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My First Class Experience
Last Post 22 Jun 2007 03:57 PM by Robert Schaefer. 2 Replies.
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Robert Schaefer
New Member
Posts:6
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| 21 Jun 2007 01:01 PM |
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Hello everyone:
Last night I had my first Sunstone experience. The day before I had gone to another yoga studio on the other side of town for an hour class. Both experiences were enjoyable, although I would call my Sunstone experience a serious challenge to me physically. I say this not as a bad thing, because I know the benefits that Yoga will have for me, but nevertheless, the hot and humid environment for 90 minutes was really difficult.
I was not adequately hydrated. I did drink fluids beforehand, but it was most likely not enough. About halfway into the session, I developed what I would call the worst headache of my entire life. I was almost ready to scream out in pain. There were also two times when I thought I was on the verge of vomiting, mostly due to the imbalances caused by the headache.
During the final 30 minutes I had to lie down and forego a good number of postures. It was everything I could do to hang in there for the remainder of the session.
I suppose that to most people this would sound like a hellish nightmare, but I see my bodies reaction as part of a healing and adjusting process. I have spend the last four years working sedentary at a computer during the day, and working on a doctoral program nights and weekends (another completely sedentary activity). I gained a lot of weight during this time, to the point where I am uncomfortable in my own body!!
This has been a rather embarrasing series of lifestyle choices given my Buddhist spiritual practice for the year 20+ years, but the truth is the truth. I made a decision last month to go back to a mostly veggie diet and find a physical activity that I can use as part of my spiritual journey as well.
So, despite my session being one of the worst and most challenging "body" experiences I have ever had in my life, I was very happy to have experienced it. Now that I have had back-to-back Yoga days, I am taking today to recover. I am very sore from head to toe, but there is a smile on my face and a light in my heart. I look forward to returning tomorrow.
I have a couple questions, all posed with the open, inquiring mind of a novice.
Why 90 minutes? It seems to me that most studios do 30 and 60 minute sessions, especially for beginners. Perhaps 90 is great for a more advanced student, but 90 minutes in that heat was killing me. Although I also know it was good for my body, wouldn't focusing on going more often throughout the week in 60 minute batches be better for a person so out of shape as I am? Today it was tough to get out of bed. Of course as I am sure all of you would have guessed...my body also seems to be thanking me today in many subtle ways! However, I also hear my body telling me not to push too hard for fear of dropping out, and that is definitely not what I want to do!
Why is the "Fire" session for beginners? It seems that being the hottest and longest, calling this a beginner stage is well...certainly counterintuitive. If I am having a tough time making it through 90 minutes (and I really would not want to leave in the middle of class), should I focus on the "Earth" session instead? What do you think I should do? I am all ears for suggestions (it is the only body part not in pain, LOL).
Although I certainly will hydrate fully next time, shouldn't I take some ibuprofen (Advil) beforehand to help avoid headaches? I will tell you I am very worried about getting another headache in that heat. During my first session, the headache really detracted my ability to relax and focus on stretching into the poses. Instead I was reduced too "gutting out" the remaining 30 minutes on the clock. As a result, my most popular pose was the "corpse pose."
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I want to thank Gina at Sunstone in Plano for being such a wonderful person to me and for being such a great instructor, and also I want to thank everyone who was there during my session. This is going to be a real challenge for me, but it is one that I know deep in my head and heart that I really want to make. Any thoughts, advice, and support any of you have for me is very much appreciated.
Yours Most Sincerely
- Robert
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Helen Stutchbury
Sunstone Yoga Teacher
Basic Member
Posts:101
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| 21 Jun 2007 03:00 PM |
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Robert, welcome to Sunstone Yoga. We're glad you've taken this step toward a longer and healthier life, and we hope we can answer all your questions and keep you motivated to keep coming in.
The headache and dizziness do happen for some new students in the heated environment, and it is definitely caused by a lack of hydration. Instead of taking Ibuprofen to prevent a headache in the room - grab a couple of packets of electrolytes and put them in your water and drink that down. When I first began my practice I had a lot of dizziness, and replenishing the water and mineral supply takes care of it. It was recommended to me to drink 1 ounce of water for every pound of body weight every day for 10 days to re-hydrate the body and also train it to keep asking for water. Remember that we often associate the rumbling "empty" belly sensation as hunger, when that is a typical physical signal about thirst - so reach for a glass of water first, and just keep drinking throughout the day. Avoid sodas and coffee and other dehydrating foods on yoga days.
The heated room can take 3 or 4 classes to get used to, but it is not really specific to "beginners" - serious athletes and people who have practiced yoga for years still need that time to adjust to the heat - the same as you would need to adjust to altitude if you were climbing a mountain. At Sunstone Yoga, the heat is maintained in a very safe range, so after that initial adjustment, you are only working on your physical practice, not fighting the room.
At the same time, the class is considered to be a beginner class because the postures have been carefully chosen to be within the range of motion of about 90% of people. That doesn't mean they aren't challenging! It just means that almost all of us can get into the basic alignment of the posture, and work forward from there, creating a sequence that is stimulating and challenging to everyone every time.
I understand your concern that you might feel defeated and are afraid to drift away, but what's so great about the heated room is that once you get through that adjustment period and realize you are just working your body, the warm muscles and increased heart rate that the room enables generally allows the beginner to feel success very early on. Many other forms of exercise take months before you begin to notice a significant difference, and even though you are sore today, you are also describing the sensation of feeling "better" - that just keeps building and building as you stick with it - so make a bargain with yourself that you will give it 2 - 4 times a week for 3 months - and see what happens in that time. I think you'll be really glad you did.
We do offer 30 and 60 minute classes - I would absolutely recommend our Wood classes to you - try to take at least 1 each week. The difference in your feelings of balance and stability over just a few weeks might astonish you.
However, the 90 minute class allows us to work every part of your body completely, in a sequence that builds up to a peak about 45 minutes in, and then slowly winds down, and includes enough balancing, strengthening, and stretching poses to leave you feeling you've really had a total body workout - and the meditative and relaxing benefits as well. Most people find the 90 minutes races by, and though it seems like a large commitment for today's busy world, you gain that time back through the benefits of having more calm, strength, energy, and mental clarity.
Just keep coming throughout your 10 days - and after 4 or 5 classes, and then 10, and then 20 - let us know how things have changed.
Good luck! |
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Robert Schaefer
New Member
Posts:6
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| 22 Jun 2007 03:57 PM |
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Thank you so much Helen:
I know I had a lot of questions, and I thank you for taking the time to answer them with such consideration. I am going back tonight to try again, and I will make a commitment to give my best effort. I will say that I have had a couple of bad dreams about passing out, throwing up, or getting another splitting headache that risks turning my session into an iron will battle against the clock. 
Okay, I will go drink another glass of water now. Ohh...I do have a question about this. If I showed up just before class to drink a big bottle of fizzy electolyte water, that would not be likely to do much good other than for it to slosh around inside my stomach compared to drinking water several hours beforehand to hydrate my whole body, yes? Perhaps I am wrong though when it comes to this type of heat?
Send me your best thoughts, and I absolutely will let you know how things are going.
"Warmest" Regards (at least 98.6 degrees)
Robert |
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