Welcome! A few notes...

This is both a welcome note and more or less a goodbye note. I will no longer be updating this blog but if it's you're first time here I'd like to help guide you along the blog.

Helpful Posts on ETS Surgery:
ETS Surgery Side Effects
My Experience with ETS Surgery

I had ETS surgery when I was 19 and consider myself an expert on the results. My hands no longer sweat but if I had to make this choice again I would consider exhausting many other options first. My compensation sweating is a daily struggle.

A Few Posts on Depression and Self Exploration:
You Have to Believe That They are Wrong
The No BS Life
Happiness is Personal

The Story That Got Me Blogging:
Riding on the Metro

My #1 Resource for Hyperhidrosis:
SweatHelp.org

Sweaty Products
Below are a few links of products I use and full disclosure I receive a teenie tiny referral bonus from Amazon if you purchase. This isn't a big money maker for me but it might just help fund that next cup of coffee :).

Carpe - This is the only super strong antiperspirant that I've found that I can use on my body to help with ETS compensation sweat. I use it when I'm in a pinch because it can cause some irritation but overall I've been pretty impressed with this lotion. David from Carpe reached out in 2015 with samples and from the reviews on Amazon you can see it's already a hit. It's not a miracle lotion but it can help quite a bit.


Honey Soles - These fit in most shoes (not a pair of Toms or ballet flats) but I really love the way the cork helps wick away sweat. Feels really nice on my feet when I prefer not to wear socks.


Rainbow Hemp Sandals - The only sandals I don't slip and slide in.



Yoga Towels - Sweat all you want in yoga, these towels are my everything!



 -- Signing off for now. I hope you find some of this information helpful!

xoxo,
Sara

Manduka eKO Yoga Mat Review for Sweaty Feet

When I was a kid and it was time for Christmas wish lists I was notorious for detailed instructions. I provided envelopes to each family member that included clippings from newspaper ads. Working in marketing now I see that I was an advertisers dream come true. I was damn fortunate to have such an obliging family. 

Now it's not so cute or funny to provide such lists. Also, I need practical things. Like a $100 yoga mat from Manduka. 

I know. It's outrageous.

It was the only item on my list though... OK and my expensive Vitamin C daily moisturizer by Murad (it's amazing). I urged my family that if they felt inclined to provide anything else it must be either practical (toilet paper) or cash (no Starbucks gift cards). I would like to trade the rolling pin I got for some Windex. Oh well. You can't have it all.

After years of yoga and four mats that merely get the job done I have graduated to a mat that will hopefully last me a lifetime.

The Details
eKO Mat 71"
Color: "Swoon 2-tone" no longer available online.
The color is bright and I adore it. 

Let's take a moment.

Can you sweat on it?
Yes. A thousand times yes.

Will I slip on it?
Not nearly as much as a regular mat you might pick up at Target. I would still recommend bringing a towel to class.

I normally always use a towel on my mat. The other day in hot yoga with sweat pouring, my feet little rivers of sweat, I pulled the towel back and put my foot directly to the mat. I did not slip or slide at all. Warrior II, no problem. Crescent lunge, I got this.

It was an awesome experience to feel the mat during standing poses. The tactile sensation of my yoga mat gripping to my moves was so satisfying. eKO and I had a moment. 

Doing a down dog was another issue though. My hands no longer sweat but my hands still get damp from my arms and the condensation in the room. I began to slide a little bit to the point where I had to pull the towel forward.

At the end of the day you still need a towel. But, you can pull the towel back and have the exhilarating feeling of not slipping during certain poses. 

Crescent lunge and this lady is not slipping!
By the redness of my feet you know they were sweaty little dogs.

Things you should know:
1) It smells. I opened the packaging and it smelled like manure. Yes, that means it smelled like shit. The rubber is just potent. I urge Manduka to give their mats a good wash before putting them on the market. I've aired the mat out for a few weeks now and it still reeks. It's a little distracting during savasana.

