I did notice an odour the other day at yoga class, and I just assumed it was from someone’s yoga mat because those things can really smell, especially if they don’t wash them regularly or use a spray on it. Although someone did mention to me that supposedly, the cheaper yoga mats don’t breathe enough, so it’s easier for odours to stay trapped.
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
From their website: “We offer an anti-microbial rubber flooring system that is non-porous, bacteria free and odorless. The floor is insulated to keep your muscles warm, and it has been bio-mechanically engineered to perform with your body, absorbing shock.”
It’s truly a wonder. The floor isn’t really all that hard feeling (like hardwood or concrete) and it’s clean, they clean it between classes. It’s one of the major reasons I travel a bit aways from my house to go to this studio.
Our studio in South Melbourne, Australia, stinks too. For all triangle poses we are asked to step of off the mat and cross over. That means that every time you are in a relaxation pose, you are standing off the matt and sweat onto the carpet.
I found it difficult to do this poses as my feet would constantly slip and I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing. When I tried to place my towel into T shape, I was asked to move the towel back. Apparently the reason for my feet slipping are my week inner thighs. I thought this a complete rubbish.
Now that I’ve pinched a nerve in my back and can’t lock my right knee I’ll just probably sweat out this positions lying down.
What do you think?
It is a shame that dogma can sometimes take the place of good commonsense. To me it makes perfect sense that you sweat on the towel. It takes a HUGE amount of pressure off the studio owners (let alone financial commitment) to keep the studio clean. Students take the sweat home with them and bring back a clean towel. In order to keep the room fresh the studio only has to be aired well. I hate standing in other people’s sweat. That’s not just because it feels icky, but it is unhygienic and smelly when it has been sitting there for ages. I understand that you would feel a little reticent to change your towel position when it is ‘not permitted’.
If your studio owner is approachable maybe they can be directed to the forum! There is nothing offensive in here…
As far as the inner thigh story goes: well it is (unfortunately) true (but not in all cases). Sliding feet can be a sign of weak inner thighs and it can also be other things too. For example:
** Your feet can slide on any surface if the surface is slippery (even sweaty wet carpet )
** And your feet can slide if your technique is not quite right. It can sometimes take the tiniest tweak to move from ‘sliding feet’ to ‘strong pose’.
Are you saying that your right knee can’t lock in triangle or at all? If you would like help with these poses then I request more specific info regarding where it hurts, when in the pose, and of course which poses.
I first noticed pain when perfoming Janushirasana (Head to toe). My right knee really hurt when I was straighten my knee. I can put head on my left knee with no problem, slowly getting to lifting heel up and lowering my elbows. But for the first time I had problems to place my head on the knee.
When I came home I put hot patches on the back of my leg and the pain disappeared. I went to joga practise following day, completely forgetting about the injury.
All went well until I attempted to do a sit-up after Supta Vajrasana. I couln’t keep my right knee straight at all. It went worse from there. Spoke to the teacher after the class and I might have pinched my nerve in lower back.
Two days of rest, left side of my lower back hurts with pain in my right leg and right butt cheek.
Going to joga tonight, will take it easy, but having physio tomorrow.
Back to the topic, I noticed that my feet don’t slip when I do triangle poses on towel or on joga mat.
Thank you for your reply Gabrielle.
How’s that pain resolving? If it isn’t then I want to recommend you look at your Standing Head to Knee and Sit-up technique.
I don’t know how flexible you are and I have no idea of your technique in your general practice. I had to read your post a few times and alarm bells rang about the way you described certain movements. I am doing my best to unravel it. It may simply be that English may not be your first language and I have nothing to be concerned about. Still Lubi I would like more information about certain things. I will contact you directly. Please PM or email me through the forum. If everything is OK I would also like to know that!
I know this is a late reply but I only just started Bikram Yoga at South Melbourne(Australia) yesterday and was also concerned about the smell. I attended my first class and really enjoyed the poses. I feel like I can tolerate the smell and put it out of my mind but I don’t want to be exposed to an unsafe environment. As I am new to Bikram I am not sure what the cleaning standards should be. South Melbourne is the most convenient studio for me to get to and also seems very popular. Any ideas or information would be helpful.
I had posted this in Chit Chat, but it fits here as well:
I had to take my 3.5 year old daughter with me to the yoga studio - my wife was in the 4:30pm class and I wanted to attend the 6:30pm class. We arrived just as the 4:30 class was finishing.
So we go to the studio lobby and wait for my wife… my daughter leaves to go home with her… So as my daughter is getting buckled into her booster seat, she says:
daughter: mommy, what was that smell in there?
wife: Well.. that’s where mommy and daddy do yoga… they have lots of people in there and the room is really hot so everybody gets really sweaty…
daughter: (with a really serious look on her face) mommy…. I think they had a dog in there…
I’m glad for this thread for two reasons. The first day I went, if I hadn’t already paid, I may have turned around and walked out. First from the blast furnace heat (somehow I didn’t really think it would be that hot, funny!) and from the lovely nutty, hot brine smell, as I’ve come to call it. It really is pretty gross and if I think about it too much I’ll get creeped out by it. So, I guess the brine smell is normal then. I can’t say that I notice ‘unhealthy’ odors, but there is carpet in there and no one turns their towels or their mats and from what I’ve seen, the room is not aired out between classes so I just don’t know how safe it really is. I do know that people walk around and shower barefooted there and to me that’s not hygenic, but they wont let us wear shoes of any kind beyond the foyer. I wonder if all studio’s are like that.
Second…. slipping! I sweat a lot and am ALWAYS sliding out of position and one day it caused me to get stuck with my forehead on the floor in the spread leg position, not ready for it yet either mind you, and I pulled a hamstring. It also happens in warrior/triangle. If I am sweating particularly heavily, I slide out and have to constantly re-scoot back into place which interferes with my concentration and effectiveness, and sometimes I have to put my hands on the floor to get out of the position because I’ve slid so far out. It always makes me nervous about injuring myself. I’ve heard about these yoga socks that are supposed to be non-slip, but if you’re sweating, they are just going to slide around on your feet, too I’m guessing. Has anyone tried those and if so, did they help?
Jeez - I hate to hear that studios are still smelly. My new studio is so fabulous, I can’t help rave about it:
•Spacious practice room that accommodates 90 students.
•State of the art heating system with ultra-violet filters to ensure the cleanest air possible.
•Antimicrobial flooring that is hygienic and very comfortable to practice on.
•Retail corner.
•A lounge area to mingle and connect with your fellow yogis.
•Free internet access is provided.
•Complimentary mat and towel rentals (1 practice towel and 1 shower towel).
•Shower facilities with organic body wash, shampoo/conditioner and hair dryers.
•Filtered water for your convenience.
•Complimentary lockers.
•Unlimited free parking.
The flooring is fabulous, not slippery, not smelly. I wonder when all the studios are going to switch to this flooring?
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