Smart Hydration for HOT Yogis!
Staying well hydrated is one of the best things you can do to feel energized and up to the task of practicing yoga in a 105+ degree room for 90 minutes. Most people do not drink enough water on a daily basis but as a hot yoga practitioner, staying well hydrated is essential to not just making it through class, but to being in a state to receive maximum detoxification benefits from your practice.
If you’re drained and exhausted after class and you’ve been practicing for at least a few weeks, dehydration is a likely culprit.
H2O is your body’s primary chemical component and makes up about 60% of your body weight. Every bodily system depends on enough water to function properly. Water flushes toxins from the vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells, and keeps skin and mucous membranes healthy and hydrated.
Mild dehydration leads to fatigue but more severe dehydration can inhibit essential functions of the body such as metabolism, digestion and more. We lose water through breathing, perspiring and going to the bathroom. Hot yogis certainly perspire more than the average person, so just how much water should we aim to consume?
Daily water needs are as individual as each person and their unique lifestyle, health and environment.
The Institute of Medicine recommends an adequate intake of roughly 3 liters, or 13 cups, for men and 2.2 liters or 9 cups of water per day for women living in a temperate climate like Portland. For a more customized formula, another recommendation is to drink half your bodyweight in ounces each day. For instance, if you weigh 140 pounds, aim for 70 ounces of fresh, pure water each day. Adding a pinch of high-quality mineral or sea salt can improve your body’s ability to absorb the water into each cell.
Not all of your daily water intake needs to come from water alone. Consuming pure juices and fresh foods is another way to stay well hydrated. Many fruits and vegetables are 90% or more water. Some of the “juiciest” options are melon, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries.
Smart hydration for hot yogis
On the days you practice aim to drink 3-4 liters of water, drinking a significant amount at least 2 hours before class. But try to stop there. Drinking too much before or during class can fill the belly and inhibit your ability to do the postures in proper alignment.
The opening breathing exercise and first few postures in the sequence are designed to build heat in the body. “Party time” or the first water break of class is encouraged after Eagle Pose.
Constantly reaching for water during class can become a distraction from the practice itself. Small sips between postures are recommended, as needed.
Once you’ve been practicing for a while and you are staying properly hydrated outside of class, you may notice you go through an entire class without a sip. If this doesn’t happen spontaneously, try challenging yourself to not drink during class and see how it goes.
TIP: If you find yourself overheating, rather than chugging water, try not to wipe all the sweat from your skin, as it is the sweat evaporating from the skin that cools the body. If there is no sweat to evaporate, heat will be retained.
After practice be sure to rehydrate with water or a tasty elixir or juice from the cooler – you can sweat out up to 1.5 liters in a 90 minute hot yoga class!