2) It's heavy. I'm fine with that but don't plan on traveling with this mat.

Should I buy this mat?
If you are a seasoned yogi and looking to treat yourself then absolutely you should buy this mat. If you are just getting into yoga and you want to see if it's for you then I don't recommend. Also, if you're a yogi on-the-go you might want to consider one of their lighter mats.

What other products can help my yoga experience?
Did I mention that I am not being paid to write this? Because I'm not. I'm a Manduka fan gal. 
If you have some money to throw around, I also love Manduka's towels. They're similar to towels you can take camping or a thin ShamWow. If you don't want to splurge find a low ply towel. Not your fancy fluffy towels. You want something you can easily move on. A beach towel is your best bet. I personally also hate a towel that is too soft, the texture on my sweaty feet makes me squirm. 

Fall Out and Get Back Into It

"It hurts sometimes when you’re healing. It’s the sensation of your heart growing bigger. It’s the feel of your old scar tissue breaking up and stretching. It’s the tight and fearful knots of emotion opening up and learning to relax. Those old hurts were actually shrinking your heart with tension, the way tightness in the back can curve and distort the spine. I know it hurts, but you can learn to experience these feelings as intense sensation and simply surrender yourself; trusting that a new and better you will soon emerge. Fear and resistance will increase the pain. Love and acceptance will ease it. Let your Heart open wide. You’ll be opening up more room in your life for love."

— Dorothy Mendoza Row

The above passage was read in my yoga class this evening. Wow. I urge you to reread it. Let that sink in.

It hurts to heal. 

The scar tissue I have built up around my heart. Hacking through it. 

That is a powerful visual that I completely embrace and am so thankful for. 

I've begun trying to shed the fears I've developed from hyperhidrosis, but I had a bit of a set back recently. My friends and I had a fabulous evening drinking and watching the TLC instant classic made for TV movie "Liz & Dick." We were having a merry ol' time laughing and throwing out pithy one liners. I decided to take my comments to Twitter. My friend tweeting next to me leaned over to see my account. I hesitated. I froze a bit. 

Don't panic.

Him, "Hey what's your twitter handle?" I gave him my personal account. An account I wasn't tweeting from. He leaned in again to see the name on my screen. Clearly I was not tweeting from my personal account. Me, "Oh yea... I have another Twitter account. It's mostly teen followers. They might find this stuff funny." I straight up panicked. I began to get warm. I did not want to tell him.

What happened to the new confident me that was ready to be completely honest about hyperhidrosis?! I felt like I was failing our community of sweaters. 

In yoga during standing bow, my favorite pose, the instructor tells you to kick your leg into your hand as hard as you can, so hard you feel like you might fall over. They then follow it up with if you fall out of the pose get right back into it.

So, in that moment I fell out. I went back to the scar tissue. Thinking of all the times I've been embarrassed by my sweating. It hurts sometimes to move forward when you remember the past that gave you that scar tissue. I will sweat through it and get back into it.

If you have a story like this please share in the comments. How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Anxious for the holidays? Drop me a line.

Also, there have been some great questions posted on Tumblr. Check out what others have to say. 

Smelly Green Bucket

Please meet my smelly green bucket.

In college I had to find a way to deal with my sweaty workout clothes. At home growing up I would always throw them in an empty sink and at the end of the week would throw it all in the wash.  When I went to college though dorm living didn't allow for that. Living with roommates is hard enough, you add stinky sweaty clothes strewn about to the mix and you're asking for a bitch fight.

I went to Target and found a bucket to help keep my things contained. You can generally find them in the organizing section with all the plastic bins or during the summer in the outdoor/party planning section. This bucket is actually meant for you to put ice and drinks in. Dual purpose! Please choose one purpose. It's either the ice or your sweat. You can't have both.

It's also very convenient to just pick up and head straight to the laundry room. Who has quarters?

My Sweat Is Welcome Here: Hot Yoga

Hot yoga is by far one of the best forms of exercise and therapy I have been introduced to. You sweat. You sweat a lot. Everyone is sweating. The room is heated between 90-110 degrees and often humidity is added.

