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Member
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Location: London | Has anyone else experienced bouts of sickness when they either go to a lot of classes, or suddenly increase the amount of classes that they go to?
I'm 10 days into a 30 day challenge, and from day 3 in up until now, I've had a sore throat and mild temperature coming and going. Last week it popped up about 3 times for an hour, then went away just as quickly. Today the sore throat feels much worse. In the past, when I started doing 5 classes a week, I went through a stage where I was getting a cold every month for about 5 months.
Was just wondering if anyone else has had anything like this, as I'm not sure if it could be related to my body reacting to lots of yoga. By the way I normally average about 5 a week when I'm not doing a challenge, and have not been sick at all for several months, up until now. I have been doing this yoga for 3 years, and never had this problem until this year, although previously I was doing less-between 2 and 4 times a week. |
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| Hey Shabs,
I'm sorry to hear you're getting sick a lot! That's no fun, and it's a tad ironic as we do yoga to promote wellness.
I've returned to Bikram's yoga and often experience the beginnings of a cold or sore throat after a class. I'm one who never gets these symptoms, so it's strange. I know that the heat encourages bacteria to multiply, and I have to beat back the OCD clean freak in me to get to class sometimes! Is it possible that the classes expose you to more illness, and your body being so open is more susceptible? |
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| Could it be dehydration?? This is the totally obvious question, so I'm sure you thought of it already, but it's always something to check... including the mineral and vitamin intake, not just the water intake.
There have been maybe two or three times for me in the last two years when I felt REALLY sick the day after class, almost flu-like symptoms - muscle aches, dry mouth, mild temperature, little nausea - and I think those were all instances of dehydration combined with some kind of weird food thing. It's easy to take hydration for granted when you are already in the habit of practicing a lot, but don't underestimate it... it can still come up and kick you in the ass occasionally if you turn your back on it... especially if you have recently ramped up your practice frequency, or if it has gotten a little hotter or more humid... ? |
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| Is it possible that you're reacting to mold existing in the studio?
Although the studio where I practice is new and beautifully maintained (mats are sprayed with a tea tree oil mix after each use, the floor cleaned after each class, ventilation is state-of-art), I occasionally feel a sore throat coming on after a class and can't help but wonder if it's related to the bacteria-loving humidity. I pop an immune booster (hurrah for Wellness Formula by Sources Naturals) and get to sleep a bit earlier; am fine the next day. (I'm a bit OCD about hygiene, don't mean to spread any paranoia).
thedancingj's point about hydration generally makes a lot of sense. Again, personally speaking, I feel best when drinking EMERGEN-C (or any other drink containing salts & minerals lost from sweat) rather than plain water during class. Sometimes I even consume the stuff before or after class, too. I SWEAT BUCKETS doing Bikram, often more than those around me, so replacing the fluids is supremely important.
Note: Common symptoms of dehydration are dizziness, nausea, headache, and muscle cramps. |
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Veteran
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| PS on a side note the same symptoms appear w/ water toxicity. so MAKE SURE if you are drinking a lot and sweating a lot that you are taking a salt/mineral solution or tablet |
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Member
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Location: London | Thanks everyone for your responses! 
I don't think dehydration is normally an issue. I drink 3+ litres of water a day, and take electrolytes before every class, as well as a multivitamin during the day, and coconut water after class. I do however think I may have been slightly dehydrated on Saturday after doing a back to back Beginners/Advanced on a particularly HUMID day. I think that may have been the point my body stopped trying to fight what I now think is a throat infection (it's much worse today, and not subsiding), as it started geting worse around then.
I definitely agree that electrolytes are neccessary when practising a lot. Thinking back, there have been times when I used to get really dizzy during class, and it was when I wasn't making a consistent effort to take them.
The idea of mould in the studio is also a possibility-eeek! Maybe that is where the throat thing came from originally...
Thanks again guys |
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| Oh yeah, baby. At least one (maybe 2) of the three times when I went down, it was after the summertime back-to-back beginners/adv. Those can be tough, especially if you're not used to DAILY practice yet.
Sounds like time for a trip to the doctor's for some antibiotics... hope you feel better soon!! |
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Member
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Location: London | You're right..I need to be more careful for those. How can you ensure you stay hydrated for them though? I drink a litre of water 2 hours before Beginners (and generally 3-4 litres a day when I practise a lot and it's very humid). With only half an hour between Beginners and Advanced there's only so much I want to drink so it doesn't end up affecting the next class. I think I stopped sweating in Advanced because I was dehydrated. Maybe it's just sometimes unavoidable when it's an extra humid day? Does anyone have tips for that specific scenario?
By the way, awesome blog DancingJ. I discovered it recently and it is a very nice read |
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| Thanks Shabs!!
You are right that you don't want to practiced with a lot of liquid sloshing around in your stomach. However, I am easily able to chug a good liter or so of water right at the end of beginners class and I'm totally fine 30 minutes later to start again. It reabsorbs FAST. Also, go for quality instead of quantity - try sipping a Zico coconut water or something similar between classes that gives you a nice concentrated source of electrolytes. There's a bit of trial and error involved, but if you stopped sweating before the end of advanced, then yeah, you under-shot it this time and got dehydrated; you want to still be dripping sweat when you get to the end! Next time, get in some electrolytes between classes and be more liberal with the water consumption. If you DO go too far in the OTHER direction, you might get a little bit of an upset stomach, but then you'll have a reference point for how much is "too much" and you can find your middle ground. |
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| I just had another thought!! Something to keep in mind for advanced class and water consumption: DO NOT try to be a "hero"! If you're feeling like you need a little something to keep you going, just ask for it or go and get it.
This isn't something to make a HABIT of, but people seriously do it aaaaallll the time. Last time I did advanced was with Emmy at LA headquarters, and about halfway through, a certain senior teacher decided that he wanted to go get something to drink... immediately about 5 other people decided that they were thirsty, too, and put in drink orders with him.... he ended up coming back in carrying a cardboard box full of various hydrating beverages from the cooler. I thought it was funny.
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Member
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Location: London | Thank you so much for these tips! I haven't done a back to back class again yet, but I will next weekend, and will definitely be trying out having more water in the break between classes.
I definitely drink more in advanced than normal class. Our classes are longer for a start (sometimes 2.5 hours) so I don't worry about consuming a lot of water, or coconut water in the middle of one of them. Whereas with beginners I just have a few sips, if anything, as I'm conscious of the unwanted effects it can have, especially in postures where you're compressing the stomach-eurgh! |
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Sickness after many classes
