Gab, what do you say about all this face wiping? You’re the one that told me a few years ago, “CHANGE YOUR PRACTICE, LOSE THE FACECLOTH.” I wasn’t using it to wipe my face, but my hands, before Standing Bow. I realized quickly that it’s not your skin and sweat that are important, it’s muscle to muscle that holds you in the poses, the muscles in your hands against the muscles in your leg, the strength in your hands.
Your cooling system is your sweat, wipe it off and your body now has to work hard to replace it ASAP, so now it’s taking precious water from your system to put back on your face. It always comes back after you wipe it, right? That’s because it’s SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. This is your body’s job in the hot room, to keep you as cool as it can, and every time you wipe you’re working against yourself, making your yoga practice harder!
Just stand quietly and blink it away. I’ve read that if it burns your eyes maybe it’s too acidic and your diet needs to be adjusted.
Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article by Dr. Joel Brame:
Reduces Acidity:
First, acidity. The work of many holistic professionals from around the world
has shown that an imbalanced pH within the body is dangerous. In a toxic or
stressful lifestyle, the body becomes excessively acidic. Just as many fungi love
an acidic environment in which to live, so does cancer.
Bikram yoga greatly contributes to removing acids from the body. This
happens through several routes. The lungs are a powerful vehicle for
eliminating dangerous acids within the body. In chemical terms, they are
called volatile acids, which means they can diffuse into air. The deep breathing
techniques throughout yoga helps to clear out many of these volatile acids.
The kidneys are a major route of eliminating acids. This is easily demonstrated
by testing the pH of a first-morning urine sample. In other words, upon
waking, one can use a pH strip (available at most pharmacies and supplement
shops) to test the pH of their first urination of the day. The vast majority of
the time, this urine is highly acidic. It often falls around 5.0-5.5 (below 7.0 is
acidic). Ideally, you would want the urine pH to be above 5.5. The more
acidic the body, the more acids will be eliminated by the kidneys (except in
cases of kidney failure). A higher urine pH usually reflects less acid buildup.
Because Bikram yoga increases metabolism and heart rate (and possibly
glomerular filtration rate), the kidneys will clear out more acids. In addition,
the extra water you drink during and after class helps to flush out additional
acids.
Another major route of acid elimination is through the skin, via sweat. Bikram
yoga induces more sweating than almost any other form of exercise! It is
comparable to the native American sweat lodge. When I go to class, I always
notice that my sweat feels more acidic in the first half, and more like water in
the second half. Imagine how the body must feel to have released so many
stored-up acidic toxins.
