have you ever had a dry mouth or throat?); and helps keep the throat and nasal passages clear.
I may not be right here, but because of the loud noise you mention, it seems to me that your efforts to breathe through your nose could be more like sniffing. In fact I have referenced my own video on breathing, below. In it you will discover why you actually feel more exhausted with the way you are breathing at the moment. Fear not! :cheese: It doesn’t take much to transform your breath to something much more satisfying. It takes a little time. Outward1 has given some great ideas for you to try.
The reason I would really like to direct you to my video on breathing is because I have included some diagrams and clear explanations on how and why you breathe through the nose. Here’s the link: Effective breathing in hot yoga. I also discuss the effect on the parasympathetic nervous system and detail the scientific principles that will help you understand breathing more fully.
When you breathe correctly through your nose to literally DRAW your breath in more deeply, the noise comes from the throat. It can be described as an ocean sound, or rushing air, or a wind. The better you get at it the more refined the sound. It is not the same as that loud sniffing noise that you may be hearing at the moment and it definitely DOES NOT involve the larynx. In other words there is no ‘note’ or singing sound to go along with it. (Just a quick note, in the video, the sound of the breathing is quite strong, the microphone is right next to the throat). And the valve you manipulate to draw the air in, is not at the base of the throat, it is the glottis at the back of the throat. That noise you ‘feel’ down between the clavicles is the rushing of the air.
Anyway, I hope you have enough to go on for the moment! Breathing is a skill worth deepening. When you can harness that skill it simply is transformational because of the effect it has on calming you, slowing everything down, improving your immune system and your feeling of wellbeing!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Heat reaction #4171Hi everyone
Just wanting to ask a few questions:
@LoveTheHeat Do you have anything that would give us a reason why the heat should go up? Why 109F? I am genuinely curious and posing this without judgment of your opinion. I would like to know on what you are basing your opinion.
@robf Can you tell me whether you are noticing that the temperature is hotter sometimes by the way you feel, or whether you have logged the actual ambient temperature on those days where it feels hotter?
Why do I ask this? Because my experience tells me that:
a) the temperature reading on the thermometer is NOT everything
b) most people don’t know what the real temperature in the room is at any one time.
c) if your studio has only one thermometer in the room it is not giving an accurate reading, only the reading in one spot.
d) humidity levels have a HUGE effect on your PERCEPTION of the heat. For example a class run at low humidity (of say 25%) with a high temperature of 110F doesn’t feel as hot as a class run at 70% humidity with a lower temperature of 100F. We worked this out when we started monitoring our own studio years ago. Then we discovered that just like the wind chill factor there is a heat index to explain this phenomenon. Heat index considers the effect that changing temperature (above 80F) and humidity have on our perception of temperature.@davidf15x I would be remiss if I didn’t just confirm with you that you have ruled out other causes (even though you are sure it is the heat). Other things to consider are a change in washing detergent, a reaction to something in the room or something you are in contact with such as a microbe, the possibility that there has been a change in cleaning materials used or change in formulation of cleaning materials used, a soap, a body wash. Something could be activated by the heat. If you feel that this is possible then you could change something in your hot yoga equation. Robert has recently had to change deodorant because he has now become sensitive to the one he has used for several years.
It is possible that one’s body becomes sensitive to something over time, just as it is possible that one’s body’s reaction is attenuated over time (your body gets used to something or that thing becomes less effective).
For anyone else who wants to read a debate on the heat you could go here: How Hot Should Hot Yoga Be?. And a very interesting article by Lesley Funk which is called Hot Yoga: Physiological concerns while exercising in the heat
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bad grip in Standing Head to Knee #4161Hi Stefan
I imagine you may not remember because it has been some time. But on March 6 2008 I posted many tips for you concerning your grip in quite a number of poses including Standing Head to Knee. I just want to give you the link here so you can go and check it out. Because one arm is longer than the other if you try to interlock your fingers I do believe you are going to create quite a large imbalance in this pose.
