Extreme conditions at Bikram Studio

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bexhumphrey
Participant

July 3, 2013 at 7:49 pm

Post count: 1

#2542

I am new to Bikram but have been practicing other forms of yoga continuously for the past 1+ years. I just went to my 6th Bikram class last night and had a horrible experience! My first 5 classes were great! I was able to make it through the whole 90 minutes and felt invigorated afterwards. Last night however, the room was not in ideal conditions! I saw the humidity meter and it was at 78% and I have no clue what the temperature was! I live in vegas and lets just say the instructor opened the door and the 117 outside felt like a cool breeze! I couldn’t even get through the standing poses before having to take a break! The last 20 minutes of class I just laid there trying not to walk out! I felt dizzy, and tingles from my toes to my lips! It wasn’t just me but half the class! After the class everyone was out in the locker rooms saying by for the hardest class to get through. I know it’s my choice to go back but it bothers me that the instructor/studio didn’t pay attention to the conditions and found it dangerous! I emailed them and didn’t get a response back. This is obviously bothering me a lot since I slept on it and still feel this way!

vegasyogi
Participant

July 7, 2013 at 9:16 pm

Post count: 1

#10554

At Bikram Westside? I think I was in that class!

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

July 16, 2013 at 4:38 am

Post count: 3048

#10567

Hi Bex and Elizabeth

Woah! That’s not good at all.

That was one very hot room. The problem with it is the combination of high humidity and high heat. This combination is referred to as the Heat Index. It is common knowledge (and should be with your teachers) that the higher the humidity the lower the temperature needs to be.

So with 78% humidity, the temperature really can be at or below body temperature for one to still feel that satisfying sweat.

The question I would dearly like you to answer is this: Did the teachers LEAVE THE HEATERS ON at that time?

Another one: Are there fans in the room for air circulation? Were they on or off?
Another! : What was the teacher saying or doing about the heat conditions?
One more: How long did the door stay open for? And at what pose was the door opened?

IMHO you definitely had obvious signs of heat exhaustion. You and a number of others.

But before I go and say anything else it would be worth hearing your answers to those questions. Perhaps you can tell me how long it took before you were able to recover from your hot class.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
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