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| I'm new to this site but have really enjoyed reading all the posts in the past few days.
My question is this: I've been practicing Bikram for about a month now, having taken two years off from my practice. I'm fine with where I am in the postures and my progress so far but I can't seem to help being distracted by how much I sweat! I'm 38-year old female, in good health except for carrying around an extra 30 pounds or so, which I'm hoping to shed in part due to practice. Outside of class I rarely sweat unless it's 90 degrees in the shade. I start sweating in class during the first breathing exercise and it literally drenches my clothes and is dripping off me in little streams for the whole 90 minutes. From everything I've read, it's supposed to be a sign of a fairly fine tuned body to be able to cool itself so efficiently but I'm just really embarassed to be so sweaty from the get-go.
Help? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Firstly, I would like to say, Welcome to Bikram Online:~) I say keep sweating but somebody else may say something different. Like maybe you will get used to it again and are you going to one of THOSE BIKRAM studios or are you doing it with a milder temp controlled environment? I like to stay around the 95 degree range myself:~) Seriously, I remember sweating like crazy at first, then it tapered off. But I started in the springtime on a mildly hot but humid time of the year. Some days my body is different too and I sweat less. Today, I didn't sweat too much but it was dry and cold weather outside and this is winter. I had the temp around 90 something and I was at home:~) I sometimes think humidity is a big factor...inside and outside. Cyndi - who is waiting for one of those smily faces to do Standing Seperate Leg Knee Head Asana..that one beating his head makes my head hurt, LOL!
Edited by Cyndi 2005-02-18 9:03 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
  
| Welcome Deborah  I myself dislike the whole sweat thing so I don't do Bikram  Honestly there are so many factors at work, it is hard to say. My DH is a multi-sport athlete and has always sweated quite a bit but in the past ten years or so started sweating much more. Changes in his body, we guess. At 38 you are probably entering the (if you are anxious about aging, don't read the next word!) perimenopausal stage and your body will have started every so slightly switching gears. That could be it. Also, if you are nervous or even excited about going to class, that tension may translate into more sweat. Just make sure you are replacing that water and you should be ok. I won't go into detail about rehydration and electrolytes here - there are lots of other messages about that from people who know more. |
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| I lasted 2 months at Bikram's, but overall, couldn't handle the heat and rivers of sweat. I could only wear dark tee-shirts and shorts, and was almost always light headed. I'm really a sweathog (today, walking downhill w/ it 32 degress outside, snow on the ground, I still come home with a soaked tee shirt) and it was just too much to deal with. I really like the postures, so I do them at home a couple of times a week, and realize how much easier they are for me (especially the balance poses, because I'm no longer doing them dizzy) at home. I think a nice 80 degrees would be perfect for me, because I do notice I have to be more careful how far I get into a pose at home, without the heat.
I miss the total catharisis, sweatlodge type "high", but it didn't feel healthy for me to get that intense intensity 3 times a week. There were so many things I liked about Bikram's, but in the end, I had to trust my body, which said NO to 100 degress and 100% humidity!
It was a good choice, because I found a different yoga school which focuses much more on personal attention. As a beginner (4 months), this is exactly what I need. |
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| Well, first off, make sure that you are wearing very light clothing. Bikram is the one yoga where I don't wear the cotton T shirts I wear for everything else. This is a yoga where you want to wear light clothes, with synthetic wicking properties like lycra or coolmax.
Also remember that a Bikram studio not only adds heat, they make sure that the humidity is high. They really are trying to imitate tropical heat. It really is like that in the tropics during the hot season. Walk outside and in 2 minutes you are completely wet. And this occurs before the sun comes up and at night as well. That's why everyone who lives there takes numerous showers a day.
I know what you mean. I was in T pose Saturday and watched the sweat pool onto my towel from my chin. Surprized me that it was that much.
I try to drink at least a quart of water during the practice to stay hydrated. I found I get dizzy if I don't drink enough.
