'A temperature of 68F would be ideal for practice, with a range of 15 degrees below and above that still possible, but practice speed needs to be adapted - faster when it's cold to increase heat and slower when it's hot to cool down. On a hot day, focus on the cooling quality of the breath. Heating the yoga room to above 77F may produce more flexibility, but it decreases, strength, stamina and concentration. If yoga were only about flexibility contortionists would be the greatest yogi's.'Ashtanga Yoga by Gregor Maehle p 21
Picture above is of my sweaty manduka eQua towel. Makes a good Rorschach inkblot test don't you think. I'm seeing 'The dark Knight'.
The first time I went to a Shala I was struck by the heat in the room. It was like walking into a wall of heat. I could hardly breathe and struggled with keeping my ujaii breath regular. I was sweating buckets throughout the practice and to be honest it was an unpleasant experience. There were other things about visiting the Shala that made up for it but the heat I dreaded and it's probably one of the reasons I only went back once.
Back home I thought I needed to acclimatise myself to the heat and ended up dividing a room off so I could trap some heat. In the morning I turn the thermostat all the way up and turn on an electric heater as well. It's hot but feels a lot like the Shala I visited and I'm kind of used to it.
Yesterday and today I practiced Intermediate and was all over the place. I was sweating a kilo and a half, breathing badly and feeling completely wasted by the end of practice. At first I put it down to coming back to Intermediate after a month lay off but I took a thermometer in with me this morning and it was about 33C/91F. I mentioned it in a comment here http://donutszenmom.com/2009/05/23/2183/
'I'd die' said Liz, in response to my comment, which got me thinking and Googling resulting in the above quote from Maehle. 68F give or take 15 degrees, that's 83F max and Maehle makes a point of discouraging anything above 77F , and there's me practicing in 91F and wondering why I'm sweating rather a lot and feeling a little weak at the end of my practice. Tomorrow I'll bring the heat down again and let you know how it goes.
I'd be interested to hear what kind of temperature you all tend to practice in or what you may have heard or been told is supposed to be the ideal.
UPDATE
Practice today was Intermediate again and I cranked the temperature back to a more comfortable 26C, 78.8F. Much much better. Still warm though and by the end of the Sury's I was sweating as much as usual. Difference was I could breathe. Managed to keep my ujaii breath nice and focused throughout the practice which felt altogether more controlled. Felt stronger throughout too and while I can feel that I've had a good intense practice I still feel alert and up for going into work.
14 comments:
There was a major heatwave last summer in my part of the world. The temperature was in excess of 100F one morning and my teacher made me drop back and stand up 5 times in a row. I nearly passed out and had to sit down in childs pose at the end of that!
ha ha!!! Nice how I got a mention... yes, I would die. But before dying, I would be really, really grumpy. I had a teacher, many years ago, would would crank multiple space heaters during the SUMMER. In TEXAS. But the people who don't want any kind of breeze (read: an accidental flip of the rug, causing a momentary stirring of the dead heat), seemed to love it. I admit to being a little bitchy about this subject, but I always notice that the people wanting it to be 90F and above are the ones not wanting to put very much oomph into their practices... just wondering (and being bitchy). Sorry. Too much?
I love it when someone whips out the "but it's hot in INDIA!!"... well, not all the time. Please. Let that excuse die.
You have me fired up on this topic.
drpbacks in 100F, madness Anon, madness.
'fired up' Liz? I see what you did there ; )
No not TOO much....well perhaps a teeny weeny bit...love the thought of you stomping around and coming back to write another sentence '...and ANOTHER thing...it's not hot ALL the time in India, godammit.. Grrrr grrrr.. STOMP STOMP..' Scary Liz, scary.
But then I can imagine you in your Shala standing by the the thermostat, asking brightly " Nobody minds if I turn the heat down a little, right?", and the whole place going silent, Vinyasa coming to a halt, ujaii trailing off and icy stares from all round the room. "Just kidding" says you and the room starts up again, as you slink back to your mat. Yes can see why you might feel strongly about this.
Looking forward to a cooler practice this morning.
Hello Grimmly,
Greetings from Singapore :).
The shala temperature here should be around 77F - 90F which is comfortable for me. I guess it's similar to India or slightly cooler.
