Why is sweating so taboo?

Posted In: Fitness June 21st, 2014 divider No Comments »

I was checking myself out in an airport bathroom on my most recent trip to Windsor (teaching something called ChiRunning here this weekend), and saw two big circles under my armpits. I’m not vain but it’s not the best sight to attract the opposite sex I’m sure.

It’s a rather common occurrence for me unfortunately. I almost always smell great (or so my Mom tells me) but I do perspire quite a bit. Should that be a bad thing in social circles?

Why do we hate sweating so much? I personally love to sweat but it still makes me feel weird when I’m sweaty in presence of strangers. Or meeting them after a sweaty episode. I find hockey is probably the worst for that as I seem to sweat for hours after a game, especially in the summer.

Truth be told, I’m a heavy sweater. I’ve been diagnosed as having hyperhidrosis. I used to think it was because I was heavier when I was in my early teens but the more I researched it, the more I realized it didn’t have much to do with weight. I even got botox injected in my armpits to curb the problem (huge success, by the way!) in my twenties so this is nothing new.

It’s funny since in my research, the people who sweat the most are the healthiest and the ones with some of the best cardiovascular capacity. Sweating is all about how your body regulates its temperatures. The more you sweat, the more efficient you are at regulating your body temp. So sweating is a good thing.

One of the good things I picked up from Lululemon was to try to sweat once a day. I aim for that everyday now. Most days, especially in the summer, I succeed. Should I be embarrassed about it?