Well THAT Was Smart!

What happens when you mix local anesthetic with Bikram yoga? A pretty horrible practice.

At 4:30pm today my dentist gave me some local anesthetic before removing yet another cavity (I apparently have the worst teeth). Despite having a relatively slow metabolism my body seems to process anesthetic rather quickly so the dentist gave me a double dose before proceeding. The procedure was painless and quick and by 5:15 I was on my way to the studio. I've been feeling so amazing lately, it never occurred to me to take the day off.

The class started off really well, but by Tuladandasana, posture 7, something just felt wrong. The last time I visited the dentist I was shown an xray of my teeth. Apparently I have abnormally large nasal cavities which explains why I always have to blow my nose when I run or exercise hard. By posture 7 I had already used all my kleenexes. I was finding it extremely hard to breathe. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that only one nostril was working. Over the next couple of postures I struggled more and more. Soon I was breathing through my mouth. Breathing through the mouth puts the body into fight or flight: the brain sends signals to the glands to secrete hydrocortisone and epinephrine. The release of these hormones causes changes in the body including elevated heart rate and blood pressure. By the time I got to tree pose - the second-to-last posture before Savasana - I was panicking. When my teacher asked if I was ok, I had to fight back the tears. Along with the panic a surge of emotions flooded me. Despite desperately wanting to leave the room, I laid down on my mat and focused on my breath.

I stayed in the room for the remainder of the class, opting out of the second set of two postures. By the end of the class my face was pale and I was cold... yes cold. I talked about it with Claire afterwards who agrees it probably wasn't a good idea to come to class. It's likely that the anesthetic froze part of my nasal cavity or it just took more of a tole on me than I anticipated.

To make myself feel better I am indulging in two of my guilty pleasures: a movie rental and a Spicy Crispy Role from Ottawa's best sushi joint Ken's Japanese Restaurant on Rideau. I'll see how I feel tomorrow but I think I might take the day off and return to the mat on Friday.

In the words of Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, "Keep fit and have fun!"