perspiration - a river runs through

[Guest guest]

How about this - the temperature here in Oklahoma

has just now gone back down to the 90's after almost

30 straight days of highs over 100 degress! I have

been working outside everyday. 80 and 90 I got used

to. 100 can be dangerous.<br><br>I have had profuse

sweating after a few salutations and have other times

where I had little sweating after an hour of practice.

I used to see people in class totally drenched on

days when I didn't sweat so much and I thought I had

been practicing pretty intensely. It may have mainly

to do with the temp and with how intensely you are

practicing but I think there are other factors. This is an

interesting question and I don't really know what the answer

is. It seems like I remember a comment on this

somewhere in the past on this board. Something to the

effect that you would sweat less over time. Maybe

someone can give some insight on this?<br><br>Drink lots

of water!

[Guest guest]

thanks tls<br><br>theres really a town called

norman. . . <br><br>one other thought i didnt add was one

of detox. is it posssible that my system is kicking

the toxin out that has accumulated after my recent

enforced rest from yoga. <br><br>100 degrees. . . blimey!

im off to nevada next week so i look fwd to such

temps!<br><br>one thought on high temps is that your body grows

accustomed to functioning in such (relatively) high temps.

80+ is hot for london so my metabolism isn't used to

it but perhaps if such temps were to persist (fat

chance) i would perspire less. maybe as you suggest, its

down to where your body is in its own particular

cycle. . . still i always sweat. 'i have good heat'

according to one of my teachers. . . hmmm he doesn't have

to do my laundry!<br><br>im particularly interested

to hear from folk who have practiced in mysore

etc.<br><br>thanks again<br><br>t

[Guest guest]

<theres really a town called norman. .

..><br><br>Yep - part of the OKC metroplex with a pop of over a

million. Norman is a college town of

100,000.<br><br><is it posssible that my system is kicking the toxin

out that has accumulated after my recent enforced

rest from yoga. ><br><br>Well that is supposed to

be one of the benefits of the Ashtanga style, so at

least it is probably a good thing. Flush it on

out!<br><br><one thought on high temps is that your body grows

accustomed to functioning in such (relatively) high

temps.><br><br>I read something about this long ago. The US Navy

sent some guys to Antarctica and made them sleep on

cots with only sheets. After some sleepless nights

they started to acclimate. Later they were found to

have developed high levels of some substance that the

body makes and stores in the skin to protect against

cold. When returning to warmer temps, this substance

decreases. It may be called chitin? I'm sure there are other

factors as well. I've been wondering about 100 degree

temps though. Do people really get used to that? On the

radio and TV here they advise people not to even go

outside - or you could die! Of course many people work

outside year round.<br><br><im particularly interested

to hear from folk who have practiced in mysore

etc.><br><br>Yes I hope some more experienced practitioners will

respond on this. What factors influence amount of

sweating? Does it change over time? Also I wonder how hot

it gets in India?<br><br>One interesting aspect of

this is that Godfrey says not to wipe off the sweat.

He says you can lose minerals that way. Better to

let it dry. I think the idea is that some minerals

can be absorbed back in.

[Guest guest]

I've hiked in the desert in Arizona in June -

with people who knew what they were doing and had

spent a lot of time out there - and yes, you *can* do

strenuous things, like carrying a 50lb pack over rough

ground, in 100-plus heat. But you don't really get used

to it and when you stop drinking a pint of water an

hour, you can die in as little as 4 or 5 hours. So I

was told - I didn't personally try out that last

technique.<br><br>Of course London during hot summers is far worse,

due to the humidity and the sheer filthiness of the

air. <br><br>There may well be something in the

"sweating out toxins" after a layoff theory, and some

people just sweat more than others. More on the sweating

subject in messages #196-198. I found practicing in India

(Kovalam with Lino, haven't been to Mysore yet but am

going this year) that water just runs off me in sheets,

and I'm mega-flexible but have no strength/lift at

all.<br><br>Drink lots, and if the headaches don't go away it would

probably be a good idea to see a doctor.

