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Post by redwood on Feb 21, 2012 17:32:18 GMT -5
I usually do yoga at home, but have wanted to start taking a yoga class again. I've done a variety of yoga, including bikram yoga. Recently, a new yoga studio opened near my house that is a hot yoga studio and teaches moksha yoga, which is similar to bikram with some poses, but also does different poses and some flow (and with a more gentle type of instruction). I like it better. I tried 3 free classes when it opened over two weeks ago and was planning on getting a month's membership, but right after that week I took classes, my period came early and was the worst pain I ever had.
On the other hand, in reviewing my posts and pain calendar, I had the most pain free months when I was doing bikram yoga last year (except for the one month where I had NO pain at all and was doing yoga at home and eating a lot of game like moose and elk).
So I'm always trying to figure out the connection to what I do and how it relates to the endo pain. I don't want to assume that the hot yoga made my period worse this month. While last year it "seemed" to make it better, although during that time my period was quite irregular and I had a period at 2 weeks, but it was almost entirely pain free. Not sure if it was the heat that affected this or not.
I just wonder if anyone else has done both hot yoga and regular yoga and whether or not they noticed a difference in their cycle while doing hot yoga.
I guess I could just try and see what happens, but I'm tired of that as I had a lot of pain the past 3 months and am wary about doing anything that will make that continue. It's one thing to have pain a few days in a month, but having pain 10-12 days out of the month is just over the top. I am taking a new medication now, but won't know the effect until my next cycle.
I just wonder if the heat and sweating is good for endo or bad for endo. When I did bikram 10 years ago, I remember that it was ok, but sometimes the heat gave me migraines. I was on the combo pill at the time though and got migraines sometimes, and once I remember getting really bad pelvic cramps and having to leave the room for a bit. It did help my neck injury though and I did it for about 4 or 5 months. I had an endometrioma at the time, but I didn't know that then as it wasn't diagnosed until the end of that year.
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Post by angelicky on Feb 21, 2012 22:07:54 GMT -5
don't quote me; but i sure i read somewhere recently that you need to be careful on what yoga you did (the problem is that i've been reading so much lately that i can't even think of where i might have read it)
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Post by redwood on Feb 21, 2012 22:57:32 GMT -5
perhaps you read this: www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=allI read that too. It was popular a few weeks ago. My question is more about the extreme heat with hot yoga rather than yoga itself. I figure that any physical activity has its risks, you just need to know your own limits. So I wouldn't say that yoga is any more dangerous than rock climbing, mountain biking, ice climbing, aerial acrobatics, martial arts.... Hmmm, so now I wonder if any one is a fan of saunas and how that could affect endo. That would also be extreme heat.
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jtean
Full Member
Posts: 119
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Post by jtean on Feb 22, 2012 14:49:16 GMT -5
I know someone who has very extreme endo, and says that hot yoga saved her life. She said she does bikram almost every day and that it dramatically reduces her pain!
I've only done regular yoga so far (i'm working my way up to being able to do hot), so i can't personally comment on it, but it seems to definitely work for her.
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Post by 1234 on Feb 22, 2012 15:08:10 GMT -5
I'm a huge fan of bikram for endo pain management.
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Post by redwood on Feb 22, 2012 17:37:52 GMT -5
thanks for the feedback. Interesting....do you think it's the heat or the specific poses or both?? It would be interesting to do a study comparing hot yoga, reg. yoga and the control group. Although who would get funding to do that? LOL Also, because people would be having different diets, taking different medications, etc., you wouldn't be able to know if it was just the yoga or heat that was having the effect. See, I just wonder if the sweating is pushing out the toxins....things that might aggravate endo.
I just did a regular yoga class today and liked it a lot. I can still sign up for the month intro to the hot moksha yoga though.....so I'm still considering it. Moksha doesn't have the pose that I hate in bikram, which is the standing head to knee pose. I hurt my back doing that and it took over a month to get it back to normal, so it's just one that I'd prefer not to do.
