Cold & Flu Season: Just Sweat It Out!

I woke up in the last night around 2am. My throat felt sore and a little congested. I knew what that meant: I was in the early stages of a cold.

The only time I really ever get sick is when I've worked myself to complete exhaustion or have something happen to me that throws me completely out of whack. In either case, my body just doesn't have the power to fight off the illness... And I get sick. If I can catch something early enough, I can fend it off with the magic of Bikram and lots of healthy foods.

Hopefully, this ends up being one of those times.

I am not physically exhausted, just a little mentally exhausted. So tonight after work I hit the 6pm Bikram class (with Mr. D. who I LOVE! Well, there are like three "D"s at this studio that I love. But this teaches every Monday night. And he is fab.) During Pranayama breathing, I could really feel my throat pushing out all kinds of stuff... And opening my lungs, filling them with air. Nice, juicy, hot air.

Overall, I had a very good class. I felt a little dizzy in Standing-Separate-Leg-Head-to-Knee pose... So I sat out the first set. But I came back strong for the second set. And the rest of my practice really kicked ass.

After class, when I was at home, I decided to take advantage of a nice little feature in our master bathroom. The previous owner installed a steam component in the class-enclosed shower of our bathroom. You hit a button, and steam will come pour into the shower for anywhere from 15 minutes to 60 minutes. I decided tonight would be a good night to get a little extra moisture into my lungs. And I decided to make a special spray for the steam shower...

Eucalyptus oil and water.

I sat in the steam room for 15 minutes, spraying the mixture all around me. I wanted to inhale the scent and have it open up my passage ways.

It was awesome! I feel a lot better between the class and the steam afterwards. But the true test will be when I wake up from my sleep... Will my throat be all hurty again?