Imagine that. A room full of sweaty people. I'm starting to sweat more just thinking about it. A place where you are encouraged to sweat. A place where people find it weird if you're not soaking in sweat. I hope you are scouring Yelp for the closest hot yoga studio right now.

Walking LA cliche. 

Foreign Territory
Trying anything new as a sweater is hard. You don't know how to prepare often. How should I accommodate for my sweating? I avoided trying many things out of fear. If you're fearful like me I encourage you, beg you, to muster up a little will power to check it out. I have not met a single yoga studio that was not thrilled to see a new face. Knowing yoga especially hot yoga is new to many instructors try to create a welcoming atmosphere.

Three studios I love in Southern California: Hot 8 Yoga, Ra Yoga, and Core Power. Core Power is a chain with locations across the US. 

Beads of sweat are missing from this photo. 

As mentioned previously, I had surgery to stop palmar sweating. My body now sweats much much more. I find most workout clothes can cover this up. Dry fit is my new best friend. When I come out of class I can literally ring sweat out of my clothes. If you've had the surgery I recommend capris that come past the knee as this will keep that annoying knee sweat in check. Yes, the knees sweat like crazy after you've had the surgery. For men who have had this surgery this may be one set back but I've done it in shorts and survived.

Namaste 
Hot yoga is an invigorating workout but it's also a place where I find calm. I don't have to think twice about my sweating. Instructors will sometimes incorporate mantras or inspiration.  In class instructors will often repeat "Go to your edge" or "Let your ego go." We're reminded that this our yoga practice, not our neighbors and we should treat it as such. Who cares if you're sweating more than your neighbor respect and honor your body. At the end of each class we end with our hands to our hearts and we say "Namaste." We are thanking the instructor and everyone in the room for taking the journey together.

I've truly learned more about myself and it has helped promote a healthier lifestyle.

How to Prepare
Most hot yoga studios will post on their website what to expect.

• Don't eat two hours prior (I've done it and it ain't cute). Please be sure to eat sensibly prior throughout the day though. You need fuel to burn!
• Bring a yoga mat if you have one, if you don't you can often rent one.
• Bring a large towel to cover your mat. I usually bring a beach towel. Some studios will provide you with a towel (if they look small don't hesitate to ask for two!) This goes for EVERYONE not just us sweaters. 
• Bring a small towel to wipe your face and sometimes to use for certain poses. 
• Bring a very cold bottle of water.
• Arrive 15 minutes early to give yourself time to sign up and get acquainted. 
• Bring an open attitude. No one is judging you here.

Yoga Practice Not Yoga Perfect
If you're new to yoga pick out a spot in the back row. Everyone starts out here. You learn the language of yoga over time. You never perfect poses either. In yoga we practice to explore new places in a posture. It's awesome because you never feel like a failure. Each class feels different from the next. One day I may be kicking ass at my standing bow and the next I'm falling over every two seconds.

One day in class I was so emotionally drained. I mostly sat through the entire class. The instructor checked in with me very kindly to see how I was doing. "Are you OK? I love that you're here doing what you can." I look at her, nodded yes and immediately started to cry. She smiled and let me be. It was an incredible emotional release and I hardly did anything in class. My point is don't fret if you don't know what you're doing or just can't keep up with everyone else.

Side Bar Note
One style of yoga I have not quite been able to get on board with is Bikram. Bikram is a series of 26 postures that feels wonderful. I do enjoy the series of postures but have found the instructors to be less than friendly and the studios quite stinky. Bikram studios often have carpet flooring which doesn't fair well with constant sweat abuse. This may not be for every Bikram studio. Yelp is your friend.

Can't Find Hot Yoga?
If you can't find hot yoga but are interested in trying yoga there are ways to beat the sweaty hands and feet. Yogi toes (they're towel for the yoga mat) and Yogi Socks (they are glorified toe socks for yoga). I've used both and love them.