Sick all the time during 1st year ashtanga practice

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,

It’s been almost a year since I’ve started an almost daily ashtanga
practice and loving it.

The problem is that for the last 6 months I have been catching every
flu, cough, cold and other minor diseases that my kids bring home from
school :slight_smile: It seems my immune system is depressed.

I am an active 47 year old male in good physical condition but had some
stubborn fat around the waist that ashtanga is helping me let go. In a
year I have maybe lost 12 pounds of bad old fat.

Does anyone see a pattern here? Is a new intensive practice likely to
cleanse the old toxins of the body and, in the process, make one
temporarily weaker and more exposed to diseases?

Thanks for any insights, cheers,

PS: should one keep practicing (as I do) when having a cold/flu/cough?

#2

In the span of a year certainly you’ve developed enough of a relationship with your teacher to ask her/him, yes? And the reply from that interaction? I find it best to get that out of the way first as it tends to reveal many other things and provide a respond within the framework of the practice chosen by the student.

Generally speaking activity does not facilitate optimum immune system function. It is not an endeavor without merit but given the choice in the throes of illness to rest or jump around I’d choose rest.

Along these lines there are certainly systems that respond to movement as that can facilitate perspiration and the lymphatic system. Really it is up to you and the yogic course may be to try both sincerely with sound intention and an open mind and see which works more deeply for YOU.

As to the frequency of colds that requires a longer chat relative to your living and your nutrition, not to mention your thoughts.

Warmly,

gordon

#3

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;75480]In the span of a year certainly you’ve
developed enough of a relationship with your teacher to ask her/him,
yes? And the reply from that interaction?
[/QUOTE]

Hi Gordon,

Well I don’t have one teacher as I patronize 3 different studios where I
live (Paris) depending on the hour I can practice.

But the teachers I asked about this were pretty vague and more or less
said “you are eliminating toxins”.

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;75480]Along these lines there are certainly systems
that respond to movement as that can facilitate perspiration and the
lymphatic system. Really it is up to you and the yogic course may be to
try both sincerely with sound intention and an open mind and see which
works more deeply for YOU.
[/QUOTE]

I do sweat a lot during practice but I think what pushes me into
exhaustion are backbends (when approaching the 2nd series or doing many
reps of Urdhva Dhanurasana).

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;75480] As to the frequency of colds that requires a
longer chat relative to your living and your nutrition, not to mention
your thoughts. [/QUOTE]

I am still omnivorous but eat only organic at home and very little meat
in general. My energy level has always been pretty low and for that
reason I try to sleep well and work reasonable hours. And I schedule
things around yoga :slight_smile: Dunno, I have a feeling that those colds are a
transition towards improved health, as my body clearly is responding to
asanas and changing, so I’m not overly concerned, just curious.

Thanks for your answer,

#4

It has been my experience that the phrase “you’re eliminating toxins” has become slightly trite due to overuse. It is not “wrong” or “incorrect”, though to have that be the same answer to a student in their first month as it is in their twelfth is a bit concerning.

The human body is eliminating toxins by its very design. If you are moving, urinating, defecating, perspiring, and breathing then of course you’re releasing toxins. Unfortunately in our rush to become yoga teachers we far too often forget to BECOME yoga teachers. Then we are left to merely regurgitate what we have heard or been told.

There are two types of exhaustion. There is the exhaustion from climbing a mountain, working a 16-hour shift, cycling 50 miles, chasing around after one’s children for the weekend. Then there is the exhaustion of where you can’t get going in the absence of the fatigue of labor. The recourse for the first is obviously rest and nourishment. The recourse for the second is the attention to the kidneys and their movement into the body and up toward the heart center.

Students should not, typically, be fatigued by backbends, au contraire. They should be energized by said practice, brought from the past into the present, and able to release long-held fear which impede doing. Without seeing you in backbends I obviously can’t give you direction for backbends. That responsibility must rest with those whom you’ve chosen to teach you, be they three or only one.

It may very well be a movement toward a higher level of well being and certainly not something to be “concerned” about. But the curiosity is completely appropriate and a person with a history of fatigue can reap the benefits of appropriate asana so that such a state does not remain part of their homeostasis.

warmly,

gordon

#5

zafu, i might be mistaken, but it sounds like you might be exhausting yourself… i would try some more gentle yoga practice…