[QUOTE=charliedharma;53663]I have been led to understand that Mr Iyengar has said that in his opinion if you getting thirsty during your practise that you are practising incorrectly , ie straining for example if you find yourself pushing the tongue into the roof of the mouth during parsvottonasana not only will your shoulders harden your head become tight , you will become thirsty , I must admit in practising in this style I never seem to get thirsty , nor do I get thirsty in mysore style ashtanga vinyasa classes so I beleive what he says.
Also I have read and heard that we are trying to stoke the yogic fires , the agni certainly the digestive fire and taking on too much water would put the fire out , we could keeep our elements in balance , the analogy given is that of making a clay pot , and the balance that goes in to that with regard to air , water , earth etc . This would seem to correalate with chinese methods ie we dont want to be too damp nor of course too fiery. Might be boloney as my American cousins say but it rings true for me.
Lastly the constant carrying around of a water bottle made of oil with some usual hiseously expensive liquid is a recent phenomena it always reminds me of bottles of milk we had when we were babies , it seems to give people some comfort , and just to be some fashion accessory and often a diversion to keeping focussed on the practise and our experience. The marketing people Im sure are loving it , who would have thought we would be buying bottled water , when the tap water is often free ?[/QUOTE]
-I’d like to know more about thirst being a sign that I am practicing incorrectly and how to correct my error in practice.
-I think I understand what you are saying about the yogic fires and that would begin to answer my question about “why”. Just because the teacher says so it not a very helpful answer so I like to know the physiological reason too.
-I only carry a water bottle filled with tap water with me to the gym and to yoga. It doesn’t give me a sense of confort., It helps to keep me hydrated. I don’t find my bottle particularily fashionable, its functional instead.
Im not suggesting a water bottle is some high end fashion statement , at least not your water bottle , just that when I first started yoga there was never a bottle to be seen , now they seem to be ubiquitous in some quarters , I think they probably started arriving when yoga started being taught in gyms , but I dont know . Most teachers I have been to ask you not to bring water bottles in class and to arrive hydrated and to think about diet so we are hydrated . when they are there , they do seem to be a distraction for people , as i distractedly watch them sip from their water bottles. The tradition is old and has been tried and tested by better beings than me , nobody to my knowledge has ever died of dehydration while doing yoga asana , although with all the hot yoga it is only a matter of time 
(thats enough emoticons ) maybe one day it will be compulsory to drink during our practise .