I just did my first week of Bikram Yoga. I went every day and I love it. However, I’ve noticed a skin rash all over my legs. Is this normal? Is this a result of so much sweating and toxins being expelled or is it just a coincidence? Ayyone else ever have Bikram Yoga rashes?
sounds like it could be heat rash. heat rash occurs because sweat ducts become plugged and sweat leaks into the skin instead of out of it. does it look like little red dots and does it feel prickly at all during class or otherwise?
if this is the case the best way to treat it is to lay off bikram for awhile…more sweating will make it worse. you also need to keep the skin dry. bikram every day is probably overkill. a friend of mine attended bikram daily for several weeks and ended up having to stop because her body was out of whack and unable to regulate her temperature normally. she ended up having hot flashes and sweating profusely outside of class. i would take it in moderation.
hope this is helpful! namaste
Yes, little red dots. Not prickly, but itchy.
How do I unplug the ducts?
btw, I sweat profusely all over. My clothes are drenched completely. My towel is drenched. My Yoga Mat is drenched.
Interesting comments on the moderation. I love it so much I want to go twice a day.
i just did a quick search, so you may want to look into it more, but the only way to unclog the ducts is to stop bikram for a while. try to keep the skin cool and dry and avoid sweating. sorry. personally, i’ve never tried bikram, a heated room of about 85 degrees is plenty warm for me!
good luck!
Same thing happened to me, I don’t want to give up Yoga but it keeps getting worse. I love the heat and relaxation. I am addicted.
My doctor gave me some cream, but I had better results with vitamin e cream. I am going to experiment with having a shower at the facility which I usually don’t. I like to wait until I get home. But I will put my modesty to one side and get the cream on right away and dry clothes. I will try to put the cream on right away. If anyone has any ideas I am game, creams powders? More water?
Hi,
The important thing is to establish if your skin rash is related to fungal growth or if it is related to eczema. Both of these needs a different approach and treatment. Typical the allopathic ointments and creams will contain cortizone, something you would want to avoid. There are wonderful homeopathic ointments and creams available through your homeopath which will work wonderfully.
[quote=deborah;19081]Same thing happened to me, I don’t want to give up Yoga but it keeps getting worse. I love the heat and relaxation. I am addicted.
[/quote]
Addicted is a heavy tearm. I’d worry. Personaly if it violates ahmisa (non-violence…incuding to your self) it might be best to reevaulated. My own thoughts. No worries and to each there own.
Hi Peter, I have been to a few Bikram studios one of them I can’t go to because the carpet smells so strongly of cleaning chemicals. I would be weary of this and also to the laundry detergent you are using for towels and clothes. I had to change my detergent because of a rash I was getting after doing hot yoga that sounds similar to yours. The detergent never bothered me before, but sweating so much in a hot room opens your pores up to these things so you have to be aware of them.
Good luck, Namaste
Hello Peter,
The skin is the nervous system’s connection to the outside world. It is where the nervous system terminates in the physical body. Therefore things on the skin reflect the state of the nervous system.
Toxins are moved around and out of the body on a regular basis (differing rates depending on one’s living). So this is not the first time you’ve “released toxins”. I try specifically to avoid such cliche commentary when it comes to yoga as it qualifies to me as “group think”. It is completely possible to release toxins without hives, warts, pimples, or the like. It is also possible to not release toxins and have those conditions. Therefore they are mutually exclusive.
The practice you mention is Yang in nature as is the body’s manifestation you are mentioning. You could just as likely have this from your practice as any other yang activity. If you shift your living to embody a yin lifestyle this would likely go away.
Hi Peter,
I would definitely recommend you have a shower straight after class, if the studio you attend has these facilities (it would be very odd if they don’t).
The heat will open you pores and the sweat will draw toxins out of your body, leaving you with a ‘glaze’ of toxic sweat all over your body, with open pores ready to suck it back in again. A rinse down in a warm to cool (i.e. not hot) shower will wash away the toxic sweat and also close the pores, making them less susceptible to irritation.
Best of luck!
It’s ok Nord, we don’t mind old posts being bumped here 
My first two weeks of Bikram Yoga I got rashes on my chest as well. Since taking showers immediately after class, the problem has gone away.
