How I got swimmer's ear and almost drowned.

Hot yoga is sweaty. I know you're thinking "duh, isn't that the point" but I have to tell you, it really is. Last night was my second try and I wasn't so impressed. During triangle pose water sweat kept dripping ever deeper into my ear canal. I swear I need those vinegar and alcohol drops I had after swim lessons at camp. Then, during extended down-dogs, so much sweat dripped into my nose I swore I was going to drown. The breath, called oceanic breathing is aptly named. I have included two diagrams for those of you who are not familiar with yoga. You can see how running streams of sweat can be problematic.

I have always resisted trying hot yoga, because it sounded awful. Why would you intentionally put yourself in a room heated to 100 degrees and exercise? I anticipated anxiety and a heart attack.

Saturday night we went out to dinner and a friend, whose doctor told him he needed to exercise or he would die told me he was going to go to hot yoga. On Sunday morning, I woke up, ate a huge breakfast and sat around while Bil went to the gym. When he came home, he told me it was my turn. Yoga has always been a way to "work out" when I've been too lazy to do anything else, so I decided I'd go with my near-dead friend. The studio offers a all-you-can-pose first week deal of $20 for unlimited classes. I opted to pay the $14 for one class, sure I would never do it again.

When we walked into the room, I was surprised that I could actually breath. Later, I learned that we were doing the fake hot yoga- only 97 degrees, not 120. I enjoyed the class, which was a surprise because in addition to my hot-yoga aversion, I hate to exercise in the morning. But rather than feeling sick all day, as I usually would with a pre-noon workout, I felt really good. Best of all, my joints felt better (they had been bothering me for two weeks). I also LOVE to sweat, as long as it is confined to appropriate sweat-based activities like running or hanging out in a sauna.

After my great run on Monday, and a residual good mood from Sunday, I decided I would go back to yoga on Tuesday night. I had a very buzzy day. You know the kind- you are so busy, that you have a buzz to your body like you've just consumed a gallon of coffee. Except I avoid caffeine like the plague. You think so hard you sweat. I figured having a calm, peaceful workout (and in the evening no less!) would be ideal.

Not so much. For some reason I just couldn't focus. My mind wandered, my form was awful (knock-knees = bad yoga form) and I felt dizzy and nauseous the whole time. Plus there was the whole swimmer's ear and drowning hazards. To be fair, I did learn two new stretches that felt AMAZING after a long run.

I did feel better as I went to bed, but I didn't sleep very well. Plus, my skin is breaking out. Not sure if that is because of the "detoxing" effects promised or the fact that I had my sweaty face pressed on a rented yoga mat that smelled like feet.

My friend who got me into this hasn't gone yet for his second class. He isn't making very good use of his unlimited classes for this first week. He was too sore to go with me yesterday. Rumor has it he's going tomorrow, so we'll see how he fares. I think I need to follow my friend C's dating rule: Give everyone at least three dates before making a decision. So I'll do this hot yoga one more time before deciding yay or nay.

PS- Two of my most important exercise rules are repeatedly violated in this class:

1) Spandex should never come in a size larger than small.

2) The amount clothing men must wear is directly proportional to the amount of body hair you have. This is especially critical when considering running shorts and topless yoga.