But Hey, Bikram yoga is meant to sweat. It's normal. I wouldn't worry about it. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Hi Diana - it is good to hear individual stories. I think it helps new people make informed choices. So what type of yoga are you doing now? |
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| I have been doing Bikram for about six months and still sweat like crazy. I am actually quite slim and also do not sweat much outside unless it is very hot. I start to sweat as soon as the first breathing exercise. I have no idea why some people sweat a lot and some don't. At least in my classes, it does not seem to correlate with body weight or abiility to do the postures. More men than women in my class seem to sweat heavily, but I definitely would not worry about this. And by the way, while I have a slim build, prior to Bikram I also had a bit of a gut, which slowly disappeared as I did by Birkam practice. Practice, at least for me has certainly helped tone the body. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State |
When I did Bikram, it was completely correct to say that men sweated more than
women. The sweating never goes away, really, because that's the only thing that
your body has to cool itself when the temperature is above skin temperature.
I wonder why it is that men seem to sweat more? It would suggest that they are
burning more energy, and thus have a greater need to cool themselves....
I want to know more about this....
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| Dear Brother Guy: This is my statement while disclaming all responsibility for my statements:
When the body is at higher temperature than normal, it sweats to cool the body. During this sweating a blood flow towards the skin and other parts of the body increases, thus creating a notion of flexibility or an increased range of motion at the cost of sweating.
Now, when the body itself is used for movements, here the Yoga Poses, the temperature of the body goes up as the movement requires flow of blood which is synonymous with increasing the temperature of that part.
In case of Men, they are less flexible than women, in general and that heats them up more than women. Thus, more sweating.
Also, if there is Impurity in the System which the Urinary System can not handle, the sweating is worse, such as those who consume meat or other junk food. In case of women, the junk removal through urine is more efficient, and also they have advantage of Uterus Cleaning each month and so on. Thus, they sweat less.
At room temperature, the clearner the system, less sweat will occur. You shall find these references in the Ancient Yoga Books, such as HathaYogaPradipika. Body Smell becoming divine (meaning no junk coming out of sweat), less sweat, etc.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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| Hmmm, I am a woman, dont eat junk (nor meat), not overweight, pee alot, and still sweat like crazy in Bikram. I've always sweat alot while working out. I totally don't agree that men sweat more (and by the way, it is not unsexy to sweat, so there). I've seen skinny and overweight ladies in class not sweat and vice versa. I've also seen men not sweat. I think that it depends on your genetic makeup. I only say that because my mom is a big work out sweater  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Actually, it is totally sexy to sweat... :lol:
While I agree with some of these comments above, I'd note
the following.
I am a flexible man, and I still sweated a great deal.
Only men seem to sweat enough to leave a big stain on
the carpet after their practice.
It's certainly true that some women sweat a lot. But on average,
women seem to sweat less than men.
All this is making me nostaligic for my former hot yoga classes....
Edited by Bay Guy 2005-02-24 8:49 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Thank you Neel for that excellent statement regarding Sweat...I would like to take this further to say that the dosha balance is also related with how the body handles sweat and heat. This would also explain why some people sweat more than others due to impurities in the body and basically out of balance period... and then why some people who eat junk food and don't have any problems or the ones who still sweat who eat healthy. It's because perhaps their body's constitution is more able to handle it or NOT due to their dosha imbalance or their dosha balance. Not every BODY is the same and until people realize this concept...this conversation is going to continue to go round and round without knowing the real causes. Its all about Balance - internally and externally and....KNOWING the human body system and how it works is imperative, otherwise you'll end up taking all those medications and chemicals, relying on doctors who have no clue about what your body needs...then eventually it will blow your practice to smitherines:~) Auyrvedic is a good starting point to learning the human body system, then you should also study Traditional Chinese Medicine. Bob Flaws has written several books on this subject that makes it easy for the western mind to understand. |
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| Well, what I did was to answer Brother Bay Guy's query related to average experience with Women Vs Men. Now, if some women do sweat a lot, I have no problem, and if some men do not sweat I have no problem. But, the fact is that Sweat is mainly for keeping body temperature.
And, heating the body being a challenge, it sweats to keep the body cool. Now, one knows what happens when is challenged a) Too much b) For no reasons, whether it is heating, sweating, eating, running, studying, or battling in the war ground.