Anyway go and look at your original posting: One arm 4cm (2 inches) shorter than the other.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Post-yoga flu symptoms #4149Hi Shoshana
Yes, I too am thinking it is hormonal. I know it is frustrating to realize that at the moment your best efforts to stick it out and your sheer willpower are being somewhat thwarted by the changes going on in your body. Keep experimenting as much as you are willing (and in a way that allows you to remain vigilant and aware of what’s going on, yet gentle on yourself)- as you may find a combination of conditions that works uniquely for you. (temperature, length of practice, type of electrolyte consumption and amount of water consumed). You may not fit into any of the pictures that we have offered. So be gentle on yourself and see what you can do to once again enjoy the holistic experience of practicing your yoga. You owe it to yourself.
I don’t think I am out of line in saying that ‘we’ wish you courage and a quick resolution to this!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Post-yoga flu symptoms #4144Hi everyone!!!
I awoke this morning to find this fascinating and long thread appear before my eyes. I agree with what fraseram and outward1 have shared. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I hope we get some responses to those questions.
If you are spending hours in recovery after class (every class!) then something has got to give. Sometimes I find that students use what they have done in the past as their benchmark for what they SHOULD be able to do today. This may or may not be happening for you. When it does happen it is hard for you to be in the moment. All of us have to take each day as it comes and do as suggested and listen to our bodies.
Shoshanah, can you tell us if EVERYTHING feels the same for you DURING the class, but then it ONLY gets pear shaped after class? Given the responses from the 4 of us, what intuition do you have right now about what is happening?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: healing back injuries #4133Hi rubee
Thanks for responding. I have faith that you are approaching it all well. Activating core muscles is easier when you know how. Since you know how, then your yoga practice can incorporate these skills.
What you say does make sense. And I like your observation about the hyperflexible bits compensating for the not so flexible bits. Your injury may actually help teach you how to find more of a balance of strength and flexibility, effort and surrender.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: triangle pose – head rush afterwards #4130Hi Phil
Ah yes, feeling tired in your legs it can be difficult to move on. Yet it does offer the most exquisite opportunity to be present with your body. You can come out because you are tired. But it is at that moment when you decide to stay in that you really can let go of the dread and the thoughts and find yourself in the moment.
There is another side to feeling tired. Is at all possible that you are using too much effort or struggle in your poses? Surrender is difficult for many students (and more often difficult for men where the muscle factor can come into it). I have no idea of your practice but I offer you some things to think about.
Another side to the tiredness is a slight imbalance in your weight distribution. A small adjustment in your stance may change that. For example you say that you feel extra weight in your front leg. Mostly what happens is the weight feels more strongly on the front foot and then even more than that it falls into the toes. The result is feeling as though the foot could slide away from you. Did you happen to read the post on slipping and sliding feet? Or the one entitled What should I be trying to achieve in triangle pose?
I do recognize that your original post was about breathing and you have had some fine suggestions from Jeff. I do know from my own evolution through knowing this pose that this pose can transform from a tiresome, angst-inducing pose (pant, pant 😉 ) to one of energy, vitality and strength with what appears to be small almost imperceptible but significant changes.
Come back to us for clarification, more questions, revelations or news!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: healing back injuries #4129Hi rubee
I am so sorry your experience so far has been not only unrewarding but extremely dangerous.
You are hearing your own voice warning you not to proceed. Do NOT go against it. It is your protective reflex. Just like pulling your hand away from a hot stove.
I am positive that in at least the 2 poses you mention that you can make some great progress. I am also positive that if you read the posts associated with those poses you will work out what to do. And if something is confusing come right back and ask.
To start with go to this post for a great way to deal with not being able to round over to ‘pick up’ the foot. By the way if the words ‘pick up the foot’ are being used you are at risk of doing exactly that and causing lower spine damage. So read this post: cannot reach my feet.
And then take a look at how to set up Head to Knee on the floor. This is one of 3 threads on this pose. Read them all when you have the chance: Problems deepening into this pose.
See what you think. Go and try some new stuff with a new awareness and come back and let me know how it is going.
The other things I want to know: How is your core strength? Have you done some pilates core strengthening to recondition your muscles? Are you relying on Bikram yoga to do that for you?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Flat footed and knock kneed #4119Hello John
Thanks for the response. The good news is that with intention and mindfulness in the way you use and hold your body in and out of class I do believe that you can make some great changes. I want to give you a couple of things to focus on and an exercise to do.
