How hot is it??!!

[OZinOC]

#1758

Our studio has recently installed a new (and I imagine quite expensive) heating/humidity system that is supposed to deliver a constant/consistent temperature/environment for optimum Hot Yoga practice. Despite the management’s best ongoing efforts (and investment) the temperature continues to fluctuate based on the outside temp, the number of students, and the system’s own fickle nature.

Today the room was HOT – like Miami in August/Townsville in January. Hot to the point of standing in a puddle of fresh sweat by the 10th breath in Pranayama. This particular instructor likes the room to be hot – but even she was driven to open all of the doors and windows at the conclusion of the warm up series (as 2/3rds of the class were lying on the floor gasping like guppies).

So the question – Is there a point where the heat is detrimental to the practice?

On the upside – as this was my sixth consecutive day of practice – I did not feel woozy/nauseous/in need of a good lie down. An important reminder that consistent practice (and proper diet and hydration) does train your body and mind to accept challenging environments :coolsmile:

[fraseram]

#6730

I have always had this problem no matter what studio I went to. Ive been to two in my home town and one out of town and all three had very different temps at different times. I have been to both in town on a reg basis and found varying conditions as well as the studio out of town twice…. once was cold the next I sweat like a stuffed pig from the beginning breathing and I dont sweat easy LOL Thats why I love my sauna I KNOW what i’m going to walk into. though I do love the studios too…. both have their good points and are just different.

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#6731

Hi Karen

I think the issue is understanding the way heat can affect the body. There really isn’t a problem if the heat isn’t high enough because for the most part people aren’t really going to freeze! However it does help to know at what point a hot room becomes potentially dangerous.

Take a look at this thread: Is The Studio I Go To Overheating The Room? There are some links within it concerning the alchemy of heat and humidity as well as the science of heat exhaustion and many other important points.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[OZinOC]

#6732

Thanks to you both!

[RandomFemale]

#6735

I don’t know what to make of the “too hot” thing. My regular studio is small, and I don’t think the heaters are very good. So, when the weather gets above 72 degrees/F, the class can go well over 110. I think that is out of control! The teachers will try to augment this by opening doors, shutting off the heaters or opening the vents, but then it can get too cool. After super-hot classes I don’t feel good; it can take me the rest of the day to recover.

This doesn’t happen too often, but with the summer coming it might be more frequent. If it persists I may just have to find another studio for the evening/warmer classes. It’s hard to know what to do. I’m sure it’s super-expensive to replace the heaters with better ones–I’m sympathetic to that! But I’m also not going to harm my body with yoga 😉 The other thread is very informative–thanks!

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#6741

Hi Elisa

Yes, I know the feeling. It is frustrating to have those extremes in class like that. I don’t mind it being cooler than normal IF I am not exposed to drafts and cool breezes. If the condition is fairly constant then everyone is much more focused.

Can you tell me if you SEE the gauge with the 110F reading? How many thermostats are in the room? Or is it just a thermometer placed somewhere that you can see? Just curious. Just thinking that it seems odd that it is hard to keep the temperature to a reasonable level! What’s stopping them from turning the heat down? Is there no thermostat in the room? It is possible they are keeping it outside the room to trick the system.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[Loves2Pose]

#6742

Hello All! I read the thread Is The Studio I Go To Overheating The Room? and I think mine is! We only have one thermostat in the room, and it is in a back corner of the room, about 3 feet above the heating vents. Lately, the studio has been feeling much hotter than usual, and I have a hard time getting through the poses. I leave feeling nauseous and dizzy, and I am not the only student who has noted the increased heat! In any case, last night I situated myself right by the thermostat so I could see the reading during class, and at some points it reached 125! It never went below 118, even during cool down! Is that possible?? Could I be reading the thermostat wrong? (it is digital) 125 seems very dangerous.
I suppose I could just ask – but I don’t feel comfortable doing so. I don’t want to come across as demanding or pushy, or give the impression that I know better than people who have professional Bikram training. Should I say something? If so, how should I phrase it? I don’t want to stop going to this studio, but I don’t want to end each class with a headache and nausea, either!

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#6749

Hi Danielle

125 is too high! I must say however that the position of the thermometer could be oddly placed. Are you saying the heat comes out of the vents and the thermometer is directly above them? As you know heat rises so the readings may be imprecise.

With the nausea and dizziness and others noticing the room is too hot, you really do have to do something. At the very least you have to find out what the TRUE conditions are.

I don’t want to come across as demanding or pushy, or give the impression that I know better than people who have professional Bikram training. Should I say something? If so, how should I phrase it? I don’t want to stop going to this studio, but I don’t want to end each class with a headache and nausea, either!

There is no part of the training where safety in the hot room is discussed. It is simply understood that the room is heated.

Here’s a suggestion for you: Go back to the thread Is The Studio I Go To Overheating The Room? and go to Lesley Funk’s article. Read that and use that as your argument. See if others are willing to go with you and talk to the studio owner or at least lend their name for the purpose. You will have a much better chance of them looking into the problem if they see that SEVERAL regular students are suffering and are concerned about their health. The problem is that the exposure to the high heat is dangerous and even more so when it is continued exposure.

Perhaps your first port of call is to approach your studio owner (with support of other students):
>>> saying that you don’t believe that the studio conditions are optimum.
>>> Say that you are willing to be proven wrong of course because the current placement of the thermometer could be forcing an artificially high reading.
>>> Say that IF the thermometer is reading the room conditions correctly then the room is heated 20 degrees F more than is safe and healthy.
>>> Say that you and others are really concerned that you are being put at risk of overheating (quote stuff from the article).
>>> As a result, ask if he/she would be willing to move the thermometer or use others to test the temperature at different parts of the room over the next few classes each time you’re there (and test at mid height – at about chest height. A thermometer is to stay in the same place for the entire class and not moved around or carried by the teacher).

If you approach this in this way, how could you be refused? It wouldn’t be right to dismiss someone’s concerns in this way. If you do find the room is being consistently over heated then there is a huge liability problem. Couple that with the high humidity and the heat index result… need I say more? The heat would have to come down.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[Robert Scanlon (Webmaster)]

#6751

Excellent discussions going on – definitely ask for what you want – you are the customer and it is YOUR body!

Just to make sure you are well-informed and know the facts – registered members have access to Gabrielle’s guide “How Hot Is Hot Yoga” which can be downloaded from this link:

https://www.hotyogadoctor.com/index.php/site/poses

😉

[jtcb]

#6755

One of the instructor in my studio claims that one side of the studio is hotter than the other side. This is the studio I go to.

http://www.bikramyogarichmond.ca/The-Studio/

[Loves2Pose]

#6757

Thanks so much for your advice, Gabrielle! I love knowing that this forum is here and that I can get my questions answered by someone who is so knowledgeable and kind!
I will post a follow-up if anything changes 🙂

[RandomFemale]

#6758

Thanks for the reply, Gabrielle 🙂 The instructor covered up the temperature (the gauge is to the right of the door), but during the summer, I’d notice it at 115 or 116. The teacher also told me the same was true. Now, though, I’m sure there are days that SEEM hot that are just my body being weird. I suppose I’m taking it one day at a time with this question.

[bonmar]

#6768

Yes, for sure, Jeffrey, the left side of the studio is the cool side, looking at it from the lobby, or the side closest to Future Shop.

[jtcb]

#6769

Hi Boonie. So it is true? I never know or notice it until Dyln mentions to the class. Well, I now aviod the left side because I don’t like people looking into the studio through the window. I will have to try the left side again but I can’t go to yoga for a while.. 🙁

[jtiggywinkle]

#7327

So, there is no standard then that Bikram teaches at teacher training, in terms of the maximum temperature in the room? I wondered this. In fact, I asked this question to their website, as I was concerned for a couple of weeks at my studio too. The thermostat was reaching 118 degrees within about 10 minutes of the class starting and staying there throughout. People were dropping like flies, spending most of the time on their backs, and the conversation in the change room was dominated with negative talk about how hot the room was. I wondered if there was a potentially dangerous temperature/humidity for the room to reach…. like at the point where we feel our insides boiling? lol
I got a reply back from the yogi master advising me to worry about my own practise and not about how hot the room was. lol
oh well.
That next week the thermostat at our studio was also covered in tape so I was unable to see it. I haven’t noticed it that hot again since though.

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#7339

Hi Jodi

When more than one or 2 people are on the floor or there is a sense of struggle (not just challenge) in the room, then there is a real chance that what you’re suggesting was occurring. The heat was too much.

Please go and check out the section called “The Heat” in the forum. Here’s a fairly recent discussion How Hot Is It?. You will see another extremely useful link or 2 within that thread that will give you some more great info.

I believe studios should have reliable consistent controllable conditions. And they should be happy to exhibit them. So if your studio feels it necessary to cover the readouts of the conditions then there’s something not working. It’s over-reading, under-reading, miscorrectly reading, changing constantly showing great upward and downward movements in a class, and so on and so forth.

Go and read what others had to say. Perhaps you’ll have some thoughts you want to share as a result.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

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