22 March John Beatty March 22, 2016 Student to Student: Just Keep Coming Back to the Mat! Body, Hot Yoga, Life 0 Comment Streams of sweat run off my nose as I move into a Balancing Stick yoga pose, my body looking vaguely like a capital “T” from the side. When I tip forward standing on one leg with my arms above me and the other leg tipping up behind, it’s as if I’m a tea kettle and I am pouring a cup of hot water off my nose. You see, I am exercising in a 98.6oF room with 60% humidity, and I can produce copious amounts of sweat. It is January and new faces crowd the room, ready with their New Year’s resolutions to get healthy, and it is clear that the newbies are struggling in the heat. How can I tell them that I was one of them some years ago, overweight, out-of-shape, and unable to make it through a class? My wife and I joined yoga almost 5 years ago to do something together as a couple. Believe me when I say that I had no idea what yoga was. No idea. I thought that we were about to sit in a room, cross our legs, and chant. I was so wrong about so many things. Didn’t know that it would be hot and humid in the room. Didn’t know that my heart rate would skyrocket. Didn’t know how to breathe… and so on. The lithe young female instructor looked me up and down, and said, “Your goal for the class is to just stay in the room.” No kidding, just stay in the room. Then she looked at me again and followed up with, “When you don’t feel well, lay down on the mat.” I do not recall her looking at my wife at all when she issued these suggestions. And words of wisdom these turned out to be, as I felt dizzy and nauseous not halfway through class and had to lie down on the mat. How do I tell the New-Year’s-resolution-in-hand new yogis in the class that it took dozens of classes before I did not feel nauseous, and dozens more to feel like I knew what I was doing? Seeing the room littered with new students lying in the appropriately named “corpse” pose in the middle of class is no surprise to me. It happens each January, like clockwork. I imagine that this happens yearly in every type of exercise room. And I know that if I would show up at a spin class, or at one of the cross-fit sessions that my son has invited me to, that I would be the newbie: struggling to figure out what to do, struggling to keep down lunch, struggling to stay conscious. It is just the way it is when you begin a training regimen. And unfortunately it is that way even when you have been training for years, for every now and then the body just doesn’t cooperate. It happened to me several weeks ago when I started to feel dizzy and nauseous in a class. Except now I know that it happens from time to time, and I know that I will not feel like that regularly, and most importantly I do not allow it to keep me from showing up again the next day. How do I tell those new students that the dizziness still sometimes comes over me, even after hundreds of classes? My wish for those new folks in the room is to stick with it, to keep the room crowded with energy, to make it a regular part of their life. I empathize with them, I feel for them, I am them. What has all this hot yoga done for me? Queue all the cliché’s: lost weight, toned muscles, improved endurance, sleep better, feel better, etc, etc. It’s all true. But also for me the incredible amount of core strengthening and balance work has made my lower back problems disappear. Previous to my yoga practice I had many steroid injections into my back after damaging the discs. Not anymore. My strong core has helped my weak back. And I have been able to exercise with not only my wife, but also my 20-something children, which is super-fun. How can I tell all this to the new yogis in the room? Just stay in the room, and keep coming back.(note: It's great advice. John has taken over 750 classes with us since his first in May of 2011!) Related Articles Born to Move Since the recent NYT article “How yoga Can Wreck Your Body.” I have seen a number of comments on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and via email. On the one hand I was sad that yoga (in general) was getting bad press as I personally know of the positive effects it brings to many people’s lives. On the other hand I felt a sense of vindication for 10 years of standing strong on: How to Be a Good Student Dear Student, It is an honor and privilege to guide you through your practice each day you’re in my class. Teachers do not exist without students. It is through you that I am able to refine my craft. My hope is that every time you leave the studio you feel fulfilled, in a different mindset than you entered and empowered with more knowledge about yourself and your practice. Pain In The Back: 3 Exercises for Strength Back pain is as common as the cold. Almost everyone struggles with it. I struggle with it. Whether standing in half moon in hot yoga or working on a report at the office back back pain is prevalent in our society. Accountability Partners: Not just “yoga buddies” Here we are, seven weeks into 2012 … perhaps you started out strong on your New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, lose ten pounds, or take five hot yoga classes a week. Often times we make resolutions with great ambition in the moment, but we tend to lose perspective (and the eagerness to follow through) as time passes — sleep right now sounds so much better than getting out of bed to take a 6 a.m. Fire class. Be Engaged Throughout Your Class Last week, we introduced Sunstone’s vision as well as the Five Teaching Principles that guide our teachers in helping our students cultivate their very best selves. These principles are our core values, the foundation on which we've built our studios. They are equally valuable for you, our students. They create the landscape for what your experience with us can be like. Whether you're in your second class, or well on your way to building a body, mind, and life practice, these words describe behaviors that can turn what seems to be the simple action of taking a yoga class into something truly life-changing. Taking Care of Your Hair and Skin So you are regularly attending classes at Sunstone, working hard, sweating like crazy, all the while loving the change that your yoga practice has created in your life. BUT, as you spend more time with your practice, you are noticing changes in your skin and hair. Comments are closed.