For a start your knees come together which means the outside of your legs is longer and your inner thighs (or adductors) are shorter. Here is an exercise to start to lengthen your inner thighs. Simply sit on the floor (you can do it on a chair – I do it at my desk sometimes) with the soles of your feet together and then allow gravity to take your knees down toward the floor. The longer you sit like that the better. Try a minute, then 2, 3, 10.
In class Tree Pose (Bikram style) where you bring the heel to the opposite hip does help you get a stretch and twist the knee in the right direction. Keep doing this pose if you can.
If you practice Suptavajrasana or Fixed Firm (if you are not sure you can check out the pose gallery photos Pose Gallery) then please for a while I would like you to do something different.
I would prefer for a while and this could be a few weeks (longer or shorter) that you avoid moving your feet apart to position the heels to the outside of your hips. This is actually further exacerbating your problem. Instead bring your feet, knees and heels together. And simply stretch out your inflexible ankles and find and build on the stability in your knees. Don’t go back, just sit here nice and straight. I warn you: some people feel frustrated that they aren’t doing anything (but not you :cheese:)
You mention that you have:
a) at times had success in feeling your arches develop and
b) watched some of my videos.So if you have had a look at Great Posture From The Ground Up you will know that you can effect a ton of changes that reflect in much better posture. It talks about lifting up through the ankle which I hope over time will be easier with the ideas I have given you. It also talks about walking. The use of the outside of the foot and finishing with the big toe is great for you. I would also like you to be more aware of how you may settle into your standing leg when you balance on one leg. Lift up through your hips as well.
Many people do shift their feet to the outside (fan them outward) to find easier balance. Just notice this and try to minimize the action. Over time I would like you to notice how other changes in your body change the degree of difficulty to keep your standing foot in alignment.
There may be other modifications that you need to make with your poses. You may not know what they are at the moment. I could probably preempt some modifications but rather than that, start to become aware of the poses where you feel you are more prone to drop the arch, or for your knees to collapse inward or where the ill-effects are exacerbated. Come back and we can tackle them one by one. I think it would be more useful to create the awareness (largely because many things will fix themselves because of your heightened mindfulness to your form).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Flat footed and knock kneed #4117Hi John
The busyness of life will see me answering this post with more detail in a little while but for the moment is it possible to tell me how you have tried to fix your imbalance in your legs and hips up until now, what exercises, stretches if any you have done? Or is it that you have the condition and have accepted that your body is the way it is? It seems a lot of your issue has the potential to be fixed by evening out your body – strengthening and stretching in the right places – so knowing if you have done and what you have done up til now will be interesting and may help us.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: triangle pose – head rush afterwards #4115Hi Phil
Yes, it could be breathing that needs to be modulated. And I wonder if you are feeling tired in it for any other reasons. Where do you feel the most weight? Is it in one leg over the other, and even one set of toes more than the other? Are you feeling more pressure in your front knee, do you feel as if you are going to fall over? Or are you rock solid feeling comfortable but just don’t have the stamina? Do you feel as if your legs are going to slide apart? Do you feel an imbalance in the front to back direction or do you feel as if you are having to hold your body off the floor?
You may need to read these questions and then go off to class!!! Looking forward to hear what you find out.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: SacroIliac Injury #4113Hi Tania
Hello artwednesdayI am wondering Tania if I can ask you a question that may seem a little cheeky. Can you please tell me more about the circumstances around your diagnosis (ie is it from a doctor, using radiographic or other investigative means, or is it someone surmising that it is SI joint injury? I would like to know because it may in fact mean as artwednesday indirectly suggests, that you have a sciatic condition or some muscular injury/inflammation or nerve compression in that area. I agree with artwednesday’s approach too. Your posture in your other-than-yoga moments is just as important.
