Is the studio I go to over-heating the room?

Posted by Dilbert

Oh, by the way. Great forum and wonder information you are sharing.

THanks…

Posted by Kayzee

Studios in my area all seem to have exterior doors on either end of the practice room–the instructor usually opens theses doors for a few seconds at a time two or three times during the session in let in oxygen and some cooler air. Students tend to choose their place in class based on whether they do or do not want to get that “cool” breeze. (“Cool” is a relative term–studios seldom need to use heaters here in the summer at all, since temps hover around 100 degrees for months. It is, however, very dry outside most of the time, so there is nearly always a percieved temp difference. I can see how the exterior-door trick would not work in a cold-weather climate.)

I have never been to a studio that let people leave the room….except when someone actually fainted. This is not particularly uncommon–I’ve seen it a couple of times and it’s not that big a deal. Is that normal? We’re more acclimated to hot temps here, so the studios are pretty hot. Could that be it?

Posted by Kayzee

I always feel that the room is getting low on oxygen when the class is full–of course, a full class means it’s hotter, but I also don’t like crowded places, so it could be my imagination. I don’t like the cool air coming in at all, but sometimes is as hot or hotter outside than in the studio and the oxygen does seem really helpful. Is there a creative (and non-distracting) way to combat low oxygen levels? It’s definitely a hassle for the teachers.

The studios here are always over 100 degrees. About 105 is probably average. This is probably in part because it’s much harder to maintain humidity and keep the sweat going here since the air is so dry here in the desert–come to think of it, that’s also probably why the heating systems are never hooked up to central heating system incorporating an outside air source….but perhaps also because we are so acclimated to high heat that even 100 degrees really doesn’t feel that hot or provide that much of a temperature change to our bodies. We start bundling up in sweaters and coats when it gets below 70 degrees.

What I have heard, and can certainly believe, is that the fainting is usually due to not being properly hydrated during class. The teachers always follow a fainting with a plea to please drink plenty of fluid and eat something before class. It’s really hard to stay properly hydrated here in the desert. You almost never see anyone who lives here who isn’t carrying a bottle of water with them. I have been sick in class when I failed to keep up a minimum fluid intake of five or six liters a day. It’s easy to forget, and drinking heavily during class is definitely not the answer. Anybody ever done camel with a liter of water in your stomach? Ouch.

Isnt the purpose of “Hot” Yoga to help loosen you muscles, therefore increase flexibility? As compared to starting “cold” or at room temp? As well as releasing toxins through your pores (and lungs), and to some extent, challenge yourself mentally? That is my understanding as a year old Hot Yoga addict! I fell in love with it because the heat of warm classes made me so much more flexible (to my delight), and my progress obvious in a much shorter time than without the heat! Who isnt excited to see their stiff body open up! Blissful! Sooo, Please someone tell me why some people feel the need to go past the point of therapeutic!!! I have left class to cool off to keep from vomiting after being well acclimated to the heat. I dont understand why greater than 100 degrees is ever necessary! Can somebody please tell me the physiological advantage of heating the room further ?

I too have a troubling story, one about the studio in a neighboring community 10 minutes from my home in Darien, IL. I was very devoted to this practice, attending 4-5 times per week and deeply enjoyed the experience. The facility was very nice and the instructors were positive and helpful.

The trouble began when I noticed that although I was acclimating to the heat and the workouts, my experience varied a great deal. For one class it struck me immediately me that the studio’s humidity was very high. I noticed I was sweating much more, became very dehydrated, and at one point 10 out of 20-25 students were lying out postures. Three people left the room, and the instructor left to get more water for two people who were otherwise about to leave. Afterward, one man was lying on the floor outside the studio needing extra help.

I wrote to the owner of the studio, whom I knew somewhat and liked, wondering if the humidity might have been high. She said the heat was the same and ignored my question about humidity. She dismissed all those students’ reactions as simply psychological. I then learned that the heat and humidity gauges in the room are always covered. Friends in other studios said the gauges in them could be seen by students.

I felt that there may be an issue about the humidity, one that was important, but I wanted to be more certain. I bought a small thermometer with a hygrometer (the size of a half dollar) that I calibrated to scientific/industrial standards. For three weeks I brought it in during my workouts. It confirmed my concerns. I found that the temperature was almost always spot-on at 105. But the relative humidity was far from the 40 percent advertised for Bikram Yoga. On the better days it was 54 to 60 percent, never lower. On the worse days it was 60 to 66 percent.

The Weather Service calculates that 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity results in a heat index of 121 degrees, while at 105 degrees and 66 percent humidity it is 159 degrees. The weather service warns that when the heat index is above 130, heatstroke is highly likely even without strenuous activity.

When the humidity was lower at 54-60 percent I could I could give the yoga my strongest effort and at the end I could walk out of the studio with energy and feeling relaxed. On the higher-humidity days I was exhausted, and had to sit down to recover after the class. On the bad days I was significantly more dehydrated and was very thirsty during the last third of the class (thirst is a late indicator of dehydration). Also, I simply couldn’t give the postures my best effort. On the “bad” days others also told me they too were pulling back. However, if I could really feel the difference at 55-60 percent, what on earth would it be like if the humidity really were at 40 percent? Probably great.

With this information, I wrote to the owner of the studio. I was careful to be respectful, friendly and positive. I shared with her the information I had gathered in detail with the attitude that she would probably find it interesting and helpful, and that she may want to check it out. I noted that bringing the humidity down to 40 percent would not only be healthier, but better for business since many people may be avoiding her studio because it was unnecessarily uncomfortable.

The owner’s response was stunning. Her reply was filled with rage and fury. She said my message was insulting and she was indignant that I should write such a thing. She denied that her studio was anything other than within the Bikram specifications, and yet she also defended a room that was much hotter and more challenging than 105/40, saying Bikram had said if people complain about the heat, make it hotter. She told me to never bring the instrument into her studio again and made it quite clear she didn’t want me to return either. She referred to a Bikram studio as a “torture chamber”, and did so with apparent pride.

My stunned response was to say I was sorry that she reacted in this way as it was not intended, but instead was meant to be helpful. I also quoted from the Bikram website that if the heat is higher than 105, the humidity should be lower, and vice versa. Clearly, Bikram does not intend for a studio to be as high as 105/66. She did not respond. I have not returned.

While it was troubling that this studio was routinely exposing its students to very high heat-index levels during lengthy and strenuous exercise, I can understand a heat/humidifying system slipping off from its settings, although one would expect this to be monitored. I found it especially disturbing, however, that this reliable data was summarily dismissed by the owner, who kept the heat and humidity gauges in her studio covered so students could not see them.

As a post-script, I wrote to the Bikram organization if they thought this was acceptable, and I received no response. I would not return to this studio even if the owner had not made it clear I was unwelcome, because I cannot know if it is safe. I do feel a great deal of concern for those who do attend it, unaware of the actual conditions and the risk they may pose.