How often shall a yogi/yogini take a shower?
Posted in Yoga Meditation
This seems to be a sophisticated topic.
But even Mr B.K.S. touched the topic in his famous book “Light on yoga”.
I have already written a review about this book:
Re showering and bathing Mr B.K.S. Iyengar writes in “Light on yoga”, page 53, point 4 (freely translated by me):
Bathing: Asanas are easier to practice, if one has taken a bath before practicing. After the exercises the body is sweaty and one should take another bath after 15 min. A bath or a shower before and after the exercises refreshes body and mind.
* Of course I take a shower in the morning when I go to a Mysore class. This is also a matter of courtesy.
* When I practiced alone at home ,I thougth a shower afterwards would be enough. I change this, because it feels good to step freshly showered on the mat.
* If a shower is part of the ritual, it is also easier to start practicing.
* It’s not about washing and cleaning the body. It is simply to rinse the sweat of the night and to feel refreshed.
* I know some yogis/yoginis who take a bath (with salts even) before practicing. It makes the body soft surely, even softer than a shower only. It is too time-consuming for me.
* I always shower with cold water at the end. This wakes me up refreshes me. It’s a habit that I started decades ago.
* Too much soap is not good for the body, it dries out the skin. Take care. To clean the body once a day should be enough. In the evening I have my cleaning session in the bathroom, I wash my hair then, my feet get a special treatment. After having shrubbed them, I put oil on them.
In sum I am under the shower 3 times a day: before the yoga practice, after the yoga practice and in the evening for a longer cleaning session. This shall be enough. Really!!!!
So and now I take a quick shower to prepare my body for a yoga practice and to feel fresh.
Comments are very welcomed.
B.K.S. Iyangar and his standard work “Light on yoga”:
Credits: My Yoga Blog
