question about seiza

Hi everyone!

When I stand up after sitting in seiza for a minute or so, sometimes i feel a little dizzy. Is there something wrong with me or is this normal? Usually this occurs during vigorous training.

Rafael, go see your doctor.

Is it just dehydration?

I would go see your doctor about it, are you going dizzy other times as well? Could be an inner ear problem effecting your ballance.

Seiza limits blood flow to the legs and when you stand up you have the potential to have the blood rush back to your legs causing a sudden drop in pressure and dizziness. We had a guest new to martial arts for a seminar and he passed out cold when he stood up. He was OK in a few minutes.

You should be able to overcome this quickly as your body gets used to it. If not, a trip to the doc may be in order to see if you have something that puts you at greater risk.

Improve your diet specifically iron. But like Cito mentioned, see your doctor. Plus 1 to Bob too. At our dojo, we welcome the New Year with bell ringing misogi in seiza for 1 hour so I know where you're coming from.

Good Luck

Orthostatic hypotension, the fancy word for a sudden and temporary drop in blood pressure related to getting up, is pretty common and often benign. YMMV.

I will cramp if i seiza about an hour longer, but you could cross leg sit if you do really cramp

Janet Rosen wrote: Orthostatic hypotension, the fancy word for a sudden and temporary drop in blood pressure related to getting up, is pretty common and often benign. YMMV.

Often benign, especially if you experience it in other circumstances as well. Some taller people, like me, are cursed with it.

Go see a doctor anyway.

Forgot to tell you all, you have to relax yourself during seiza. Then, you have to thinking about nothing.

My feet go purple after 20 minutes or so. Then the sensei calls me up to do uke for some tori and I can't walk so well. I have tried shifting my weight around periodically helps a lot. Maybe thinking about nothing would work better. Hmm...

Steven Charles wrote: My feet go purple after 20 minutes or so. Then the sensei calls me up to do uke for some tori and I can't walk so well. I have tried shifting my weight around periodically helps a lot. Maybe thinking about nothing would work better. Hmm...

When I have to sit for a long time I sit on my toes once in a while, the blood does rush back to my legs and yes it tingles (I use this to keep my mind focussed, a win-win situation...hehehe) and in that way I try to stay ahead of needing too much time to get the blood back into my legs. It's just a thought

Rafeal, maybe this sitting up on your toes might also help?

Rafael,
Yokoso to Japan.
This will take time for your legs to get adapted...it is NOT easy. Your no different from anybody else, respectively. May I suggest on your own time to break it into increments to what you can bare and learn to avoid hinderance. NOTE: "All" feel the same; "some" come easier than others.
But may I suggest not to over do it. Give your self time to adjust and grow...same as we ALL study Aikido. Best of Luck in Mie Pref., Japan.

Thomas

Orthostatic hypotension is also a symptom of hypofunctioning adrenal glands, also not a life-threatening condition, but usually overlooked by MDs. Not treatable pharmaceutically.