The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Diet, Clothing, Hydration and Drinking › Recovery time
-
AuthorPosts
-
After a good strong practice I’m usually so exhausted I have to just hang out in savasana for a good five minute before slowly getting up, making my way to the showers. In the changing rooms, I sit on a bench for a good few minutes dripping, then crawl into the shower and just stand under the water breathing, then dry off slowly and sit for another five minutes before slowly getting dressed, then having a herbal tea before putting my shoes on. All in all it’s a good 40 minutes before I leave the studio and I’m still beet red and only then starting to cool down and stop sweating. After about an hour, I finally feel amazing.
And yet… Some people seem to spring up as soon as the final breathing is over and bounce off to the rest of their day.
Is this just another of those ‘It’s the way your body works’ things, or does it get easier/quicker to return to normal once you’ve gotten used to the practice (I’m coming up to 20 classes)? How long do others take to recover from practice?
Hi Neil
It’s funny how we can feel obliged to get moving after class. It can be the pressure of the *stuff in our heads, things we have to get done. It could be that we see everybody else getting up.
It could also be that the next round of students have started entering the room and it feels odd with the ‘new’ energy of preparation.
What is it that is making you get up at 5 minutes?
If there is NO class after you, then I would try to stay put for as long as possible. It seems to me that your body is constantly seeking recovery time for at least that hour.
You will be SO surprised that an extra 5-10 minutes on top of your 5 min savasana will make an enormous difference. You will find that your overall recovery time is reduced.
Now, if there is a class after yours and you have to get up, is it possible for you to silently get up, take your mat and lie down somewhere else for extra time?
Recovery is an individual thing. What’s happening for you is that your mind may be sabotaging your body’s need for a slightly longer recovery. It sounds as though there is too much struggle so please try something different.
There is no schedule even for you. So you simply have to lie down until you’re ready to get up. That can change from day to day. Having said that, you will probably find that once you have more classes under your belt your ability to recover will change.
What I haven’t done here is to discuss water or electrolytes. These could be having an effect on you as well. Beginning of practice during acclimatization is when bodies tend to lose more salt per liter of sweat. Take some good unprocessed sea salt (Himalayan, Celtic, pure ocean salt etc) to see if this will help you.
Finally, what can you tell me about your breathing and heart rate during this recovery time? What can you tell me about your studio’s rules about drinking water?
The possibilities are many so I need more info
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hey Neil,
Some days I go through exactly the same thing. I also need to lie down, slowly get up, drink some more water, sit on a bench, lean against the wall before hitting the shower because my legs are still wobly, hold on to the shower whilst in the shower and then sit down for another couple of minutes before I get dressed.
Other days I’m in savasana for a couple of minutes and I feel wonderful right away, skipping off happily.I think for me it has to do a lot with my energy level that day or week. I like to think the class opens up and brings out everything. Every positive and negative emotion just comes out. Working through stress in the body, stress in the mind, emotions locked up everywhere, and the exhaustion that I try to ignore the rest of the day or week just comes out. So when I feel weak like you’re describing, I’ll give myself some more time to either calm down in class or sit in the changing room for a bit. Though there’s usually a class right after, the teachers don’t mind you sitting and chilling on the benches for a little longer.
Also, I usually try not to plan any meetings for another hour after class. Then I don’t have to think about having to hurry up and get my face back into its normal shape 😉
Good luck!
X AnnaI did a class at the weekend and for the first time did bounce back relatively soon after the final savasana and felt truly alive rather than approaching death! So progress at last. Only thing is I’m not sure what was different to all the times I’ve taken ages to recover. Gabrielle, I don’t think it’s my breathing (slow and steady) or heart rate (ditto). I drink loads of water and keep a coconut water for afterwards (delicious treat), which always picks me up. It’s not really an issue, I’m just bushed!
Hi Neil
Still bushed? Or has that exhaustion abated with more practice under your belt? Curious to know what the passage of time has brought you. Perhaps your recovery is quicker.
Happy Holidays
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.