bikram yoga, exhaustion and hyponatremia

so i've been doing bikram yoga for about 3 weeks now, maybe 4 weeks if you include the last week in berlin where i discovered it. it's a form of yoga that was created and then patented by an indian dude - bikram - who moved to the states and opened his franchise/personality cult there in the 70s, and it's gone supersonic from there. it's a series of 26 postures, always the same, always done over the course of 90 minutes, and always performed in a room that's heated to 40 degrees. that's right: 40 degrees: hotter than the human body. to boot, the room's at ~40-50% humidity, so even before you start the exercises you're sweating like a bitch.

it's not a secret that i love heat and humidity, and with my long and ever-increasing list of musculo-skeletal/neurological problems (+/- psychosomatic elements whose overall contribution i am unsure of), i've been in need of some regular stretching and exercise since forever. perhaps since i was a foetus. this seemed like the ticket. so i went for it.

here are my results at week 3:

1) self-love. at some stage during the first week of bikram in berlin, i came home and said to g: "i think i'm falling in love with my body". now this may sound ridiculous or narcissistic (no surprise there i hear you cry!), but let's face it: no-one's 100% comfortable with their bodies. he or she among you who is prepared to stand naked in front of a crowd laughing and pointing and not feel a bit insecure should cast the first stone. but 90 minutes a day sweating in front of a mirror wearing nothing but a tight red bather-bottom has left me thinking "you know what...i'm sort of loving what i'm seeing right now". apparently g is too...

2) flexibility. my memory does not extend far enough back to a point in my life where i could actually touch my toes without bending my knees, if such a point ever existed, which i increasingly doubt it ever did. 6 months ago i was able to touch a point just below my knees (perhaps my tibial tuberosities on a good day), now i'm one third of the way down my shin. that's almost 10cm extra! happy? i'm ecstatic! we can't be martin luther king jr all the time: sometimes our dreams are not so lofty, sometimes our dreams are in fact quite selfish and material. my dream is to touch my toes.

3) pain. i'm not sure about this, but i think my back's hurting less. hope interferes with perception, so i'll have to get back to you about this one.

4) exhaustion. it's true that one sweats like a bitch and i drench my towel every session, losing what i estimate to be a good litre of sweat in those 90 minutes. though i feel good-ish for doing the yoga, overall i have to admit that i've been quite exhausted, have had to take nanna-naps in the afternoon on the days that i do the yoga in the morning, and have had two minor viral illnesses and two coldsores in the last 2 weeks. i'm not sure what it is, so i've started taking a multivitamin, trying to increase my electrolyte and protein intake, and even had some meat the other week in an act of desperation. still trying to work this one out...

and that's where i'm at three weeks into it. ultimately i want to do a 6-month challenge: three months in paris and three months in (? insert location after paris). i'll keep you posted :)