no yoga. doctor’s orders!
Yoga Journal blog post (12/2/08)
Apparently practicing while experiencing spells of vertigo isn’t such a good idea. Imagine that.
As loathe as I am to admit it, I am pretty type A when it comes to my physical fitness. (I was gonna say I’m a typical American, then I realized most of us ‘merikans think fitness is part of the following phrase: “How’m I gonna fit’n this?”) I tend to muscle through aches and pains, minor illnesses and headaches, and bouts of depression and anxiety. I used my cycling as a way to still my mind while I pedaled out my stress. Once I transitioned into a yoga practice I really felt like I’d found a way to use my body towards the end of calmness and peace of mind.
Last week I gave myself the Friday after Thanksgiving off (my first day off in I don’t know how long, after teaching a full 30-student class on Thanksgiving morning), so I opted to enjoy some free time with my better half instead of practicing. I felt obligated to practice Saturday morning to make up for that day off, even though I felt a little under the weather. Usually a practice makes me feel better.
Not this time.
My first transition from the floor to standing I thought I was going to fall over. Once we made our way to the floor series every sit-up made things worse. I went home after class wanting nothing more than to stay in bed for the rest of the day. I didn’t, though. The fellow and I went to a train show, then had an amazing Mexican lunch. Then I rested.
I wake up each morning still feeling these dizzy spells. I went to my doc’s office yesterday and she ruled out an ear infection, but she couldn’t pinpoint anything else that could cause the vertigo. She’s treating me for a cold, in hopes the vertigo is tied into the under-the-weather feeling. Now it’s wait and see. And no yoga until the dizzy spells pass.
I keep telling people yoga is so great for your immune system and overall physical function. Now look at me. Doc says yoga is great as a preventative measure, but sometimes you have to listen to your body and take a break.
What?
I reckon this is one of those teaching moments. Can I learn to let go and accept that I need to rest, that my body needs to rest? Can I find other ways to calm my mind? As I walked my dog this morning I realized I could use this as a perfect opportunity to deepen my meditation. It also doesn’t hurt that walking the dog feels good, and today the weather is spectacular.
If anyone has any experience with vertigo and can offer me any suggestions or whatever, I would certainly appreciate them.
Yoga is great for everything - your individual approach to practice is not. Yoga is a way of discovering and listening to your True Self, but our mind is not our true Self and in fact, separates us from it. Your approach to your practice has been governed by your mind - this evident in everything you’ve written in this blog, and in your body. What you have is a Vata imbalance caused by overexertion in your practice: too much Pitta and practicing without ahimsa (compassion). This is not something that yogis would know intuitively, but Ayurvedic practitioners would. It is not a neurologic virus, but in the off chance it was, it would not be able to take hold in a body with a healthy immune system - the immune system is worn down by excess Pitta and Vata, so same conclusion. Vertigo is caused by aggravated Vata, which means the degree of your imbalance is pretty serious, and if I were to do a full analysis, would most likely find your metabolic system out of whack (sugar and fat metabolism, for example).
The most immediate steps you can take to start moving toward balance are:
- Start drinking coconut water, throughout the day - it has the same electrolyte content as breastmilk, and is sooooooo much better for you than Gatorade. Vata imbalance is caused by, and creates, more rapid loss of electrolytes from the body, which unbalances the nervous and digestive systems. Replenishing electrolytes should be your first priority - it won’t cure the imbalance, but it will slow it from progressing further. NEVER drink PURE WATER. This seems surprising, but what we know about drinking we know from mass-marketing campaigns, which are not informed about Ayurveda. Pure water is so different in concentration from our body’s fluids, that it causes us to lose nutrients more rapidly - the laws of diffusion, osmosis and kidney functioning. Put something in the water - preferably mixing it with coconut water and/or juice or EmergenC (packets of vit C, electrolytes, cal/mag and B-vitamins) - even cooled tea is better than pure water (please see my run down of November’s article on the Ayurveda group page).
- Get more consistent sleep - the first thing to un-balance Vata is lack of sleep or disrupted sleep. We are only aware of 20% of what we take in with our senses every day - our nervous system needs the time to process it all. Getting to bed before 10pm ensures the time of highest Pitta (10 - 2am) is used for the best purpose - dreaming and putting everything in order. This gives us the clearest mornings for meditation, and the greatest flow in our days. Working out no later than 4 hours before you want to go to sleep, and avoiding any activities that stimulate your visual cortext (TV, computer work, intense reading), will help you get to sleep more easily and have more restful sleep.
- Follow a more consistent schedule - the body needs to know when to expect food and sleep. Have your main meals and morning wakeup within an hour of the same time(s) every day - your digestive system has a nervous system of its own, and needs to have consistent motility to have optimal digestion, minimum build-up of ama (toxins, and undigested food), and to avoid diarrhea, loose stool and constipation. Our nervous system is most peaceful when we are consistent about the amount of sleep we get and the time we wake up. To re-set your internal clock, make sure you get up at the same time every morning - you will feel tired earlier the following night, and this is the feeling you should listen to.
- Cool down your yoga practice - If you are doing heating practices like Power, Hot, Moksha, Bikram, Astanga or Anusara, switch to those with more Yin energy, like Yin Yoga, Hatha, Restorative and Svaroopa yoga. Once the vertigo subsides and you are following an Ayurvedic program consistently, there are modifications you can incorporate into a heating practice to reduce any un-balancing effects and maximize the benefits you receive from it (some of these I include in the ritucharya I prepare for clients, but the majority I teach as part of a 2-day workshop). Heating practices, the way they are currently taught and practiced, unbalance Pitta (responsible for our metabolism) and consequently Vata, due to forced concentration (unbalances the mind), excessive perspiration (consequent loss of electrolytes) and stressing our core body temperature.
These steps are damage control - an Ayurvedic foods list and ritucharya (lifestyle guidelines) customized for your unique constitution will help you return to balance.
Namaste
Soul), which is continuous with cosmic Consciousness, the Divine, Shiva.
