Should you practice ashtanga yoga if you are sick?

Maybe it is like ladies' holiday, you take the first three days off to rest. Or maybe you just keep practicing and sweat it out.

Personally, I feel it is inappropriate for an ill student to attend a class as this exposes others to the possibility of getting sick as well. Plus, its gross practicing next to someone spitting loogies into a tissue. That said, should you practice at home? Will it actually help you get better, or will it just help you keep up a "routine"?

I searched the internet for answers and I invite you to share your understanding of the topic!

In a humorous post (10/25/07) about conservative versus liberal ashtangis, CRON yogitect notes that the conservative will "do primary series when they are sick, unless they have a fever."

In the ashtangayogi.com article entitled "I Ain't No Doctor", Charles Pan shares his notes from a workshop he attended with David Williams. On illness, David suggests that if you are sick, you should "...start with the sun salutations, doing three of each and then getting in bed and covering up to hold in the warm healing prana. Repeat throughout the day. "

Again, in Alan Little's blog, he mentions that David Williams said that he "'never missed a day’s yoga practice in thirty years'. Williams says skipping practice when you are sick is exactly the wrong thing to to – that’s when your body most needs to be energised and cared for by yoga practice. That doesn’t necessarily mean two hours of heinously advanced asana contortions though." ("Ahimsa" 20th July 2005)

In the FAQ's at theyogaroom.co.uk, Abby Hoffmann recommends that students should come to class to practice "if you are only mildly ill". And that indeed, "it may be helpful to practise. However, if you have a temperature and/or your energy level is depressed, practise real yoga: respect your body and rest. If you’re up to it, you could try a gentle restorative practice at home, using blankets and bolsters (there are lots of books with suggestions for passive, restorative postures). Consider others as well, no one will think any less of you if you not at class for reasons of illness and also keeping your germs out of the shala!" (This same info is listed on

http://www.movingprayer.co.uk/astanga_vinyasa.htm.)

Okay, so nothing really definitive. Plus, not all sicknesses are created equal. Do you do the same for the flu as a cold? What about food poisoning? Menstrual cramps? A migraine? Constipation? Bronchitis? Pneumonia? I await the answers!

And is your flu really the flu? I've heard of and experienced "back bending fever", which is usually a 24 hour flu after some intense back bending. Additionally, it is not unheard of for people to get sick during times of intense practice:

"Other mild to stronger symptoms of purification will begin to appear for most practitioners. It is very common to see the increased occurrence of colds and flu and fevers, as well as, headaches, drowsiness and light-headedness. It is important to honor and respect these kinds of changes, as they can be quite deep in one’s system. I recommend that you take extra time to rest and be quiet." (Govinda Kai, Ashtanganews.com, "Ashtanga Yoga and the Path to Purification", November 29, 2006.)

Hmm. Yeah, but I think this is just the flu, flu. I am around many different people every day, I ride the subway, everyone around me is sick. I got sick too. I am not going to the shala today to spare my fellow practitioners, and I might do a couple of sun salutes. I'm going to take the day to rest and hopefully recover before tomorrow. For me, I feel like its better to just rest and get over it (3 days max) and then back to practice to work through anything that's left. But that's me.