What Sister Cyndi wrote is simply and explanation of Constitution from Ayurvedic Terminology. This can be given in various other terminology. However, heating does NOT add any benefit to the Yoga Exercise, in a true sense. You might feeling exhilarated after the hot environment, but you feel the same after a big cup of coffee, it does not make coffee good for you.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Well, all I know is that yesterday I did a "normal" yoga class with no additional heat. After my teacher corrected my "Downward Dog", I wished I had had the heat. I really benefit from a hot room vs. a cold one. My joints are much looser and I can go into the posture much better. Forget it on a cold day with no heat..its too painful. Now, I would like to ask this question to everyone...What is your average temperature in your environment?? Like do you run your air conditioners wide open in the summer creating a *freezer* effect, or do you allow your body to acclimate to the natural temperatures, or in the winter do you allow yourself to acclimate to the cold or do you keep in moderately warm - not overly hot (except when you are doing Bikram of course:~) creating an average temperature for when it goes back to warmer weather?? If you don't want to answer, at least think about that and why you have a difficult time with either extreme cold or extreme hot, or why you sweat. There are so many factors in the sweating process, not to mention that "Meat-based" diet you don't want to give up or those vegetables and fruits that you should be eating more of to allow your body to be re-trained Again, there are so many factors at play, you have to analyze your individual situation.
Edited by Cyndi 2005-02-24 3:21 PM
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| Dear Sister Cyndi:
Thanks for siting that event with nonhot room. This proves the fact that your body is conditioned to be flexible only in heated room. Whereas the real flexibility should come in a Non Heated room. Of course, freezing room is an abnormal environment and body should contract in that to conserve the heat. For this very fact, the exercise should be done at room temperature, and not specially heated. This is my statement with all the Disclaimer for Responsibility.
Brother Neel
www.authenticyoga.org |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Namaste` Neel Bhai, It is not that I do not have flexibility in a non-hot room, it is all about taking the asana deeper. My flexibility has increased tremendously since I started Bikram yoga, but when I have to go deeper, I like it hot! My body adjusts later as far as how flexible I am which grows more every day! Those muscles, ligaments and joints are stretching to their capacity and it feels great in the heat and when I cool down later, it still feels great and I know I have worked my butt off because I am flexible and more than ever before. I disagree with your statement and will never stop Bikram based on your information as it is correct for me:~) Namaste` |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Cyndi and Neel - this can lead us, much like the "natural" diet discussion into what is "natural" heat. I myself am biased against extreme air conditioning and find it more natural to acclimate to the temperature outside, yet I am not at all bothered by keeping heating on in my house during the colder months. Is this reasonable? Should I not, as Cyndi says, turn down the heat in winter and live in a more "natural" state? Hmmmm.... well, I live in a temperate area but still would not like to live here without heat in December. And what about the rest of my Canadian friends who live in places where they would die without heat? Or in Minnesota or North Dakota for that matter? (And why does everyone think all of Canada is cold and all of the US is warm when those people in the northern US are frozen solid all winter? That's just a Candian rant...ignore it) Should everyone move to somewhere that they can live outdoors year round so that we can be "natural"? Of course all of this is silly! We live in different places with different climates and we adapt because we are human and humans are VERY adaptable. We are so lucky to have the resources to make our day to day living places comfortable for whatever our own bodies feel is nurturing and right for us. I agree with Neel that practicng in a super heated room might make one acclimate to that and not develop good flexibility in the rest of our lives. I know it would not work well with my own body. OTOH, I have a hot tub on my deck and find that VERY natural to use to warm myself up (not usually for asana practice but sometimes) when I am feeling cold or just want to relax. Millions of Japanese would find that very natural while people from tropcial countries would probably think we were nuts.
