Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wild and Crazy Thought.

Recently haven't quite been making it to morning practice, let alone my mat with as much frequency as I would like. I stubbornly made my way to practice this past Sunday morning to be beaten into submission yet again - stopping myself at Mari-A.

Obviously - an Ashtanga practice is aggravating the hives/eczema that have covered my arms, legs and face. Too much heat generated. I was more than a little pissed off at my body, at all of what's going on. Between D and Spirited C I have a bunch of recommendations of cooling and restorative postures that I can do - which is good.


So no Ashtanga for me until this all clears up.

grumble. grumble.


After yet another visit to the allergist, my back was taped up with a 48 hour patch test - showed nothing. Both very positive, and negative - such is the dualist nature of some things.

Then yesterday morning, sitting in mediation (b/c I'm still waking at 4:45 am), I had this wild and crazy thought.

Could it be my mat?



I use it on a fairly regular almost daily basis. And I just got a new eKo to replace my original one that blistered! So at my allergist's recommendation (and after getting a good shower in, learned over these past couple days that I am not a bath person) I'll be taping a discreet corner of my mat to my body to do a homemade patch test.


If it is the mat...
Short of covering it with a yogitoes or Mysore blanket - does anyone have any recommendations?

13 comments:

aliya said...

Castor oil bath. Great for many skin problems in my little opinion. A long process... a messy process... but perhaps worth a try?

Portside said...

I had this vision of the "shoe tub" cascading castor oil... at this point it might be worth a try.

aliya said...

I find them extremely beneficial on many levels. As I said, it's messy and you have to do it right so as to not clog your drains. But, for me at least, well worth the effort. It's supposedly very balancing for the skin, good for all the heat created by the practice, and all sorts of ayurvedic stuff... ;-D All I know is it rocks.

Yogadawg said...

I feel for you. Have a funky red thing going on on my neck when I sweat heavy in yoga. Let me know if you think it's your mat since I never thought of that.

Seeker(aka YY) said...

On a site that sells the eKO 5mm Yoga Mat, this was on the bottom of the page for that Mat.

"These mats are 99% latex free because the tree rubber used has undergone a latex-removal process. Since traces of latex remain, those with acute latex sensitivity should not use these mats due to possible allergic reaction."

The mat link

Could you be allergic to latex?

Portside said...

Aliya - Will check it out - out of curiosity, how do you "do it right as to not clog your drains?" Other than using some poor unsuspecting soul's bath... :)

Yogadawg - I will most certainly be posting the results of my experimentation here. Stay tuned! Test begins after practice on Sunday!

Seeker - Yes. I did notice that when initially looking into the eKo.

aliya said...

For my drains it seems to help to wash off the removal powders with warm water flowing down the drain the whole time and to then pour a nice hot kettle full of boiling water down the drain. It seems to keep everything clear without nasty drano or the like.

alfia said...

How did the mat testing go?

Feel better,
Alfia

Seeker(aka YY) said...

Have you tried the Castor oil bath? If so, is it working?

I hope you're feeling better.

Portside said...

Alfia - thank you for reminding me to post the results! Posted them after practice this morning.


Seeker - I have not yet tried the Castor oil. In time tho.

gaia said...

I've definitely heard of people getting fungal rashes from shared matts. Though I assume you're not sharing yours... Ergh how annoying!

Arturo said...

hi Portside
sorry i was out of touch with your situation. the benefit of the mysore rug or eko towel is that you can wash it often. there could be some bacteria in the mat. then again, it could be the weather in your city. then again, it could be allergy to something you're eating. did you recently introduce a new food item to your diet?
hugs
Arturo

Portside said...

I think I do a pretty good job of keeping my mats clean. So it's really down to something environmental or dietary. I haven't really introduced any new foods, but have also been in DC since fall of 2002.

So it could have been any combination of factors...