Mon 11 Jun 2007
What does the heat do?
Posted by George under General
New students often ask the question, “What does the heat do?” Contrary to popular belief it is not present to inflict pain and suffering. Practicing the 26 postures in a heated space offers a number of benefits.
First and foremost the heat enhances vasodilatation so that more oxygenated blood is delivered to the muscles. Capillaries that weave around the muscles respond to heat by dilating. More oxygen is then sent to the muscles, which aids in the removal of waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
The heat also allows oxygen in the blood to detach from hemoglobin more easily. Blood that passes through warm muscles releases oxygen more easily. Blood that passes through cold muscles releases much less oxygen. This in turn speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids.
This makes muscles more elastic, therefore allowing the practitioner to stretch more deeply with less risk of injury. Our bodies build bulk through compression, we loose fat through extension. Warm muscles burn fat more efficiently. Fat is released during stress. The stress of intense exercise causes a surge of fatty acids into the blood stream. If you exercise with cold muscles, they can not use the fatty acids and generally end-up lining the walls of arteries.
Other parts of the body also benefit from the heat. Higher temperatures allow the nervous system to function more efficiently. Messages are sent more rapidly from the brain to the spinal cord. Our spinal cord acts as a telecommunication system to the rest of the body.
Bikram often says,
Healthy spine, healthy mind, healthy body. The more you do to improve the health of your spine, the better. You don’t have to chase love. Love will chase you. You don’t have to chase money. Money will chase you. You don’t have to chase the world. The world will chase you.
See you in the hot room!
