hot yogi




This weird thing happened tonight in yoga. The kind of yoga I do (or the majority of it), for those of you who are unaware, is Bikram, which basically means that it's done in a room that's hot as hell. I've been doing it for years, so the heat is not something I'm unaccustomed to. Tonight, though, about halfway through class, my body got so-hot-my-organs-might-be-cooking, on the inside. This would seem somewhat normal in this environment, except that my skin? Freezing. Seriously, if I was wacky enough to have a sweatshirt in that kind of heat, I would have put it on. What's up with that?

Aren't you glad I shared? You, too, can play amateur diagnostician. I especially like theories that involve alternative medicine and obscure explanations involving my chi.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hiya Bit -
This is a big topic of concern here in HOT CA these days. Here's info that my HMO sent out:

Exercise and heat-related illnesses

Sweating cools the body but also causes dehydration. Sweat that evaporates from the skin is more effective at cooling than sweat that drips off the body.
Drinking while you exercise does not replace all of the water lost in sweat quickly enough. It is important to increase your fluid intake before you exercise and continue to drink after you finish exercising in hot weather. It is easy to become dehydrated during exercise, which increases the risk for a heat-related illness. Like:

Heat exhaustion

Heat exhaustion occurs when a person cannot sweat enough to cool the body. It generally develops when a person is working or exercising in hot weather, sweats a lot, and does not drink enough liquids to replace those lost fluids. Heat exhaustion can be caused by loss of fluid (dehydration) or loss of electrolytes.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include fatigue, weakness, headache, dizziness, or nausea, and the skin is pale, cool, and moist. Mild heat exhaustion does not cause a decrease in a person's mental alertness, but it may occasionally cause fainting. Mild cases of heat exhaustion usually can be treated at home.
Moderate to severe heat exhaustion can sometimes lead to heatstroke, which requires emergency treatment.

I think you were probably dehydrated before exercise - they say you should drink water starting a couple of hours before you exercise when it's hot - your Yoga qualifies as hot!

Take care,
Cyd

The Bracelet said...

Bah.

Those are called The Bobby Bracelet Sweats. They are usally known to happen within days of Bobby Bracelet cutting off all physical contact. The body has become accustomed to the intense pleasure provided by Bobby Bracelet and as withdrawl begins to set in a series of physiologic oddities occur. The heat on the inside of your body is caused by hormones attempting to mimic the attention your body would normally be receiving. The cool skin is a result of your body sending every last nutrient inward to help battle the withdrawl.

Weird that we've never met and you're experiencing this. I may have to send a team of scientists out to run some tests...

elizabeth said...

HJ: interesting theory, for sure. Almost as believable as the theory by the yoga instructor that my ayurvedic needs of cooling foods were not being met. Cucumbers...that was her amateur prescription. i'm probably more likely to consume 18 cucumbers than to follow up on your diagnosis. but if the team of scientists you wish to send out are hot, i might be willing to play along.

The Bracelet said...

Funny, that's what every other woman I've told that theory to said...

(and I only hire the hottest scientists)

Kelsgarden said...

damn, I was just going to say "hot flash!"