kfi2000

Hey…sorry you felt yelled at. At least your name wasn’t shouted out! This class can indeed be strict. It is a beginner’s class and there is little tolerance for using props or changing the postures, unless instructed to do so. Hopefully your instructor is also caring and helpful.

It sounds like you are bringing an extra towel into class with you. Is that to use as you described or for wiping sweat? I used to bring a hand towel in with me also at the beginning of my practice. Over time, I learned not to use it and then stopped bringing it in at all. The only posture where a prop is used in that class is in Rabbit, because in that posture losing your grip on your heels can cause injury. But you don’t need it for other postures. It might seem like you do, and I understand your frustration in being corrected for something that made sense for you to do. But you don’t actually need the towel. Over time, you will learn to do the posture without the towel, and without the slipping. I admit that I sometimes wipe my hands on my towel just before I grab my knee, but otherwise work on the grip and you will be fine. If the grip slips, just redo it.

The other posture where people tend to “cheat” in my class is Triangle….they position themselves so one foot is on their towel/mat, to keep from slipping. But here too you can learn to do the posture without slipping, as your muscles improve and you figure out how to engage the thigh muscles to keep your position without sliding. It seems nearly impossible in the beginning!

Hang in there. I encourage you to talk with your instructor about any instruction or correction you don’t understand.

Namaste!

-Kristin

Congratulations!! For the “not so naturally flexible types” (like me) that is quite an accomplishment. 😆

Good question, and I am not a doctor and don’t profess to know from a medical standpoint. But, my sister has kidney disease (IgA nephropathy) and she practiced Bikram yoga until her kidneys declined to the point that she had to go on dialysis. Her doctor was very concerned about the impact of the heat and the sweating on her kidneys, but my sister found that from doing the practice, she did not have to restrict her potassium or sodium nearly as much (she sweat it all out) and felt pretty good overall. At her studio, students are discouraged from drinking water during class, but given my sister’s condition, the instructor was supportive of her need to drink water, and even made comments during class to make sure she was drinking enough.

At one point, as her kidney functioning continued to decline, the doctors insisted she stop the yoga. She did, taking a break of almost a month until her next blood work. The next test showed the same trend, certainly no improvement, so it seemed that stopping the yoga did not help, and doing the yoga did not hurt, so she went back to class. Once she had to start home dialysis, she obviously had to stop, although now she feels so good she talks about going back to yoga.

She also struggled with the blood pressure issue, but from my perspective, when she was going to yoga AND hydrating properly (throughout the day, not just in class), her BP was under better control. Her doctor was understandably concerned, because he had seen people come into his office in renal failure because of extreme hydration, and he didn’t want the yoga to further damage my sister’s kidneys. By the end of her yoga practice, her doctor seemed to have reconsidered his opinion on the yoga…he wasn’t as against it as before, and even joked that he should give it a try.

I hope this information helps you. My biggest recommendation is to track your condition closely, hydrate well, and listen to your body.

-kristin

Ok, I’ll jump in. At my studio, it is typically 105 degrees and 40% humidity. I can have some pretty good classes in those conditions but it is challenging. Once in a while, the conditions are more extreme….heat is higher or humidity is higher, or both. I end up having to sit out postures and I don’t feel like I’m really getting the benefits from the class that I want. In fact, I’ve experienced what seems like an inflammatory reaction in those classes (some joint pain). In one class, I checked it at the end and it was 108 and 60% humidity. Put that info into an internet site to find a heat index of 162! Ok, no wonder I felt so bad!

Sometimes this has to do with the outside conditions (it was very humid outside that day, for example), and you can’t just lower the temperature, because that increases the relative humidity. I do mention it to the instructors, some are better at controlling the conditions than others.

Lets just say that if all my classes were like that, I’d stop going. I just don’t see the point. I already feel at my threshold, so pushing the conditions to that level is just too much for me, though some folks can do it without obvious problem.

On the other hand, I’ve been in a few classes where it was “cooler” (like 101) and the humidity was very low (problem with equipment). I didn’t like that class as much either, and it seemed like my throat was raw from breathing less humid air.

Just my experience/opinion. I know I’ll never want to go to a studio where it is a competition to see how hot/humid they can make it.

It sounds like you did just Half Moon (the two side bends with backbend). In the actual class, the next pose (hands to feet) is incorporated into Half Moon as well, so bend to the right, to the left, back bend, then hands to feet. That would technically be two poses (in this series).

