Day 49 It’s All About Balance

*Warning: If you have a super-sensitive gag reflex, ie: you can’t change a diaper without a Haz-Mat suit, this post may not be suitable for you.*

Yoga’s about balance. Inside, and out. In this, my second 30-day Bikram yoga challenge, things are happening to my body on a cellular level. Muscles, ligaments, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, yada, yada. Structures are changing, got it.

I hadn’t thought about what might be happening on a chemical level. As in, electrolyte imbalance.

Everyone knows that during an illness involving a loss of fluids – like vomiting and diarrhea – the delicate balance of electrolytes can be disrupted. Sodium and potassium levels go out of whack, resulting in all sorts of problems, if left untreated long enough.

But excessive sweating also results in a loss of fluids. Ie: Bikram yoga. Duh.

Now, I don’t go anywhere without my trusty BPA-free water-bottle, and I down a LOT before and after a class. I know better than to let myself get dehydrated. And, if y’all recall my post on my special recovery drink, I thought I had the whole electrolyte thing covered.

That was before I did two classes in one day.

It was a slow process, but I think that was the tipping point. I’d been aware that, over the past 49 days, my gastro-intestinal system had been getting somewhat… unbalanced. Sluggish. Underperforming. Okay, backed up like the Number 1 Highway before the Port Mann bridge. I’ve always considered my colon one of my reliable organs, as opposed to my various defective ones, so this was disconcerting. My diet is good, lots of whole grains, fruits and veggies. So, WTF?

It must be cancer, was where my mind immediately went, naturally. But, upon further research, I think I stumbled upon a simpler cause: excessive sweating in yoga was making my bloodstream suck the fluid out of my intestines, and kids, that’s a place where you really want your liquids and your solids in perfect balance. I won’t go into details here, but you never appreciate your GI system until it’s not working properly. (And for the record, while I’m not squeamish – I love nothing better than a good projectile-anything story, like Dave Barry’s colonoscopy experience – my kids get snippy when I over-share. But for the right price…)

Anyway, desperate to reboot my colon, getting no love from Raisin Bran, flax cereal, prunes or Metamucil, I finally downed a few shots of Milk of Magnesia – which is quite tasty, by the way, creme de menthe with a medicinal finish – on Friday night, after my double-yoga-day.

It was that or dynamite.  

Report: reboot successful. I stayed close to home yesterday. That sweet, minty taste packs quite a wallop. 

I’ve learned my lesson. Now, in addition to my own recovery cocktail, I replenish my electrolytes with HydraLyte solution – which tastes like blackberry-infused sea-water – after every class. My colon and I are in a careful detente at the moment, but I’ll be watching.

I could use this as an excuse to quit, and I did skip several postures today but I’m going to try and hang in there for ten more days. 

And the Milk of Magnesia’s going on the high shelf. Don’t get me wrong: I feel much better now. But that stuff is scary.