|
|
| Yesterday I took my first class. I bought a pack of ten classes, so I will be going again, but I'm really not sure if that will be today. I'm 32 and about 20lbs overweight and out-of-shape. I managed
to stay in the room the whole time, but I had to lay down for several
of the poses. During the class, I felt very very hot. I got dizzy a
couple of times. After class, I developed a horrible splitting
headache that has not yet let up 8hrs later. Pain relievers have not
touched it. I have been drinking, drinking, drinking, and eating
fruit. I know the website says that a headache is normal, but I didn't
expect a headache like this. I'm not sure that I can do this again
tomorrow if the same headache will be waiting for me. Any advice?
Thanks again,
Katy
|
|
| |
|
| WOW,
well you have started something and as you might imagine....
you aren't prepared for it.
You probably need to start with your diet--if you're gonna do yoga, eat like a yogi/yogini
if you aren't physically fit, start with something easy, like walking
Bikram style is something I've read about and considered. Mind you, I've practiced for 16 years. Bikram seems too intense, and not my idea of yoga.
Consider where you are physically and mentally.
Picture where you want to be, if it is different from where you are...then take a little baby step in that direction, just a little one
after a while you can take a bigger one.
But, being out of shape and taking a bikram class is like not knowing how to swim and jumping in the middle of the ocean, in my opinion.
Start slowly, keep practicing, no need to hurt yourself, yoga is something you can practice for the rest of your life.
Good Luck |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hi Katy,
All I can say is find a "cooler" studio. They are out there you just have to hunt for them. If you are really wanting to do the Bikram method that is. Start with a Hot Yoga studio.
I would also like to add, that even though I had an extreme headache the last time I went to a Hot Yoga studio where the temp was hovering around 110 degrees, there are ways of dealing with it. Frankly, I don't think I will ever do yoga that hot again, but that is subject to change, since I travel and sometimes need a studio. It was an interesting experience for me - it told me a lot about myself. It also told me what I needed to do to take care of myself better when in that situation again. Mainly, that I should not do yoga in 110 degrees because I have a strong Pitta dosha that gets provoked in high temps such as this....but, it's not set in stone that I won't. I happen to have been very close to my menstrual cycle that day, which is also another culprit for liver upsurging, which is basically what happens. For instance, most people, especially beginners do NOT know how to pace themselves and do not know how to sit out the postures and/or push themselves further than they need to go. This is why it is so important to learn the asana's and get the proper instruction on how to do them. I love my Bikram practice, it is wonderful. However, the reason it is so good is because I use common sense, I know how to pace myself and I don't bother with studios that have the militant teaching styles, I will not tolerate that. I also learned how to do this type of yoga from someone who has over 30 years of Yoga experience with alignment, who has studied with so many professional and some of the most respected yoga guru's here in the West, and who understands the concept of only taking the body as far as it can go today and still breathe comfortably....this is very important!!! The Bikram method itself is not the problem, it is the ignorant teachers and their lack of experience that is. You can find this situation in ALL yoga realms, not just Bikram.
Edited by Cyndi 2006-05-09 1:05 PM
|
|
| |
|
| Cyndi - 2006-05-09 1:03 PM
I also learned how to do this type of yoga from someone who has over 30 years of Yoga experience with alignment, who has studied with so many professional and some of the most respected yoga guru's here in the West, and who understands the concept of only taking the body as far as it can go today and still breathe comfortably....this is very important!!! The Bikram method itself is not the problem, it is the ignorant teachers and their lack of experience that is. You can find this situation in ALL yoga realms, not just Bikram.
good point
taken |
|
| |
|
| katydes - 2006-05-09 8:09 AM
Yesterday I took my first class. I bought a pack of ten classes, so I will be going again, but I'm really not sure if that will be today. I'm 32 and about 20lbs overweight and out-of-shape. I managed
to stay in the room the whole time, but I had to lay down for several
of the poses. During the class, I felt very very hot. I got dizzy a
couple of times. After class, I developed a horrible splitting
headache that has not yet let up 8hrs later. Pain relievers have not
touched it. I have been drinking, drinking, drinking, and eating
fruit. I know the website says that a headache is normal, but I didn't
expect a headache like this. I'm not sure that I can do this again
tomorrow if the same headache will be waiting for me. Any advice?
Thanks again,
Katy
sounds like a typical dehydration bikram headache. how much water did you have BEFORE bikram? Bikram is an all day planning event. You can't just drink a cup of water on the way over. You have to drink lots of water throughout the day to supersaturate your cells. When I am super-hydrated the bikram is easy. When I'm not, the bikram about kills me.
Was this your first Yoga class ever? If so I think that's a mistake. I'm really glad I did a ton of Ashtanga before trying bikram. I knew all of the poses and how hard they can be, but I still was unprepared for Bikram. Some people don't like my choice of words, but Bikram is like Yoga on steroids and it's the hardest workout I've ever done bar none. I do Bikram every day and have for the past two months. I love it so much I did back to back sessions a couple times. if you think you weren't feeling well after 90 minutes of bikram, just imagine what 180 minutes straight will do to you! It took me a week to recover from my back to back session the first time.
