Pre-yoga class Do's and Don'ts Part 1

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I'm still a yoga baby (teehee!). As I go along writing on this blog, I'll be sharing things that I learn along the way.

This is the first installment on my yoga tips. Do's and Donts before and during bikram yoga class.

1. DO take lots of water. It's Bikram yoga dude, your sweat during class will make you worry about dehydration. It's always best to take in plenty of fluids, preferably water. Oh and by fluids, I don't mean to include...

2. DO NOT take so much coffee. Before the class do not take coffee because takes time to digest. 

3. DO eat a full meal 3 hours before the class.  You can eat rice by all means. Within those 3 hours don't eat anymore if you can. If you get hungry within those 3 hours, you can have bread, fruits, or practically anything that can be digested fast. An hour before the class if you suddenly feel hungry, there's always granola bar or banana. The point here is during the class, your stomach shouldn't be doing any work, you're working it out, so if it's digesting your food while you're exercising it, more or less you will throw up. You have to eat something to give you energy. You especially need carbs, otherwise your body will have nothing to burn and convert to energy.

4. DO NOT be late for class. I believe I've made that point already in my previous entry.

5. DO take a shower and/or wear deodorant. If I have to explain it to you, it means you don't do it and you're immune to any smell that results from it.

6. DO NOT bring your cellphone to class, keep it in your bag. Bringing your cellphone even if it's on silent mode is seriously a bad idea. It takes your mind out of the practice. Makes you want to reach for it and check if someone messaged you. Worse, you'll lose your focus if someone calls.

7. DO your bathroom deeds before the class. Seriously, it's torture to have to run out of the room to do your deed during the class. Ordinarily that's good, but then as soon as your step out of the heated room, it's gonna be very hard to come back, you'll have to adjust to the heat again. And even if you get to hold it in for the duration of the class, you might have to run out as soon as you hit the final savasanah, depriving you of that one last and most important rest that you need for your body to "absorb all the hard work you've done" It's the savasana you don't want to miss, believe me.  To this end I'd also want to include : females, when that monthly visitor comes and you want to practice yoga, I suggest you wear a tampon. I simply cannot imagine you practicing wearing anything else to protect yourself. It's uncomfortable and you'll surely look back all the time lest your get that dreaded stain.

8. DO NOT wear costumes that are too frilly, stringy or is not made to be worn during exercise (therefore causing some female body parts to be obvious..) . THe last thing you need is to have to readjust or even care about your costume. You don't want to wear something that will make you self conscious. So if you're not comfortable wearing just a sports bra and the yoga shorts, by all means wear a tankini or cycling shorts. Your costume should be the least of your concerns.

9. DO choose costumes that you can move in comfortably and at the same time, safely (by safely I mean you can open your legs as much as you want and no one will see God's gift to you and/or your significant other). Yoga postures include postures that require you to hold your legs up in the air up to 90 degrees, or to open them up on the floor till you can do a russian split. Corollary to my previous point, you should be able to do the postures knowing that the body parts you want/need to be covered ARE covered. Protecting your "gifts" from public eyes should be one of the least things you'll care about.

10. DO NOT, under any circumstance,  go to yoga class when you're sick or about to get sick. It's not just for your sake, it's also for others.  It's a heated environment, obviously a hot bed for any viral disease. You'll get the entire class sick. Also, it's annoying when you keep on coughing or sneezing while in the practice. You and your classmates will lose focus and yes, it's kinda gross considering that you are highly dependent on breathing to survive the class. So really, how do you breathe through your nose when it's stuffed?

So there you have it. 10 simple do's and don'ts from a yogini baby. Along the way, I hope I can add more to that. For now it will suffice.

Keep those in mind so that during the class, you can free your mind of all those concerns. =)


Namaste.