Water
and Power (Ashtanga) Yoga
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If you observe an
animal, any animal (except maybe a camel), over a
period of twenty-four hours, you will notice that
it drinks water frequently. Not tea, coffee, cola,
or Perrier, but water. Everybody needs water. The
absolutely first thing I ask people who come to me
for nutritional consultation is, "How much water
do you drink everyday?" I’ve found many people
don’t drink enough water, and often not any water!
This is an invitation to disease and imbalance.
Water is essential,
not only for life, but for balance between the two
primary intra- and extracellular minerals in the body,
potassium and sodium, and for proper functioning of
the organs and systems of the body. Water must be
drunk daily, on an empty stomach and in large quantities.
What is a large quantity? I start off the day with
a liter or quart bottle. It’s not easy. It’s not fun,
I’ll be honest. I don’t drink much coffee anymore,
but water still doesn’t taste nearly as good to me
as a cup of coffee made from freshly ground, and freshly
roasted beans with a third of a cup of half-and-half.
But … let’s face it, caffeine takes it’s toll, like
fat or sugar. I don’t care how many studies they do
hyping the positive effects of caffeine on training.
The bottom line is that caffeine is hell on the adrenals
and the liver. If you want good health, you limit
your intake of caffeine or don’t use it at all. One
cup of coffee a day isn’t too bad, but if you are
a woman with a high risk of developing fibrocystic
breasts, for example, it’s important to know that
if you don’t use any caffeine, you may prevent or
reverse the condition. So we all make our choices.
You will lose a
tremendous amount of water from the body through sweating
while doing this practice. (He’s speaking of power
yoga.) If you do not replace this fluid, you are
at risk of dehydration. Therefore, you must drink
water. Not right before practice, not during, and
not for at least thirty minutes after practice.
This means drinking
water on a regular basis. Always drink water on an
empty stomach. Do not drink it with or after meals.
This dilutes the digestive process and diminishes
the absorption of nutrients gained from the food you
eat. Tea and coffee and bubbly water don’t count as
water. Anytime there is anything in water besides
H20, the body treats it as food, and it requires effort
on the part of the body. The nice thing about water
in the body is that it goes straight through, flushing
out the system, without requiring to much work from
any of the component parts. It is extremely cleansing.
One good way to tell if you are drinking enough water
is by the color and odor of your urine. If it is dark
yellow and strong in smell, you are not drinking enough
water. Unless you ate a piece of asparagus the night
before, your urine should not be strong-smelling.
One good way to tell how much water to drink is to
keep drinking until your urine is clear and odor-free.
This is best done first thing in the morning when
the stomach is empty and there is no digestion going
on to divert or slow down the process. End to end,
the whole operation shouldn’t take more than an hour.
Drink water. Develop the habit.
From the book
"Power Yoga" by Beryl Bender Birch, Wellness
Director New York Road Runners Club
