Fresh Fruity Spa Water

I hear Vancouver is finally getting some heat! I feel like our summers never really get started before August anymore so hopefully we have a nice warm fall again. It's pretty hot up here in Kelowna, this week it has already been at 37 degrees which is almost the same temperature as inside the room in a Bikram Yoga class. We experienced similar conditions the first week in I was here and one day during the 5pm class the room was so stifling the teacher decided to let us practice with the windows open!

It's taken a lot of adjusting for my poor confused body and I'm still finding it challenging to keep myself hydrated. Today I taught the 12pm class and wanted to take the next class myself which was at 4pm. I quickly went to a cafe down the street and ate something so my food had time to digest. I had a nice Tiger Spice Chai Latte then went home to re-hydrate.

I had sweat out a lot when I taught the noon class and knew I had to put the moisture back into my body so I drank a liter of Gatorade-infused water before walking down to take class. I know Gatorade is not recommended by yogis because of its' high salt and sugar content but when I'm really feeling parched it seems to be the only thing that works for me. When I was at Teacher Training I had to drink a Gatorade every day just so I wouldn't feel weak and dizzy in class. I try to avoid it normally and drink Vega Sport Electrolyte Hydrator instead, which is a nice clean product. However I believe we're all a bit different and you need to find what works for you and when I'm desperate my body reacts well to Gatorade.

Lately I have been getting dehydrated at the stragest times. I usually drink a ton of water before yoga class so I don't need to have any when I'm in the hot room. I also drink a lot afterwards to replenish everything I sweat out during class. Yet in the morning I have been waking up feeling very dizzy and nauseous, sort of like you feel in the middle of a Bikram class when you know you didn't drink enough water beforehand. The first thing I have to do is run to the fridge and drink coconut water until I feel more energized and my head is clear. I finally realized the best thing to do is drink coconut water before I go to bed and today I woke up feeling better. (Thanks Elsa for the coconut water!)

I also have been making some chilled spa-like fruit water, hoping the vitamins and minerals from the fruit will help a little bit. I have been hearing about this everywhere and it's easy to make if you have a big container and a few different kinds of fresh fruit. You can combine different fruits to make new flavours, here's what I tried:

Cucumber and Kiwi

Cherries

Lemon and Blueberries