My point is "what is natural?" Our choices are so dictated by culture, custom, location and personal whim that it is VERY subjective. I personally doubt the whole "intuition" thing for the same reason. OK - enough rant - time for breakfast! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey Tourist, About the temp thing. The reason I asked that question is because, I used to sweat alot and I hated hot weather..I'm from Atlanta, Ga and we have some very hot summers down in hotlanta! Anyway, several years ago I decided that I wanted to start acclimating myself to the weather...I mean like afterall 200 years ago we did not have air conditioners and heaters we had trees and fires instead. So, I turned off the air conditioner and started watching the things that I ate - I ate more cooling foods and less meat diet. Wow!! What a difference. In the winter I never liked too much heat so I kept a moderate temp that was reasonably around 68 degrees or less since I don't have central heating in my mountain home, I use space heaters and a wood burning stove (talk about hot - I didn't even use it this year). In the winter I eat more warming foods and lite soups at night. So, my point is this.... I do not sweat nearly like I used to. I can deal with extremes hot or cold and I believe that it is because of acclimating to the natural environment which rules no matter if we have central ac/heat or not! It also has to do with diet and eating proper foods that go along with the season and balance - Balance being the main factor because when your body is balanced you can do just about anything within a reasonable expansion of the abnormal. Cyndi - who now lives in the mountains and it is very cold in the winter and feels so good! I'm still waiting for another good batch of snow before spring arrives:~) |
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| Cyndi--you wrote: " ...like afterall 200 years ago we did not have air conditioners and heaters we had trees and fires instead."
True but then 200 years ago, a normal person was likely to be dead by 40 years of age--be it disease, wars or a miserable environment. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Not necessarily and in some cultures such as Peru, they don't even know how old some people are...but they do know they are over 100 years old. Sorry, Bruce that is totally unacceptable and not true. |
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| Believe what you will Miss Cyndi--but really, other than anecdotal, how many 100 year old Peruvians do you know? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | It was documented in your favorite National Geographic magazine several years ago:~) Anyway, there are many other aboriginal cultures where they live to be over 100 years old and run around in the jungles naked. In Nepal, there are still wild natives that live very long lives and my Tibetan Guru who is in Northern Amdo Tibet as we write this, is over 80 years old and they lived in tents with temps below 50 on the average not too long ago like less than 5 years - running stronger than some Americans in their comfy-cozy houses. However, recently they moved into houses and just got electricity brought from China, cause they got tired of the Chinese calling them barbarians - just kidding sorda.....but you get my point. In some places in India, they have ageless yogis but I think they are rare now that the country has been exposed. And lets see, I met a Hopi American Elder friend when I was in Boulder a few years ago who is one of the Hopi Native Tribe leaders, he is being harrassed by the Federal Government because he is trying to keep his primitive way of life and does not WANT to be civilized the way we Americans think they should. Oh well, I rest my post. I'm seriously thinking about moving to Canada these days, I've always wanted to have a Tipee(sp?):~) |
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| Then there was my grandmother (meateater and air conditioning fan) who smoked since before WW I and died at 95 from a wreck in her 1967 Camero in 2001; and my great grandfather who at 102 (smoker and heavy drinker) fell over dead at the local VFW at 25cent beer night--there's my models to emulate. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | I wonder if your grandparents were like mine down there in West Georgia...I always wondered about their lives especially when I would go visit them. Like I really didn't feel comfortable with their lifestyle's, they were alcoholics, they were wierd and racists - didn't like foreigners, and they never had a problem shooting an animal dead if the mood struck them like if it should happen to come upon their land and they didn't like it...Yep! They were real nice models to emulate alright. I wonder if they ever saw the light???????????? Now, take my Indian/Nepalis in-laws...woudn't harm a flea, has a cow for a pet, nurtures their children's needs even spiritually, offers pooja's everyday to the God's for themselves including the entire village children if they wanna participate - no need to ask to participate just show up, feeds milk to cobra's, takes their children to the temples to offer abishakem and receive prasad from the local priests....sigh |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Yeah Cyndi - I turn the heat as low as I can and we don't need much more than a fan on odd summer nights but my rationale is more that I'm dead CHEAP!  That and the environmental impact of all that power used. I remember asking when I was a kid if big cities were warmer because of all that heat in the buildings (and parents yelling not to "let all the heat out" of the house by leaving doors open!) and was told that was just silly. Guess what? Not silly! Its true! We are just so short sighted about what we are doing to our planet. Every time I hear about the hydrogen cars emitting "only water vapour" I wonder what would happen if we all switched to hydrogen cars overnight. Has anybody thought about those consequences? Heh - we'll all be swimming to yoga class... Anyway, my choices have more to do with economics and ecological impact than some other factors - but that is just me. |
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Sweat, sweat, sweat
