Ask Helen
The fountain of yoga.....
Dear H,
I am confused about hydration.
How much should I be drinking before class?
Thank you, F
Dear F,
This is an incredibly important question, because hydration is key to Bikram Yoga! And life, for that matter.
The key to hydration lies in water & salt.... Yes, salt.
Hydration isn't about guzzling a litre of water right before class starts. Having a belly full of water is likely to make class feel even more challenging. Ideally, we should all be drinking at least 2 litres of pure water every day. That's why all BYC teachers advise you to sip small amounts of water during class and to do your main hydrating throughout the day.
And of course, water alone does not equal hydration. We also require the right balance of electrolytes, which can be found in rock salt, sea salt or Himalayan salt.
When you exercise heavily, you lose electrolytes in your sweat, particularly sodium and potassium. These electrolytes must be replaced to keep the electrolyte concentrations of your body fluids constant. To help you do this, you could perhaps add a pinch of Himalayan salt to your water (with a squeeze of lemon juice for taste). Coconut water, Emergen-C or Nuun, all sold at BYC reception, also do the job nicely.
Why do we not sell or advice you to drink cold water in class? Just think, you are doing all this work to try to warm yourself up. If you hit your stomach with a blast of cold/ice water your body gets confused... Hot? Cold? Whats happening?
Room-temperature water is easier for your body to assimilate than cold water. Our bodies have to use valuable energy to warm the water to absorb it, so, drink room temperature water and, instead, use all your energy for your postures!
Water really is the stuff of life: it transports nutrients, hormones and other important molecules to where they are needed in the body. Did you know that we are 75% water and that the human brain is 85 % water (explains a lot of post Bikram happenings, if you ask me!). Medical research has found that when our bodies are dehydrated over a long time, it can develop symptoms of diseases such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, Alzheimer's, high blood pressure, migraine and many others. If we drank enough water daily, according to the experts, many cases of these debilitating diseases could be prevented or even cured! Water for thought, huh!?