Edited by Peter Mac 2006-05-09 2:54 PM
|
|
| |
|
| Just wanted to reply to this in case another newbie like me comes here searching for the answer to her horrible headache :-) I went back to the studio today and they suggested that I put some emergen-c in my water and to focus more on my breathing than trying to get into the postures. I am so glad I went back today. I had no headache at all after class and still feel great. I am hooked now. I was drinking barely any water before I started this and thought that drinking plenty the day before would work, but it wasn't enough. Now I know to drink plenty of water all the time, not just on bikram days and emergen-c will be standard for me now too. And no, I haven't done any yoga before but it wasn't a mistake to start out with Bikrams. The mistake would have been to keep sitting on the couch :-) It's great!!
Take Care,
Katy
Edited by katydes 2006-05-09 7:50 PM
|
|
| |
|
| SWEET!!
keep up the good practice!!
and you are right, please, do pat yourself on the back for me, and be proud for getting off the couch and doing something.
Way to go!
drinking clean water is a good idea
Edited by SCThornley 2006-05-09 8:12 PM
|
|
| |
|
| Thank you :-) It's the next day and I'm still glowing. I can't wait to get back!! (tomorrow)
Take Care,
Katy |
|
| |
|
| katydes - 2006-05-09 7:49 PM
And no, I haven't done any yoga before but it wasn't a mistake to start out with Bikrams. The mistake would have been to keep sitting on the couch :-) It's great!!
you were willing to go back even after all of the headache problems. Most people would not. That's why I recommend "lighter" Yoga first for most people. The first time I went I was a little clausterophobic because I was in this hot room full of 60 bikram maniacs obviously obsessed with their workout. Had I not done lots of Yoga before the whole experience would have freaked me out and I might have never come back. However, after three days I too became a bikram addict and have gone every day since.
One of the instructors told me that only 10% of newbies become addicts like me and a vast majority never come back because it was too much for them to handle. The statistics support my recommendation that starting off with bikram may just be too much. At my studio half of each class is the addicted regulars that come daily.
You sound like you're a little more tolerant, open, and willing to give something new a try than me. A lot of my family members and friends want to try Bikram. I encourage them to try a couple gym Yoga classes first. When I went skiing the first time my brother took me up to the top of the mountain. I told him I had never skiied before and there was no way in hell I was going to ski down the face of the mountain and kill myself. I got back on the tram and rode back down. I like to ease myself into things because that's what works for my personality. There are millions of bikramites and many of them have only taken bikram and it worked out just fine for them. However, I think the bikram drop out rate would be lower if they had eased themselves into Yoga with other classes first.
Edited by Peter Mac 2006-05-10 11:23 AM
|
|
| |
|
| I think you're right, Peter. I'm not sure if I would have gone back had I not purchased a 10 class pack before ever taking my first class. I did this because I know how I habitually drop out of things and I really wanted to give this a fair shot. I had a feeling that this is exactly what I needed at this time in my life and I was right. I didn't want to make it easy for me quit. If I had not taken the second class within 24hr of the first, I don't think I would have seen the huge gains I made overnight in my flexibility and tolerance. I think that's why they try so hard to get people to come to the second class the next day. I'm lucky because even though I was worried about the second class, I belong to a great studio that really cared how I felt and wanted to know about my headache (where it hurt, etc) so that they could help correct the problem. For me personally, I think I needed to see the type of big differences that Bikrams makes almost immediately to keep me interested. I don't know if the Bikram drop out rate would be lower with yoga experience or not. I know it would be lower if they could find a way to make people sit through the first class and then take the second the next day before they decided to run away screaming :-) I think your advice is good, I just know I'm not the only one out there that can't stand to ease into things and I would hate for others to miss out on the experience because they think they have to ease into it. There was a very obese man in my class yesterday. It was his fourth class and he had never taken yoga before. We talked about how hard the first class was but that we were so glad we stuck it out. He was glowing just like me. I guess, like everything else, it really depends on the person.
Take Care,
Katy |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
  
| I think all yoga has a pretty high overall drop out rate. Although I don't have a lot drop out after just one class, many do! And that is after paying for a full 8 - 10 week seesion. Funny though, lots do keep coming back and you find out there was a really good reason for them missing classes at the start. One woman told me she had been having chemo, which is why she had not always been at class and that was the only time she truly relaxed during those 10 weeks  |
|
| |
|
| The headaches WILL stop, I promise. I just finished my 12th class this morning, only after my yoga teacher INSISTED the headaches will stop, and that the classes will actually help my chronic headaches/migraines. After ever single class, I'd get an insanely horrid headache, sometimes a migraine, no matter how much water I drank before or after class. Today was the 2nd class in a row that I haven't even had an inkling of a headache. And I feel ridiculously amazing. There are so many benefits I've already experienced that there is no way I'll ever stop.  |
|
| |
SPLITTING Headache after 1st