[Guest guest]

Jeeze Louise, try some Perrier or something

(works for me) They say it's going to be 105 degrees

Farenheit in Ontario tomorrow, after a solid week of

absolute scorch, so I wish it would cool down to 78

degrees. But something tells me that soon I won't have to

move to California to experience that type of weather

year round, whether I like it or not, so I had better

drink a lot of water. Stay hydrated.

[Guest guest]

you may be perspiring so much because of really

"working it" in the pose. Engaging all the muscles. Some

people work more through there muscles than others. A

good thing. And imagine the extra detoxification

benefit of all that perspiration. Load up on the water a

few hours before class. What helps me in times of

dehydration is a quart of cucumber juice with 2 apples, some

spinach and parsley. (you can design your own green

juice). Celery has i think a lot of natural salts.

[Guest guest]

Here is a quote from "The Rock'n'Roll Singer's

Survival Manual" by Mark Baxter that I found very well

fitting to this topic: <br> <br>"Cells flush some of

their waste away via the water in your system. The more

water in your body, the more opportunity there is to

clean out. Sweat and urine are the two best garbage

dumps you have and they both require water. When you

are dehydrated, the body loses its cleansing ability,

and the toxicity level in your cells will rise. The

body will channel the water in your system to where it

is needed most. This is why your throat and lips

become so dry when you have a cold." <br><br>And this is

also why Herr Skull feels like he needs to drink

during the practise. Baxter writes also that the mucous

membranes (larynx, nose, and throat) are the first areas to

be short changed when the body need water elsewhere.

So, like Tshamoya already wrote; It never hurts to

overcompensate the protection that water provides by drinking

alot before the practise.

[Guest guest]

HI Ted, on the esoteric side I've heard mention

that profuse sweating is a function of spiritual

fervor...I'm willing to also suggest that Tapas can , at times

be evidences by this sweat bath, but of course

scaling the spiritual heights has no dependency upon

sweat glands. Recently I speant a lengthy time in

recitation of the yoga sutras, it was an tremendous boon to

my concentrative abilities in practice, and

resultingly, efficient bandha engagement, formal awareness, a

floating yet stable presence in the body....heaven. And

there was more than the usual bucketfulls of

perspiration. Perhaps there is an attendant halo upon your

brow.

[Guest guest]

Some personal comments on this..<br><br>I hope

that someone here has experienced going to sauna

besides me and other Finns, because it gives you a whole

different kind of view on sweatting.. I'm not going to

explain the system on the whole (you can find pages on

the net if you want more specific information), but

the basic idea is that when the temperature rises to

about or over 80'C/180'F and throwing water on the hot

stones makes the air really humid you start to sweat

heavily just by sitting.. <br><br>Afterwards (and after a

decent shower) the feeling is almost the same as after a

heavy ashtanga practice in the summer when the

temperature is high and the yogashala is full of people and

everybody's sweatting like h**l. So, I guess that

purification through heat (internal or external) and sweatting

exists in very different forms around the world..

<br><br>In addition to the impact of the temperature and all

that I've noticed too that after a break in my

practice I sweat a lot more than during regular practice,

which probably is related to cleansing the

body.<br><br>All in all, for me the (not too) high temperature in

the summer is just a blessing: my body's relaxed and

flexible all the time unlike during the cold winter months

when I feel like curling up under a blanket in stead

of going out.. It takes a lot more to "get the fire

burning" in the winter, as my body most certainly knows

the need to protect itself from the cold.

<br><br>After starting Ashtanga yoga I've also felt a need to

drink more water throughout the year than before and

more than most of my friends. The purification is

continuous..

