Transpiration during Yoga

[Arianneh]

Dear all,

While Yoga could be intensive by times I am experiencing some inconvinence with sweating during some excercises.

An example: if I do some of my excerices I start sweating quite intense (not extremely); if I set myself in the downdog I simply slip away because of my transpiration. Also with other floor excerices or hand excercises I have these kind of problems. I make sure that do not practice any intense workouts (or other intense things such as sauna for at least three hours) before getting in my yoga.

Is there someone who have some tips to handle this?

Many thanks!

Love,
Arianne

[Aurora_B]

There are different ways of looking at asana and transpiration. According to the principles of Ashtanga vinyasa Yoga, a vigorous asana practice is how we can purify the body and mind, and transpiration is part of that purification process. At least this is what one of my main teachers have told me. But there are some teachers who don’t think you should transpire too much either. Hopefully some of the teachers on this forum can give their answers too.

On a more practical note, if you slip on your mat because of your transpiration - get a new mat! If possible try different ones until you find one you can stay safely on. Traditionally in Mysore people used woven cotton mats, and many people in the studio where I practice use them too. Another alternative is to get a “Yoga towel” to put on top of your mat which will provide a non-slip surface even during heavy transpiration.