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| - If you peruse hot yoga blogs & forums, you'll find posts alluding to the curse of the third year. For sensitive individuals, the third year of exercising in the heat can take a severe toll on the body. Apparently, those people with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, and other endocrine maladies are prime candidates.
The first two years of my practice I emerged from classes feeling energized, victorious and wonderful. Yet this third year I began to feel drained after class. The number of poses in class I attempted started to dwindle, and soon I was having trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. If I made it to class, it took me two days to recover from it. Naturopaths had opined it might be too vigorous a workout for me, but up til then I was too high on endorphins to listen. When my a** started dragging 30 feet behind me, I had to face the fact I was depleted.
Adrenal exhaustion takes a long time to recover from, coupled with it a compromised thyroid and constant problems with dehydration and electrolyte balance. Still, I miss the heat, and the genuine feelings of well-being hot yoga gave me. I hope to return to the sweat at some point, but I wanted to post my cautionary tale to others if you have hormonal issues and Bikram yoga is not giving you the high it should or that it once did. You are not alone.
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