[Guest guest]

Agreed, I definately notice the difference from

after a break or after illness, the intensity of the

sweat is hightened.<br> <br>Also, I have firmly felt

the difference a group dynamic presents in terms of

energy level. Some peoples' practice quality maybe

precise, studied, and a bit cooler, resultingly I may not

sweat as much. In contrast, there are some

practitioners, advaced or just "something" where their presence

is very palpable and it "clicks" something on in the

fires. We are communication in our bodies and

telepathically with each all the time. I believe most people are

an open book anyway, whether or not they say

"boo".<br> <br>Lastly, there group emotional dynamics (not

just the Myers/Briggs personality type mix, but the

organic nature of matured group interaction and

exposure)--Perhaps group karma that is being played out, stoking the

collective bonfire so to speak. Once your on the boat

together, our body experience becomes much more sensitive

naturally we lend our energetic support to one another.

<br> <br> One time I was quite exhauted in practice,

Sharat piter patered to where I was, and simple layed

his hand on my back, and zoom, my energy level lifted

through the rest of my practice.

[Guest guest]

thanks for the beatification galaxy but alas no

halo. <br><br>all - thanks for the many useful

contributions. the one thing i should highlight was that i was

getting headaches after two days of heavy practice so i

imagine i had managed to dehydrate myself quite

substantially. . . <br><br>. . . as ive noted before im off to

the deserts of nevada for a bit next week so its all

good practice<br><br>ted x

[Guest guest]

I'm skeptical of the popular concept that the

more he/she sweats, the more toxic the yogi. <br><br>I

also don't buy the idea that excess sweating is a

symptom of overindulgence in drinking

fluids.<br><br>Excess perspiration seems to be due more to genetics and

physical conditioning than anything else. That is, the

average guy will sweat considerably more than the average

women in astanga. The overweight and in-experienced guy

will sweat more than someone used to the practice.

Some people are more genetically prone to sweating

than others.<br><br>The practice of rubbing the sweat

back into the body, based on the idea that the

minerals in the sweat will be re-absorbed by the body,

doesn't make sense to me either. It supposes that the

skin can somehow determine what's toxic in the sweat

and what isn't, and will only reabsorb the Good

Stuff.

[Guest guest]

Hello Screwgee<br><br>I think it must be genetics

and body type. I would have thought fitness but as as

a bike messenger i was ferociously fit and sweated

profusely. <br><br>I'm a tall / skinny type with a fast

metabolism. . . umm. . . something in the back of my mind

about elephants keeping cool in physics lessons. Rather

learning about elephants during physics lessons. . . an

elephant in my physics lessons would explain my appalling

ignorance. . . <br><br>. . .where was I? Perhaps this tall /

skinny (ectomorph)variant is more prone to

perspiration.<br><br>Is there anyone out there whose practice has seen a

change in the degree of perspiration over the

years?<br><br>Perhaps I'm delving into an area with too many variables.

Presumably changes in metabolism through ageing will have a

major effect here.<br><br>And of course, does anyone

have a top tip for cleaning that damn mat?!

<br><br>thanks ted

[Guest guest]

I certainly noticed a change in my sweatting when

I really learned to use the ujjayi breathing

correctly. I mean, at the beginning I just breathed and

tried to understand the whole system, but after some

time of practicing I finally learned how to fit the

breathing and the movement together efficiently. This of

course is where we're aiming, to get the fire burning

and to get to use our inner heat and

energy..<br><br>Genes are an important factor in everything biological,

but I wouldn't say that the degree of perspiration is

that much connected to one's sex as it is to one's

metabolism. I too am very skinny (though not that tall) with

fast and effective metabolism, and I sweat SO

MUCH!!<br>If only here would be someone with a better

education in these things than I do. It's fun to keep

guessing but I have no idea if it will take us

anywhere..The desire for knowledge is never-ending.<br><br>And

what comes to mats, I'm used to throwing my sticky mat

into a washing machine about twice a year. A cotton

woven one that I keep on top of the sticky one to

prevent slipping I hand wash once a month with ordinary

washing powder. <br>The smell's a great indicator!