I’ve been practicing bikram for over a month, twice a week. I’ve scratched and torn my legs to shreds. Really intense itching 
My skin has taken a toll. I’m not sure why but I’ve itched my skin to the point of tearing. It’s so bad, I went to the doctors office and took a blood test to see if i have an allergy. Still waiting on the test results. Why has my skin has been itchy so bad lately?
I’ve soon found out that bikram has been the answer all along… I think. 
I was wearing running pants/tights with breathable type fabric then switch to running shorts. I’ve also just started taking showers after class instead of waiting til I get home. Still no resolved!
Please help! What is happening to me? I need solid answers on why has this been happening to me. I am suffering been taking Benadryl at night and hydrocortisone cream. I love the practice and DO NOT want to give this up.
Eve1 - It is good you went to the doctor to check for allergies. In the meantime, if you still think it might be related to heat rash - try putting some baby powder or talc on all the affected areas before the practice, and when you take showers after class, start with lukewarm water and then switch to cold. This usually helps me out quite a bit when I start getting heat rash in the tropics.
maybe I’m allergic to my own sweat! HA!
Really has been a pain though. I guess I’m very sensitive, I had no clue until I started practicing bikram, didn’t notice how fragile my skin is to sweat. Now when i sweat even for a bit I’m itching away.:o I’m going out to purchase some talc powder. Thanks for the tip!
Anything else I could do to help this sensation? I’m considering not going to bikram this week because of all the scars kinda embarrassing.:roll::roll:
All of the rashes mentioned I can relate to. Some people, especially with fair and sensitive skin should not excessively sweat as they do not have enough sweat glands. Could very well be genetic for example, my ancestors were all from cold northern climates and didn’t need to sweat as much as those in warm southern climates. The month I started Bikram Yoga, I developed heat rashes in the crooks of my arms and legs. I went to my General Practitioner who said very confidently that it was eczema and gave me a topical steroid which temporarily helped but came back with continuation of Bikram Yoga. Long story short, the Bikram caused over sweating and stimulation of my sweat glands and caused many rashes related to heat all over my body.
I was checked by various doctors including 3 allergy specialists and 3 dermatologists. One could link my rashes back to Bikram and the excess sweating. Allergies contributed to the itching but was not the reason for the rash. The rash led to eczema and other fungal issues on my skin.
Those who mentioned they are suffering from something similar, Google “heat rash”, specifically Maliaria under a website called emedicinehealth.
Bikram just may not be for you as it wasn’t for me. Try a non heated yoga studio. Some studios even have Bikram postures in a non heated room. The Bikram sequence is great and well balanced but there are many health reasons why some people just aren’t meant to do it in intolerable and unnecessary heat and humidity.
As a result of the heat rash, I haven’t been back to the bikram studio since July 2011. I liked what bikram was doing for my body but not skin. It was so bad that I couldn’t show my legs because of all the scarring. The itching would get really intense at night and the sensation didnt go away for 2-3 weeks so be patient.
My mistake was itching my skin to the point of breaking the surface and there lies the infections and other woes that could happen.
Eve, seriously the story of my life and trying to recover right now for the damage caused by the over heated room nearly 2 years ago. Glad you saw results so soon. Mine turned into other problems like eczema that I have suffered with for nearly 2 years off and on. My husband also had severe head aches from only 4 times in the Bikram studio. The studio refused to refund him his money or transfer classes to another person telling us “he isn’t trying hard enough or giving Bikram a chance”. They also dismissed my skin issue. Horrible attitude. I hope worse things don’t happen to people at that studio for those suffering with health issues from the extreme heat and believing that they should “only give Bikram a chance”.
Recovery might take time to fully heal. I, too am fair skinned. I’ve heard that in China the bikram studios hire people outside the country because skin irritations.
Skin problems like dermatitis, eczema are associated with that type of yoga. Try a less intense heated room. Stop going to bikram yoga classes if you or anyone you know has these symptoms. I hope this helps everyone out there who is experimenting with bikram.
Probably the safest thing is to see a doctor, specialized in dermatology. There are so
many aspects that you cannot do much without specialized knowledge:
http://www.eczemabible.com/healing_eczema_book.html
What you can do yourself is to avoid factors known to cause skin troubles.
I have found this product as quite good:
Herbomineral
http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/product.aspx
Obviously, to cure a condition you have first to remove the causes of that condition.