Water intoxication, and what u need to know?

 

 

As a yoga teacher, a big hassle is trying to convince practitioners that it is not on to keep drinking water during an intense session. Many trainers at gyms have been taught that it is important to tell practitioners to keep drinking humungous amounts of water during sessions to replenish water lost through sweat.
But drinking too much water within a short span of time, it is now known, can be outright dangerous.
Perhaps it is important to drink some fluid to rehydrate. But how much may be a question that may be relevant. A lot of this may depend on how your blood pressure fluctuates, and how your body deals with blood sugar dips.
Other factors include how well you have hydrated before the workout (instead of during the workout), how efficient your kidneys are, and of course, external stressors (like a hot or humid day).
To follow a rule blindly, instead of totally understanding could be not just a big mistake, but a dangerous one. There are certain conditions that create what is called water intoxication (hyponatremia) when the fluid taken in is more than what the body can handle.
Shameem Akthar, yogacharya trained with the international Sivananda Yoga Ved
anta Center, talks of instances when you have to watch out against drinking too much water. (If u click here, u go for the complete article on Rediff.com, Getahead secrtion).