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| Hey all....so I'm 9 weeks, baby has a strong heartbeat and is already flipping around.  I've really started to literally just speak my classes and only come into a few poses (external standing). That makes me feel great. This said, now that it is warm here, and most students do not wish to enter a studio that starts with having the a/c on, I'm trying to balance this issue. I DO NOT teach hot yoga or warm flow or anything, but heck, it's hot out. The studios warm up to about 87 as people get flowing and classes get crowded. I usually DO turn on the air midway through. many students now know I'm pregnant, and a lot of them do ask for it midway through. Even though I do want to turn it on right away, I know most students don't like that. I mean, as a non preggo, I like to build some heat and dislike walking into an a/c flowing studio before i start moving. Last week, the air was broken at 2 studios, so of course I ended up teaching, drinking tons of water, but worrying that even though I wasn't posing, I was still warm. I wasn't dizzy, I wasn't sweating profusely, but sure, it was hot. I plan to speak to my doc about this tomorrow, but as yoga teachers, what do you guys think. Am I safe? I worry about EVERY little thing now. Esp. now that summer is starting. I think the temp is 100 or higher, of if you body gets about a certain temp. Should I trust that my body will tell me? I do feel ok...I am just worrying. |
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| Yes, talk to your doctor first.
What you don't need are "old wives tales" from me or anyone else.
That being said, I don't see why if you are teaching without demonstrating that it would be all that much hotter than just being outside or in an apartment without a/c.
Congratulations and I wish you all the best for your pregnancy and motherhood.
Edited by jimg 2010-05-27 1:25 PM
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| The odds of Jim offering up a "Wives Tale" are about as good as Krishnamacharya coming to life and attending a Yoga Journal Conference.
There is, for me, a basic principal which goes something like this "If you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, find the joy in it." The worrying is likely to be far more problematic than the heat, though I certainly would not advise one of my students to continue working in a sweat shop throughout her pregnancy.
Relative to the studio, the a/c, the temperature and the preferences of students...these are all things you've chosen in one way or another. So perhaps the fruitful lesson lies in that choosing?
I've chosen to teach in a studio that is uniformly 73ยบ. If it gets warm or stuffy, as sometimes it does, we crack open the door or adjust the thermostat slightly. Intermediate to advanced level students should not be preoccupied with things outside of their body - noise, smells, heat, cold, that is part of svadhyaya. But we try to keep the studio pleasant in appearance, smell, and temperature as not all students have integrated this ability to move inward away from the external.
Heat in the body, for the practice of asana rather than contortionism, is most profoundly affected from the internal furnace not the external furnace. But again, not all expressions of asana seem to align with this principle for reasons too numerous to mention in this thread.
For my students who are pregnant I advocate a mindful approach throughout BUT a more careful living until the 12th week.
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| purnayoga - 2010-05-27 11:36 AM
The odds of Jim offering up a "Wives Tale" are about as good as Krishnamacharya coming to life and attending a Yoga Journal Conference.
Notice that I did not mention "old husbands tales"!
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| thank you. i also usually open a door, modify the temp.....but when the a/c is broken, it's not really my choosing. then, i'm getting stressed out worrying while trying to teach the class. thankfully the a/c has been remedied. i was really just worried about the 2 instances where i've unfortunately been in the warm room. i'm sure everything is fine. i mean, there are pregnant women who must walk to work or be on the subway for a ride in the summer. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Lana - there have been women through the ages who have had many successful pregnancies in hot weather. There have been women who were ill and had fevers who have had successful pregnancies. Of course there have been many who didn't and many who had similar experiences in cold weather. The thought that a pregnant woman can live in a temperature controlled cocoon for 9 months is a bit crazy, to me. In Pune, where BKS Iyengar lives, it is regularly over 110 Fahrenheit at this time of year. No a/c. Not broken. None. Stop worrying and enjoy being pregnant. |
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| @ lana-
It is ALL our choosing. That level of responsibility takes us out of blaming and moves us further along the path of yoga.
I tend to steer clear of the parallel Glenda (aka Tourist) draws as it is often used as a justification for a heated practice. Anglos living in the eastern united states are not acclimatized to heat the way indigenous people of southern India are. However I absolutely support the conclusion of parking the worry and loving the living. |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
Location: Uppsala, Sweden | I would just like to point out that only looking at the temperature does little, or quite frankly nothing much, to determine how dangerous the heat exposure potentially is to you.
You really need to also consider the relative humidity (RH) in the room (or outdoors if that is where you are), as well as direct sunshine and wind speed, and your clothing. Let's say you are doing asana in 38°C (100°F), with RH 30 %, in the shadow of a tree, wearing only speedos or a bikini. This will probably not present any problem at all, as long as you are well hydrated and well nurished (not lacking any electrolytes) and as long as you don't exhaust yourself with a very strenuous practice. But then on another day you practice a led Primary Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in 25°C, in a packed shala with RH soon climbing to 90 %, while temperatures are rising towards 30°C, and unfortunately you got a spot where the sunshine hits you right through a window... In this second setting most of your sweat will flow without evaporating from your body — so there is hardly any cooling effect from the sweating. This second example will be a lot more dangerous and more likely to cause heat stroke than the first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_index Comfortable RH is in the range of 30-60 %. I think it's a good idea to not only have a thermometer, but also a hygrometer (humidity sensor or relative humidity indicator), in the shala.
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| i was pregnant from Dec-Aug (birth on Aug 30) in PA.
it gets hot and humid in PA from mid-may until mid-sept. late july and early august are typically the hottest.
because i prefer not to, i tend not to use AC. we would occasionally overnight if it was sweltering, but did better with fans.
i taught in a studio that was in a home, where we also did not use AC. if i got too hot, i would just sit down in the front and teach there. calling, giving individual instruction by calling a person's name. luckily, i was dealing with all regulars at this pint, so everyone was cool with it. 
so, it's ok. you'll be ok.
(and fwiw, i never had a doctor to ask. i had an unassisted childbirth and pregnancy, so i relied on myself, my education, my innate wisdom, listening to my body, etc to determine what was right for me in pregnancy. ) |
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Ok, the Pregnant Yoga Teacher is Back with a Question about Heat.
