Auroracle

Thank you for your response, Gabrielle…I guess I thought the DVD was $200 because I never saw an option to purchase it on its own, only the package with all the bells & whistles – which seem beautifully produced, but which I’ve scarcely had time to review as I was primarily seeking a DVD & yours was all I found. So thank you for offering a DVD so those of us who can’t get to or don’t have access to a class can finally do Bikram at home…even at $200 it pays for itself after 2 months of use!

In any case, my basement actually [em]is [/em]decorated, it is a basement studio apartment which I used to live in full time & rented out the two top floors of my home. Now that I’ve graduated to living in both the basement & the ground floor of the house, the basement remains the room with the TV, hence where I do my DVD workouts…it’s also quite private as there are no windows to the street, only to the tucked away side & backyards. The carpet is wall to wall, but perhaps has thicker than usual padding because it was installed over concrete. The walls are pannelling over drywalll, covered by thick coats of spackling compound & paint to replicate castle walls – it’s actually very cool!

The temperature is quite good for daily living. Since it is a basement, it is cool in summer & doesn’t require air conditioning unless I’m being very active (cooking, cleaning, working out, etc) down there on hot days but mostly cool enough to leave the air conditioning off if just watching TV, sitting at the computer or being quiet. It is fairly well insulated so it keeps the warmth pretty well in winter too. Unfortunately there is no way to heat it without heating the whole house – including the tenants’ apartment on the top floor! So in thinking up how to get the room to the right temperature & humidity level for my hot yoga practice, the only possiblities we came up with on our own here have been, like I said, the electric room heater my mom has offered to let me have &/or the heating pad, which I’ve not actually seen but has been described to me as almost a thin sheet of film with a cord that plugs in & has a thermostat. Apparently they have them for waterbeds & also for reptile tanks & come in several sizes, so I thought if placed under my mats it would act as radiant flooring – so long as it doesn’t melt my mats!

I have been considering replacing the carpet with tile flooring because I have cats & thought sweeping would be easier than vacuuming to keep clean. I also dance & have a mirrored wall, I thought hard flooring would be better for several reasons but I welcome suggestions…obviously I am dedicated to continuing my yoga practice & want to make it the best it can be. Although I plan to go back to my old yoga classes here & there as soon as possible, having to cross a bridge during AM rush hour & wake up so early in the morning to be on time becomes a stress & I am trying to [em]reduce stress [/em]in my practice so I really want to get as good a practice at home as I would at a class so that going to class is merely another option, & it just doesn’t seem possible without the heat that helps me really stretch & go so deep. I look forward to your input, thanks for your support.

All the Best,
Aurora