everyday yoga for the everyday man

I’ll let you in a on a little secret.
Come a little closer.
You ready?

Not everyone who does yoga is a vegan Buddhist monk.

Can you eat meat /smoke cigarettes/drink alcohol and do yoga? Absolutely. Can you do these things while doing yoga? You sure can. Should you? Probably not.

You can talk to one hundred different yoga instructors and hear as many different answers. It all depends on how you view the practice.  Far be it from me—a guy who, if given the choice, would choose a bacon & blue cheese burger as a new flavor of air freshener—to tell anyone that they should not eat meat. It would be extremely hypocritical if I—a man who has worked a bar from every angle: behind, in front, on top, and below—were to point a shameful finger at someone going for a drink after class. You’re a big boy, and big boys make their own choices.

Whatever vice or habit or tendency you possess which you think prevents you from committing to the practice is completely your own decision.  At first, the only thing we here at average joga are going to say is DO YOGA. Whatever gets you on that mat—be it once a day, a week, month, or year—do it.

Yoga is sneaky in a beautiful way. The more you do, the better you feel. The better you feel, the more you want to learn. The more you learn, the deeper your practice becomes. Sooner or later, you’ll learn more about the history and philosophy of yoga, particularly the Yamas and the Niyamas, and even more particularly: ahimsa.

Ahimsa is the practice of non-violence. This is as straightforward as it sounds, and also a lot more complex than you think. Not only does it pertain to not hurting other beings, but it also includes being kind to yourself.  It doesn’t only deal with physical violence, but also mental and spiritual abuse.  Ahimsa can be applied in numerous ways, with such guidelines ‘don’t shake a baby’ to ‘don’t kill living beings’ to ‘not calling someone a jerk because they just cut you off on the highway going 90mph while talking on their cell phone, most likely to some other jerk about something completely stupid’.  When starting to practice ahimsa universally, one tends to take a lot of deep breaths.

How does ahmisa apply to anything you might perceive as a ‘non-yogic’ habit? If an action you perform doesn’t serve you—that is, if it doesn’t positively support you in a non-violent way—then this action is intrinsically violent itself. For example, you smoke cigarettes. You’ve smoked them for years. We all know cigarettes aren’t good for you, yet you still do. This act is violent to yourself. Another example—you eat red meat. Where does that meat come from? An animal that most likely didn’t donate that flesh for human consumption. Essentially, eating meat is an act of violence.

Or is it? Depending on the diet, the person, the body, eating red meat is a valuable source of protein, among other beneficial things. Yes, you can get these nutrients somewhere else, but you like meat. This line of thought can spiral on infinitely. The bottom line is that one needs to clearly define their own understanding of what ahimsa is and how it applies to their own lives. Yoga is not a surefire, instantaneous cure for any affliction, but a vehicle for self-awareness and wellness. It’s not the destination, but a steady path towards the goal.

You want to eat meat? Eat meat. How about enjoying that hangar steak with a fine, cask aged scotch? Don’t forget to light up one of those hand-wrapped cohibas your friend brought back from Cuba. Right now, my only suggestion to you is that you wait until after class to indulge in your bacchanalia. Also, take a few deep breaths before you tuck in and think about how what you’re about to do will serve you. If you commit to do something, enjoy it fully and be present throughout. This is how yoga is best practiced, and this is how it can be applied to everything in life.

An old lady-friend of mine used to joke with me all the time—“girls don’t sweat, we glisten.” Well, guess what ladies? Not only do men sweat, we marinate. For some, it starts the moment we step into the all-too-common velvety humid embrace of a well-used yoga room. For others, it starts the moment we even start think about entering that room.  Nobody wants to be that guy—Johnny McSweatsalot— clumsily squeaking and slipping his way through the class while all the others effortlessly glide from one end of the mat to the other. Talk about vinyasa flow!

The first thing to remember is that sweating is good. It is one of your body’s tools for cleaning house. A large part of the physical practice of yoga is designed to purify the body through a series of folds, twists, stretches, and balances.  As the body moves, the muscles and organs release toxins.  One of the main escape routes for these toxins is through sweat. The more toxic the body, there better chance you’ll get your sweat on.  If you are a big meat-eatin’, beer-drinkin’, cigar-chompin’ average jogi, your body might have a little more to work out than others. Big deal.

Combine the fact that you’re wringing out your insides with the accumulation of heat from other bodies in a poorly-ventilated room, and throw in a dash of genetic predisposition, and we have a prime candidate for rapid perspiration.  It isn’t pretty. In fact, it can be downright laughable. Countless times I’ve found myself standing at the front of my mat, hands hotly pressed together in tadasana while fighting to observe a runaway breath, scored by the leaky faucet drip pouring off of each elbow and the tip of my nose. Oh, great. Everyone is looking at me. I know it.