I prefer practicing in the hot temperature although I started Ashtanga in Osaka last year. I still remember the winter practice was soooo hard for me 'cause I did't wanna get out from my bed in the early morning and even though I managed to reach Shala it took a long time to heat up my body!
Wow, you sweated a kilo and a half in the practice?! That's alot!
Part of my legend--you know, centuries from now, when it's written--will be that my winter practices tend to happen at between 59 (yes I said that) and 64 degrees. They see me in polar fleece top, and Maehle hits it right; you gotta MOVE to get heat going at those temperatures.
The major benefit of that kind of madness is that if I practice at 70 or more degrees, suddenly it's The Flexibility Zone. More importantly, though, is that I get used to my "64 degrees" flexibility, and practice at that temperature becomes my standard.
Last summer I did some 90 degree practices in a heated room (full Primary, somewhat led) and about passed out. I had to let the ujjayi go, or else it would have been over. There's no point to doing this practice in heat like that (I think; hi Liz!).
Ha! Last April we were sweating buckets in Goa while practicing with Rolf in their old shala, and that was too much. This year though, we were on a roof top and in December and after the scooter ride at 4 something AM I would be freezing and it would take how many sunsalutes to warm up enough to take out my sweatshirt I cannot remember... Well I think 77F is just about right, then I don't sweat much but I am also warm enough so my toes are not freezing :)
The soaking wet rug is hilarious...
Yes, I was on a tear.
Years ago, at the super hot shala from hell, I used to ask my teacher if we were doing Bikram. She didn't like that.
I would die during the sweltering, humid months in Goa!
Hi Patrick!
Hi there,
I stumbled across your blog randomly, and am really glad that I did...
I remember years ago, before I started ashtanga, I was dragged to a bikram yoga class a few times, and wanted to die the each time. Everyone kept saying that it was good for you, that you detox more that way, that you are more limber, etc etc. I even blacked out once.
When I go to a shala I usually set up as close to the door as possible, so that I get breeze when it opens. And at home, in the mornings it's quite cold, so I crank the heat on for ten minutes so that my bones don't creak, and then switch it off after doing a few sun salutations because I'm warm enough that it doesn't matter anymore.
I think everyone's different. Maybe it's something to do with ayurvedic constitution-- I know that my friend who LOVES bikram yoga-type heat (she goes into saunas to do yoga... completely insane obviously) is very much of a kapha. I'm very pitta-type... maybe it's a type thing. Or maybe not :)
In a shala contet, the only really harsh behavior I've seen around heat is very small, young vata people insisting that it be hotter so they can be more flexible.
I've often wished it were appropriate to mention that women who are going through menopause sometimes feel especially unwelcome in an airless, super-hot room.
So there, I mentioned it. :-)
FWIW, packed led practice in Mysore in April. OMG stifling. But oxygen deprivation is an interesting high...
oh goodness... when I hit menopause, everybody better look out. I might have to have secluded practices in a freezer unit.
0v0- for sure there is some reliance on super heat for a flexible practice- I always try to hold back a little if it's unusually hot because I know I'll be paying for the bionic flexibility the next day!
Hi Atsumi. Singapore, I was born in Singapore. I lived in Osaka too (Ishibashi and Dainichi), for several years, can't imagine practicing in that humidity. I used to have to have the Air con turned right up. Where was your Shala in osaka?
Patrick, have you seen Lydia's Video over on her 'Being with yoga' blog where she's practicing with her wooly bobble hat (she's up in Canada).
As Liz said Maya Ahu even India is not hot ALL the time. Thanks for confirming her argument.
Glad you stumbled by Rebecca. I kind of get Bikram and might even go once. But there, I understand, your not doing any vinyasa, I was thinking I needed to be doing Ashtanga in almost Bikram heat, madness. As you say Owl it can be/is...unwelcoming. Why is that? It's hard enough as it is, without constantly coming up with new ways to push people away from the practice.
Anyway, had an excellent practice this morning at 26C
Sweating buckets = no problem
Not being able to breathe = no good
Hi Atsumi. Just saw your comment again 6 years later checking posts about temperature, I'm now living in Osaka again, are you still practicing?
Hi Atsumi. Just saw your comment again 6 years later checking posts about temperature, I'm now living in Osaka again, are you still practicing?
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