Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Iyengar Yoga: perspiration

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Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Iyengar Yoga:
perspiration

pascal
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Aug 18, 2003, 12:36 PM

Post #1 of 7 (1896 views)
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perspiration	Can't Post

i practice iyengar yoga since 5 years, and about 10h a week, and i perspire a lot when i practice Crazy

, with the same asanas, others don't sweat at all Shocked

, how can one explain this difference? (i must say that i have more muscle mass than others because i practice swimming and gym 3 times a week, but it has maybe no influence ...)

Bryan Alexander
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Aug 22, 2003, 5:26 AM

Post #2 of 7 (1838 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm not well versed in physiology, but perspiration is an automatic response to an increasing body temperature, or sometimes to emotional stress. Isn't it? Maybe in some cases the postures affect such parts of your body that your internal temperature increases, and perspiration intervenes to keep the body cool. In other cases, maybe the postures challenge your emotional responses, and perhaps cause stress. I have experienced fear of going upside down, for example, and fear of backbending, and that really got some adrenalin flowing, and I perspired. Also Virabhadrasana III usually gets me heated up--it is a challenging pose overall, and sometimes results in lower back pain, and that brings up fear.

Recently, when I told my teacher that I was experiencing an unusual amount of fatigue, she warned me not to practice asanas so vigorously that I breathed hard or sweated a lot. Asana practice does expend energy, and my teacher surely knows that I perspire in most of her classes. But asana practice should not exhaust the practitioner.

jay
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Aug 25, 2003, 1:45 AM

Post #3 of 7 (1803 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

But asana practice should not exhaust the practitioner.

I have always enjoy my Yoga practice even though i have only been doing it for 18 months.

Although I have always found it puzzling when comments like the above are made. Shouldn't it read and experienced Yoga practioner should not get exhausted or sweat during Yoga practice. A begininer or intermidiate person is likely to sweat the more he puts into his practice.
Please tell me if i am mistaken as i am also one who finds he can work up a sweat during practice.

Jay

Bryan Alexander
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Aug 27, 2003, 9:35 AM

Post #4 of 7 (1769 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

To sweat, or not to sweat. That is the question.

Well, no, I don't think it is. But how much you sweat--that is a piece of evidence one can use to judge whether one might be overdoing it.

Whether beginner or advanced student, I believe you have to adjust your practice so that you do not get too fatigued to be able to carry out other responsibilities you may have, such as to family, employer, and community.

snoekbaars
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Sep 7, 2003, 3:53 AM

Post #5 of 7 (1677 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

I believe (without any scientific knowledge) that people sweat more or less according to their metabolism, as well as the other factors mentioned. If my wife and myself enter a sauna for example, I sweat a great deal after about 1 minute. She does not.

I do not believe that sweating and fatigue are directly related.

I tend to sweat during yoga practice, often depending on the (northern european) weather...

yogahound
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Oct 4, 2003, 11:00 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1535 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

you're sweating more in Iyengar classes because your body is working a lot harder. In less rigorous yoga schools, standing up is just a matter of "standing straight". In Iyengar yoga, every part of your body is challenged, every part is doing something, every bone is leveraged, every joint and muscle is challenged and made conscious. This is work and exertion, and work and exertion cause the body to heat up. And when a body heats up, perspiration takes place.

If you're not sweating, you're probably "cheating" by not fully immersing in the asana!

scuzball
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Feb 4, 2004, 8:28 AM

Post #7 of 7 (1324 views)
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Re: perspiration [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

If you're not sweating, you're probably "cheating" by not fully immersing in the asana!

I think that depends. HOW you work is as important as how much you work. Beginners generally have not learned to surrender and thus add unnecessary effort to their practice. As your practice matures, the capacity to surrender (among others) can increase, reducing the tendency to strain. Learning to release the outer body more and work more internally is part of this process. Keep in mind that we tend to reinforce our existing tendencies. People who always tend to over-do will tend to approach their yoga the same way. Utlimately, every pose, as Mr. Iyengar says, can be restorative. Look at the general direction of your practice. Are you developing a greater sense of ease? Are you finding more of what the Iyengars call "repose in the pose"?

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