My name is Johnny McSweatsalot, and I’ve been that guy for all my life. My first ashtanga teacher used to walk around the shala during mysore practice and count how many floorboards that each yogi’s pool of sweat would traverse.  I hit 15 boards once, a bittersweet victory:  “Well done, Scott. This is a new record. GROUND YOUR FEET.”

Sweating is a double-edged sword. We want the sweat because we feel the benefit of the practice. We don’t want the sweat because we’re vain. We do want the sweat because it’s healthy. We don’t want the sweat because nobody likes their hands and feet to slide across a sloppy blue sponge which at one point used to be a yoga mat, or the feel of a soaking wet shirt clinging to body hair. At least I think nobody does….

What To Do?

–Don’t panic. You aren’t the first average jogi to sweat profusely, you won’t be the last, and it’s safe to say you probably aren’t the worst.  If you freak out, you’ll probably just sweat more. The most important thing to remember is that it is perfectly OK to sweat during yoga. Don’t let it stop you.

–Wear proper clothing. This is a whole other Q&AJ. The long/short here is to find what works for you. Light, loose-fitting clothing that allows the skin to breathe will be the best. If you go cotton, expect that cotton to soak up sweat. If you wear sports gear, that gear will become very smelly. Avoid business suits, denim jeans, wool anything, and polyester everything.  If it’s appropriate, consider not wearing a shirt. There, I said it. You don’t have to be the first guy to run into the studio bare-chested and ready for asana, but if you’re cool with it, give it a try.

–Bring a towel. This seems like a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into my first downward, only to feel the familiar drip of sweat run down my spine and realize that I left my towel at home. It’s OK to wipe your brow every so often. Hand towels are great for this. If you are in a class where the teacher gives adjustments, bring a bigger towel and make sure it’s readily available—not only for you, but for the adjuster.  It’s polite, yo.

–Use a yoga rug. Years back, I purchased a yoga rug from YogiToes and it literally changed my life. I was tired of playing slip-and-slide every time I stepped on the mat. Essentially, it is a thin beach towel with lil’ plastic nubs on one side that grip into the yoga mat. What really got me was that it doesn’t really start working until it gets moist. Most people would spray theirs down before class. I just laughed. The other alternative is looking into a Mysore Rug, a thicker rug spun from wool. Both yield definite results. I call mine my magic carpet, and it makes me feel like a yoga ninja when the going gets moist.

–Flip your mat over. Ok, so things are starting to get slippery. You’ve only got a few more minutes to go before shivasana. Wait for the right time, quietly step off of your mat, flip it over, and then drop back into the class. Don’t make a big deal about it. Just do it. There, isn’t that better? Your hands don’t hate you anymore.

–Grab a yoga strap. It’s looking pretty grim. You’ve forgotten your towel. Your shirt is completely soaked through. That yoga rug thing you’ve been meaning to order online hasn’t arrived yet. It’s only been 25 minutes, you’ve already flipped your mat over, and your hands are skating around like Disney on ice. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Grab a yoga strap and lay it across the top of your mat, running a few inches parallel to the front edge. When in downward dog, place the base of your palms below the strap, and the knuckles above it. It doesn’t look good, it doesn’t feel that bad, and it gets the job done.

–Clean up after yourself! If you really want to be that guy, I suggest leaving a few puddles on the floor after class. Bonus points if you don’t hang or wipe down a borrowed mat. Soon enough, you’ll be getting noticed for all the wrong reasons. Proper studio etiquette prevails here. They don’t swim in your pool, so… don’t sweat… on their mat. Yeah.

–Use your own equipment. Let’s face the facts. The idea of rolling around in sweat can be a little gross sometimes—especially if it isn’t your own sweat. Of course, we like to think that yoga studios clean their mats regularly, and most do. Usually, the surprise of unrolling a loan mat to find a rorsharch blot of two clowns fighting over a donut left by the last person using it isn’t a good one. Using your own mat has many benefits, ranging from hygiene to function. Most of the free mats get slick after a few drops—go buy yourself a fancy non-slip situation, and see how your practice benefits.

–Keep practicing and eventually it won’t matter. So what if you sweat profusely? Big deal. Yoga isn’t about how you look; it’s about how you feel. These tips should help you feel a lot better once the heat rises and the sweat starts to fall. Whether your body eventually sweats less or you end up getting used to that perpetual shine, the most important thing to remember is to keep going. A little sweat can go a long way.