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Ask the Teacher is an advice column that connects Yoga diary members directly with our team of expert yoga teachers. Every other week we answer a question from our readers. Ask your questions hereor send us a message at asktheteacher@yogajournal.com.
Discuss what to do if a student feels sick. I had a lady who felt sick. I brought a trash can, she threw up a little bit a few times, and then she said she was fine, she just needed to sit there for a while. What should I have done other than observe her and decide if I felt she was doing okay as she claimed?
—Nancy in Greensboro, NC
We turned to emergency physician Amy C Sedgwick, MD, E-RYT, for advice. In addition to being board-certified in emergency medicine, she also has extensive training in acupuncture, myofascial techniques, yoga and meditation. In her work with emergency care patients and in her private practice Medicine Within, she applies her knowledge of complementary, alternative and Western medicine for a holistic approach to wellness. She is the founder of Riverbend Yoga and Meditation Studio in Yarmouth, Maine and a senior teacher of yoga medicine.
The reasons for nausea vary far and wide. Was the student recently pregnant? Was it a hot yoga class and the student drank water? Had the student eaten something he disagreed with? If a student says that he is doing well and that he looks good, he usually does not necessarily have to leave the classroom. Consider asking them to rest until the floor pose portion of the class. But in this case, I really don’t know anything else you could have done.
For nausea I can take one acupressure point to assist students as they rest and recover. Have them massaged or press three finger widths from the inside of the wrist crease on the palm side between the two rope-like tendons. That point is known as Pericardium 6. This can be very helpful if a student is recovering from a transient experience of nausea.
Please note that it is not our job as yoga teachers to diagnose or treat conditions. Even teachers who are physicians must proceed with caution in any situation where a student feels unwell during class. I’m a doctor, but when I teach yoga, I don’t have my diagnostic tools or my support staff to help. Therefore, I am going to use my best, most conservative judgment to determine whether that student can continue with the lesson. If they don’t recover with rest, breathing, and perhaps a little self-administered acupressure, I recommend they seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Ultimately it comes down to communication. During the lesson, make it clear that students have a responsibility to be aware of how their bodies feel and to respect that.
I also think that students have a responsibility, not just to themselves but to everyone else in the room, not to put themselves in danger. This is a mind/body exercise. It is your responsibility to know when you are not feeling well and not to push through a lesson. That’s the opposite of doing no harm. The yoga class is a community, and that community must take everyone into account. Most importantly, listen to your body and move accordingly. –as told to K. Anoa Monsho
Do you have a question about alignment in a particular yoga pose? Would you like to better understand an aspect of yoga philosophy? Do you need advice on how to handle a challenging situation in your classroom? Ask your questions here or email us at asktheteacher@yogajournal.com, and we may answer it in an upcoming column.