Thrive Refresh and Replenish Drink
Water is the best source of hydration; however, you must replace it AND the electrolytes that you’ve lost during your Hot Yoga/Inferno Hot Pilates practice from sweating. Here’s an all-natural electrolyte infused drink that you can make at home to help you to replenish, refresh, and recover.
Electrolytes are minerals, such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium, which are essential to the proper functioning of a person’s brain, organs, muscles, and nerves. When you exercise, you lose electrolytes through your sweat. Today’s blog will focus on replenishing sodium after class. Later articles will focus on the other four electrolytes most commonly lost through sweat, their respective benefits, where to find them, and a recipe incorporating them into your diet.
Sodium is the electrolyte that is lost the most when exercising in the heat; therefore, practitioners need to consume enough sodium to replace the significant amounts they lose in sweat. Sodium helps your body to absorb and retain fluid and supports fluid balance. Long story short, sodium helps to keep the right amount of water inside your body. Sodium also helps to maintain a healthy weight and blood pressure, cognitive function, and nerve impulse transmission. Most practitioners do not drink enough water before or during class to replace the fluid lost in sweat. When you sweat, blood volume goes down, which makes it harder to pump blood to your muscles. You may also experience dizziness, nausea, headaches, or muscle cramps as a result of this excessive loss of water (dehydration). Restoration of electrolytes is CRUCIAL and adding sodium to your recovery beverage will aid in the rehydration process and mitigate the symptoms of dehydration.
Thrive Refresh and Replenish Drink
¼ - ½ teaspoon of pink Himalayan sea salt
4 cups (32 ounces) of water
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons (4 tablespoons)
Honey to taste (1-2 tablespoons)
Add all of the ingredients into a sealable container, shake well, and enjoy!
As always, consult with your primary caregiver for medical and dietary advice that is particular to you.
Be sure to check out our article series on the Art of Sweating: