darzplanet

Hello friends!
We have a studio in Wisconsin that has a dense cork floor and it is absolutely amazing; gorgeous too! We’ve been open now for 17 months and the studio doesn’t smell at all except, of course, right after a class of 40 sweaty bodies… It is mopped nightly with a cleanser called Theives (a combination clove, lemon oil, cinnamon, eucalyptus radiata leaf, and rosemary oil.) We dilute it way down and it freshens as well as acting as an anti-microbial/fungal, and anti-viral agent. Our previous studio (Bikram Yoga Madison) had carpets, and quite frankly carpets are a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. They can never be clean – always moist with sweat and feet and all kinds of germs… IF you saw these huge puddles and swampy messes people leave when there is no carpet to disguise it, you would never want to walk on a carpeted studio again, let lone practice and breathe deeply in that environment. Everyone uses mats and towels and are required to mop up their sweat with their towels after practice. We use a germ-zapper machine of ultra violet light (I can find out the name for you if you want) to kill air born germs as well which is on all night.. The studio is enormously successful now, and attracts lots of people who previously couldn’t stand the smell. It is a “green space,” no more plastic bottles, non-toxic paints, and all natural cleansers are used. It is called Inner Fire Yoga and Wellness Center, Madison, Wisconsin. We average 140-160 students per day and have 2-3 Bikram classes per day. Our Bikram teachers are great, and we teach what I call Orthodox Bikram, intelligently and much like Gabrielle’s descriptions. I have been teaching Bikram for 30 years (on and off over that time) as well as have certifications in Vinyasa Flow and other forms of yoga, and a degree in Movement Therapy. I love this forum because it is truly honoring the Bikram postures, yet brings light and depth to their intricacies that I have always tried to bring to each and every one of my classes… Thank You Gabrielle for this wonderful wealth of information that so many of we teachers who have a well-rounded education in anatomy and physiology and yoga philosophy can bring to the sometimes too militaristic and two-dimensional approach to this practice. I never get bored with the postures or the teaching of this healing series. Namaste Dar