All in all however (from what I glean from your post) I do believe that movement and stretching and correct precise mindful technique and alignment can give you back more symmetrical pose comfort. 😉
I know I am already preaching to the converted here because you have noticed so much, but don’t be concerned about the depth on the difficult side. Try even harder on that side to keep excellent alignment. I recommend going to the forum, if you haven’t already, to investigate techniques of the poses that you refer to and see if anything resonates or works for you there. And then I invite you to come back here and give more specifics about the when, the how and the what for each of the poses so that we all can be of more help.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What are the benefits of a 30-day challenge #4110Hello LoveTheHeat
I imagine you are feeling a little bemused by your sudden inflexibility! I am wondering too if you have done your yoga days straight. Because if you have, your body is probably crying out for some recovery time.
With only a week to go, maybe go early one morning and then as late as you can the next night to try and get 2 whole days of rest recovery for your body. And aaaaah yes a massage will be a lovely treat.
@Bonnie
I look forward to your reflections about your feelings during and after your aerobics class. I have my own predictions :cheese:Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Pain between shoulder Blades #4105Hello Jeanne
That’s a wonderful thing to do! Something else to add to the tool box. :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Hamstring Insertion Injury #4093Hi Lulu
I hope by now you have had a chance to read the article I pointed you to before about the hamstrings. You mention a number of times that you have problems with Standing Sep Leg Stretching and I am positive you will find the key there: Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga.
With regard to the poses you mention in your last post:
With Standing Bow Pulling, I once again recommend you looking at the posts for that pose. In a nutshell you should NOT be consciously bending forward at all. It is all about the kick.
Re triangle: would you tell me whether it is both legs bothering you or just the bent or only the extended leg?
In Separate Leg Stretching it could be that although your legs are bent your arms may be bent too, which will mean your body is too far forward. Let me know!
Lulu I know now that since posting you have purchased my manual (humble and grateful thanks) so I am hoping that the step by step pose descriptions with photos will assist you greatly.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: home heaters #4088Hi Phil, hi Lannette
Here is some information from some of my US students who have kindly shared with me what they use to heat their rooms. Lannette I am sure I emailed you some of this info already. :cheese:
One person uses a Holmes Infrared Quartz heater (feels like a hot lamp but not enough to heat the room to proper hot yoga temps). So he ordered a Vornado electric heater which is supposed to be very powerful and is capable of 105 plus degrees to use in conjunction with the other. He also uses a Honeywell Quick Steam Humidifier which is digital and gets to as high as 65%. It should be turned on a while before class depending on the ambient humidity.
Another uses a Kenwood and a Holmes electric oil filled heater. Both 1500W and both state cut out thermostats of 95F. However ‘waterwatch’ says temp reaches over 100F. Waterwatch also runs the appliances on different circuits where possible. This is actually information that she shared on another thread.
And here’s my 2c worth: make sure that you have excellent insulation. If your floor is non-carpeted then you may find it takes longer to heat the space and it may be harder to hold the heat in there. Take a look at what is on your windows. Maybe stick up a layer of plastic (that vinyl kind of stuff they use for restaurant awnings) and this will markedly change the ability to retain heat in the room. Our first home studio we heavily insulated in the roof just over that room and it worked beautifully.
Although the heater you use is important the insulation and the way you treat the hard surfaces can make or break your ability to reach the right temperature. In that first studio we had a heater that was supposed to get to temp but never did till we covered the cold floor and also lined the window.
I hope there are others out there who can chime in with other brand names that work for them.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: A little bit of inspiration badly needed. #4084Hi rumrunner
I am sorry for your loss and wish you courage to get through your difficult time.
It does seem that you are looking for some reassurance that what you are doing is OK and that your actions and decisions are independent of the sadness that has befallen you and that practicing your yoga won’t cause you harm.
I guess what life does is present us with opportunities which at the time may seem the complete opposite to what you intended.
If I can tell of my experience: the very week I started yoga (maybe the second or third class) was a time that I had a great sadness which although not associated with the death of somebody, was extremely upsetting. I continued to go regardless and what I found was that my sessions were (for a while) very, very upsetting. But somehow that connection in the mirror allowed me to grieve and connect with the unresolved feelings I had (allowing me to process them in a really wonderful way).
It sounds to me that there could be a kernel of something left undone for you and rather than the yoga causing more of this it may help you dig a little deeper and find some completion.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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