No Photos Please

I think I have uncovered not one, but two mysteries. Yeah I know what you're thinking. "Adrienne, how can you be so brilliant and find the answers to 2 perplexing mysteries?" Let me tell you how. The first reason is that I work way too much and most of my research happens while at work. The second reason is that I work too much and most of my research happens during my after-work calming hot yoga class when I have an hour to think. Lots of work = lots of yoga. Simple.

Mystery #1 - Why is hot yoga so addictive?  The reason for this one may vary from person to person but I think I have narrowed it down to one main cause for the reasoning as to why yoga-goers feel the need to attend as many hot yoga classes as possible. At first I thought it was because the intense sweating was so revitalizing and nourishing that we became accustomed to sweating profusely; therefore sweating any less than that while exercising just wasn't good enough anymore. But no, I think that is just the first taste of the addiction. At first I loved the sweating, but then I got to a point in which I started to find the sweating hugely distracting because I was concentrating so hard on getting the positions right and pushing my body more and more, and the sweat took away from that because it makes you slippery and runs into your nose in downward dog. Then I evolved to place in my practice in which I knew that the sweat is inevitable so I pushed myself to not only get the positions correct but also do it through the sweat. Now that I feel more comfortable with my form and dealing with the sweat, I concentrated super hard on getting the breathing right. Breathing is such a huge part of yoga and it has now become my #1 priority in the studio.

What I am getting at here is that hot yoga is so addictive because it makes you want to be better, and who doesn't want to be better at something they enjoy? Hot yoga takes so long to be truly great at and even though I am not near to even consider myself great at it, I know that every time I get in there that I get a bit better and a bit stronger and I am able to tap into myself differently than the time before. Right when I think I'm doing awesome, the instructor comes over and aligns me slightly which pulls me where I'm supposed to be. Right when you think you've mastered a move, you realize that you could make it so much better if you did this or that. The need to master the heat, positions, conditions, atmosphere, breathing...etc, is addictive.

That and the fact that we pay and arm and a leg for a membership so we want to get in as many classes as possible to make up for the depleted bank account.  Mystery solved!

Mystery #2 - Why do so many women on PEI have issues with a sluggish thyroid or hypothyroidism? I have been doing lots of research on iodine supplementation for work and I have stumbled upon a lot of information about people with thyroid problems. Sitting in Rachelle's office and listen to client after client talk about their sluggish thyroid or diagnosed hypothyroidism made me really think as to why these women all seem to have the same problem. A lot of women on PEI seem to end up with slightly faltered or burnt out thyroid glands which is a major reason for them having such a difficult time losing weight.

So without going into major scientific detail, here is my theory. These people have a lot of things going against them in terms of avoiding thyroid issues. The first one being that those who have children here seem to enjoy pro-creating because a lot of families consist of multiple children (highly religious background meant that couples years ago were having anywhere from 6-16 kids). So these women who are now in their 40's or 50's are dealing with altered hormones due to menopause but are also dealing with a faulty thyroid from having all of those kids. Pregnancy can wreak havoc on the gland because of the intense hormone changes and some women end up with a burnt out thyroid afterwards. The second issue that Islanders have against them is pesticides. Pesticides are a big issue on PEI and those exposed to pesticides for expanded periods of time are seen to have altered thyroid function. The third reason is linked again to the farming on PEI. Farming is huge here and there are certain vegetables that can inhibit the absorption of iodine (needed to stimulate the thyroid to produce important hormones), many of which are grown here and eaten in large quantities on a daily basis.  These foods include cauliflower, cabbage, corn, broccoli, turnips/rutabaga and soy.

Kids + pesticides + certain local crops = altered thyroid function

So now I will be hiding in my apartment for the next few weeks in hopes of avoiding all of the media attention this blog post will be stirring. My research is vast, professional and highly scientific so I am quite sure that I will be quite famous after revealing the truth behind these 2 mysteries. No photos please.