Bikram Yoga Breakthrough: Do You Really Need The Water?
I grew up in Arizona. And I would spend Summers in Phoenix at cheerleading camp or my grandparents house. And Phoenix in the Summertime is hot. It is a "dry heat" (meaning there is no humidity), but it is still hot as hell. Yet, despite it being such a hot place, I almost never drank water.
Seriously.
Soda? Kool-Aid? The occasional glass of OJ? SURE! But never pure water. And that habit has followed me into my adult life. I am not big water drinker. I drink maaaayyyybbbee 20 ounces of water before a Bikram class. And then probably 30 after class. And I don't count what I drink during class (33 ounces - usually) as I am simultaneously sweating it out. So, I get about 50 ounces of water a day in me. Ideally, I should be getting close to 70, outside of Bikram.
And that brings me to today. Today I was bad. I worked out with The Trainer and didn't get my usual pure 20 ounces of water in me before Bikram class. (I have to discount any water I drink while working out with The Trainer too.) But I figured I would just suck it up and make sure to stay hydrated while in class.
So, I loaded my bag for Bikram class, and headed to the studio. Right as I got to the studio door to ring the bell, I dug through my bag to get my wallet, so that I could buy water for class. But that's when I realized I hadn't taken my wallet out of my other gym bag and put it into my yoga bag.
Ahh!!!
"Should I still go to class?" I asked myself. "Or should I just go home? Can I practice without water?"
I have practiced without drinking water during class. But I still always bought a bottle when I was there, just in case. But today I would have no "safety net." If I practiced, it was gonna be without water.
It would be a challenge.
And that pretty much made up my mind. I was gonna practice any damn way. Sure, I could ask to be spotted a bottle on good faith... But I figured it would be fun to see if I could do things this way. And you can guess, probably, how class went for me...
IT WAS THE BEST CLASS I HAVE HAD IN A REALLY LONG TIME!!!
No. Lie.
I think I may have found the culprit behind my acid reflux in class. Yep, water. I don't gulp water in class usually. But I do drink it. And then I immediately move into poses where I have to shove my knee, legs or the floor into my belly. And that makes me want to vomit in certain poses.
But today... I was able to go much deeper into Locust and Floor Bow poses. And those are the ones where I have the most issues! So, yay! I won't go into class without water from now on... But I will try not to drink ANY during class.
As my Twitter friend Pelican wrote, "When my relationship to water changed, my entire practice changed. Was a big breakthrough."
Indubitably!
Seriously.
Soda? Kool-Aid? The occasional glass of OJ? SURE! But never pure water. And that habit has followed me into my adult life. I am not big water drinker. I drink maaaayyyybbbee 20 ounces of water before a Bikram class. And then probably 30 after class. And I don't count what I drink during class (33 ounces - usually) as I am simultaneously sweating it out. So, I get about 50 ounces of water a day in me. Ideally, I should be getting close to 70, outside of Bikram.
And that brings me to today. Today I was bad. I worked out with The Trainer and didn't get my usual pure 20 ounces of water in me before Bikram class. (I have to discount any water I drink while working out with The Trainer too.) But I figured I would just suck it up and make sure to stay hydrated while in class.
So, I loaded my bag for Bikram class, and headed to the studio. Right as I got to the studio door to ring the bell, I dug through my bag to get my wallet, so that I could buy water for class. But that's when I realized I hadn't taken my wallet out of my other gym bag and put it into my yoga bag.
Ahh!!!
"Should I still go to class?" I asked myself. "Or should I just go home? Can I practice without water?"
I have practiced without drinking water during class. But I still always bought a bottle when I was there, just in case. But today I would have no "safety net." If I practiced, it was gonna be without water.
It would be a challenge.
And that pretty much made up my mind. I was gonna practice any damn way. Sure, I could ask to be spotted a bottle on good faith... But I figured it would be fun to see if I could do things this way. And you can guess, probably, how class went for me...
IT WAS THE BEST CLASS I HAVE HAD IN A REALLY LONG TIME!!!
No. Lie.
I think I may have found the culprit behind my acid reflux in class. Yep, water. I don't gulp water in class usually. But I do drink it. And then I immediately move into poses where I have to shove my knee, legs or the floor into my belly. And that makes me want to vomit in certain poses.
But today... I was able to go much deeper into Locust and Floor Bow poses. And those are the ones where I have the most issues! So, yay! I won't go into class without water from now on... But I will try not to drink ANY during class.
As my Twitter friend Pelican wrote, "When my relationship to water changed, my entire practice changed. Was a big breakthrough."
Indubitably!
Comments
I've also found that no water during class is great for keeping the mind clear. I typically feel like I have much more energy when I don't drink anything.
I'm surprised that drinking so little works so well for you. For me, the key is to drink enough before class. And since, I'm a pretty big guy, that means drinking alot before class.
Drinking during class has limited benefit anyways. It takes 20 minutes for water to reach the large intestines where it can be absorbed by your body. That means there's some benefit to drinking early on during the standing series. But by the time we hit the floor, any water you drink is just filling up the stomach and will do no good at all during class.
And yes, the first class without the safety net can cause a bit of anxiety, until you realize how liberating it is.
My stomach is pretty sensitive to water too. Almost every time I drink at the first savasana, I end up regretting it within a couple of postures, ESPECIALLY when it's hot! Belly-down stuff works soooo much better on an empty stomach.
Rock on!