Half moon is more challenging than it looks, it is an endurance pose. You could back off the intensity a little (don’t go too deep) at first until you get used to it. The most important thing is making sure you have proper form, breathe, and stick with it. Are you working with a book or video? Gabrielle’s book (now in paperback) would help you with that. I’m concerned that you are in so much pain from that pose alone, so do make sure you research as best you can on how to do each pose properly.

Good luck!

The entire class is “26 postures and 2 breathing exercises”, so pranayama breathing would be the first breathing exercise, and then Half Moon would be the first “asana” of the class.

-Kristin

Yes, as a hair dresser I would guess that you are prone to a lot of muscle tension from standing and working with your arms/hands all day.

Of course it will be important to understand how you injured you neck (if you don’t already know) so you can avoid that in the future. For me, it was just being stupid in coming out of a posture (fixed firm) and my entire neck froze up. Gabrielle helped me problem solve the source of it and I haven’t had a problem since. But it took a month or more before I was back to normal postures.

I think living with chronic illness/injury can color your self-perception. I’m glad part of your perception is “strength”, and applaud your stamina to keep doing what is good for your physical and mental health.

I completely agree about teachers who give feedback versus those who don’t! If I get any feedback (compliment or correction) I’m amazed at how I’m suddenly working even harder, though I would have thought that impossible. Of course correcting misalignments is critical, and not all instructors do that. For the teachers who simply recite the dialogue, I feel like they are “phoning it in” and I end up doing the same.

Of course I also like instructors who bring a degree of energy and enthusiasm to the class. Even though it may be the same words I’ve heard countless times, they say them as if its the first time they’ve spoken them. That keeps me in the class, mentally.

Good for you! Never too late IMO, and at any age you have to listen to your body to know where your limits are. This is a link from the studio I go to, about one of the Students of the Month. She is an inspiration to me. Read her story, and you will see why.

http://bikramyogasavannah.com/arlene-meyer/

Don’t compare yourself to other students. It is your practice, and if you love it, keep going!

-Kristin

Are you feeling discomfort in that area in any particular posture? I had an uncomfortable feeling in the abdomen during floor bow, and wondered to myself if it was possible to cause a hernia from that. I talked to my teachers. One told me that it is possible to get greater height with the legs in that position by pushing against the floor with the abdomen, but that is not what you should do…instead the focus should be in the back muscles. Another instructor mentioned that the 80/20 breathing is important in part because it maintains tension in the core muscles….if you exhale completely in that posture, you may feel a relaxing of the abdominal wall. In fact, I had noticed that, and also noticed losing strength and “lift” if I exhaled too much.

After receiving this feedback, I was mindful about those issues particularly during floor bow, and have not re-experienced that odd sensation.

I will be curious to hear what others have to say on this topic. As for the ability to cure a hernia, I’m afraid I have no input there. Good luck and good healing!

– kristin

I really haven’t found any particular change in position on the floor to make much difference, other than ensuring the chin is not tucked so that my airway is completely unobstructed. My main focus is to relax, completely. And also to make sure I am breathing properly BEFORE this series, so I don’t go into it with a deficit.

If its a particularly hot class, I find it even harder to breathe, because I’m also not cooling off properly. Staying calm and relaxed becomes even more important.

Always open to anyone’s tips…….

-Kristin

I sometimes have that experience too. I believe there is a physical reason for part of it….one, you are lying on your chest so breathing isn’t as effortless as when you are on your back. Two, about half your airspace is cut out (being taken up by the floor). So if I haven’t been keeping up with my breathing, then it seems hard to regain my breath in this posture. If I have the slightest bit of congestion, then its really a challenge and I start feeling hotter and a bit anxious.

You seem to be doing some good things from a focus standpoint. The only other thing I would suggest is to really concentrate on breathing well before this part of class (such as the savasana right before it, nice big oxygenating breaths), and of course make sure you are breathing well during the postures themselves.

Gabrielle: your tip for scooting the scapulae together while on the back really does make a difference in breathing….but what about on the stomach?

– Kristin

Hi Cheermom,

you sound hard on yourself! I’ve been doing this hot yoga now for almost two years, and I still have to work on my breath. And my balance. Even though I thought I was focusing on breath in the beginning, it became apparent to me that I wasn’t.

I know you like the back row, but I have found that if I am a bit closer to the mirror I am less distracted by other things, I breathe a bit better, and I balance a bit better. I’m near sighted so if I’m on the back row I feel like I am WAY far away, making focusing on myself harder in general. Just a thought for you to consider.

Just keep in mind that everyone in that class struggles with things all the time. No need for you to be embarrassed. I hope you stick with it and find your focus.

Namaste!

-Kristin