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Post by redwood on Feb 22, 2012 18:08:19 GMT -5
Interesting quote about bikram and endometriosis that was from a yoga instructor on a site:
"Because, well, bikram series does a LOT for a body. Case in point. One of my clients had MS and also had endometriosis. Now, MS meant that she couldn’t be in heated yoga — it could cause serious health problems. Doesn’t matter what anyone says — this is Doctor’s Orders, and she was following that. But, I knew that Bikram and endometriosis go really well together. For some reason — and honestly, i don’t know the science — the sequence just seems to help.
So, my student does vinyasa classes with me 2-4 times a week, and then at home, does the bikram sequence with a book the other 2 or more times a week that she wants to do yoga. And you know what? it still works, even without the heat."
I also found in some internet searches that sweating is not releasing a bunch of toxins. Well, something like 1%, and more things like alcohol. It's the liver and kidneys that will get the toxins out of your body (mostly the liver). So I guess having a healthy liver is the most important thing.
I think I'm going to continue with the yoga I did today. I like the teacher, studio and the class style and it just feels right for me. I specifically don't like hot yoga, per se. It's too hot for me and I'm always annoyed at all the laundry it entails and I tend not to drink enough water afterward and get dehydrated quite often. But I would do it if I thought it would help my endo (or even my shoulder injury). I look at it as therapeutic as it helped heal a neck injury 11 years ago. But maybe yoga without heat would have done that too. I don't really know.
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Post by 1234 on Feb 23, 2012 7:01:03 GMT -5
yeah--it's more important to find what works for you. I love the heat. It has been life-changing in dealing with my scoliosis and in healing long-standing injuries from being a dancer. With teh endo, I feel like it helps stretch and relax the pelvic muscles, so that the endo pain ratchets up less.
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Post by painttheseconds on Feb 23, 2012 13:45:34 GMT -5
I've never tried hot yoga before, but I'm definitely not opposed to it. I've always just been afraid that I would pass out from all the heat. I can see how it would be beneficial though. I hope to try bikram yoga after I have recovered from surgery.
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Post by 1234 on Feb 23, 2012 14:51:30 GMT -5
Nicolle, what a beautiful picture of you!!
The heat is intense for hte first bit. Once you get used to it, you start to crave it being hotter. But I was feeling the urge to run out of the room as fast as I could for the first several times.
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Post by Karen on Feb 23, 2012 19:37:32 GMT -5
I'd be interested in hot yoga but have been warned that extreme heat like that isn't good for people with adrenal issues. It can tax the body more than it can help. Just something to be aware of if you suspect or know you have adrenal issues.
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Post by JC on Jul 10, 2012 7:39:21 GMT -5
I have been doing power yoga lately and it feels so damn amazing! I never knew I was carrying around so much pain in my body until I forced it to stretch. Power yoga is more focused on strength building along with flexibility and balance. I'm using a DVD that has a beginner, intermediate, and advanced level so I can use that DVD for a long time as I progress and get stronger. I love it. I feel like my back is so straight and strong! Almost like I grew another inch. ;D
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jaye
Full Member
Posts: 165
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Post by jaye on Jul 14, 2012 15:46:48 GMT -5
You guys have sold me on Bikram - I searched for images of the poses and it TOTALLY makes sense why those poses help endometriosis!
Unfortunately, I am in the boondocks and am lucky that I have one generic yoga class offered locally. Does anyone know of a good handy pictorial resource for the pose sequence? - either for sale or free to print off the internet. The ones I found don't print correctly off the web - either they don't fit on and 8x11 or too low resolution. Thanks!
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Post by 1234 on Jul 14, 2012 18:37:02 GMT -5
I have a podcast of it that I use when I'm in other countries. I think there are also videos.
The thing that is frustrating with Bikram is that it is an INDUSTRY. It's not real "yoga' in the sense that it's not spritiual--it's physical therapy, not meditation--and hte heat simultaneously kicks your ass and helps you stretch more. It's so helpful for adhesions. but hte industry part of it means that they control what is available for free.
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Post by loveshoes on Jul 14, 2012 20:33:13 GMT -5
I have a podcast of it that I use when I'm in other countries. I think there are also videos. Do you have a link to the podcast you use that you could post?
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