“If anyone steals your peace, you are the loser.  If anyone can take your peace, happiness away from you, then you are the loser.” –Bikram Choudry

As a Bikram teacher and studio owner of many years combined, I hear a lot of talk about the heat.  “Wow, that class was really hot,” followed by the person beside them, “can we turn the heat up?”  I wanted to give you my perspective, built upon by the experience and insights of many Bikram teachers in many parts of the world, since those experiences and stories heard are usually so alike.

YES, THE ROOM WILL HAVE SOME FLUCTUATIONS

 To start, SSHY has a very large hot room.  It is one of the largest in Winnipeg.  And Winnipeg has some of the most extreme weather in the populated world, hot and humid in the summer to cold and dry in the winter.  Being a large facility that draws a lot of air in from outside, and being a Bikram facility that strives for both ideal temperature and humidity, we are set with a difficult task.

Having said that, in a normal class, the temperature is well regulated.  The thermostats do not allow the temperature to go too high, and our heating system has enough gusto for a Winnipeg winter.  It will not get too hot, and it should always be hot enough.  This is, of course, assuming that there is no human error or natural disaster, which happens once in a blue moon and is not the expected norm.

The main variable in how the room will make you feel is the humidity.  Humidity is the air’s capacity to hold moisture.  It is relative to the air temperature, so as air heats up, it’s capacity to hold water increases.  However, the more moisture air is holding (relative to what it can hold), the less it is going to take.  So when the humidity is higher, the sweat on your skin evaporates less readily.  When sweat evaporates from your skin, it takes heat with it, which makes you feel cooler.  When less evaporates than normal because of higher humidity, well, there is not as much of that cooling effect going on.  I think we all went through this in grade 7 science. 

So, there is more potential for fluctuation of humidity than heat.  “That really hot class” is more likely to be “that more-humid-than-normal” class.

YOUR BODY’S STATE WITH HOW HOT (OR NOT) YOU FEEL

Although there can be some fluctuation in the conditions in the room itself, they aren’t likely to be of earth-shaking significance.  More often, it is our own selves that determine how we perceive the room.  Below is a list of the most likely offenders:

DIET:  Our society; North American, Canadian, Winnipeggers have access to food from all over the world, from all cultures.  Some foods are heating foods, some foods are cooling foods, some are neutral, and all react with the different foods you combine at the same time.  Coffee/caffeine, meat, dairy, refined sugar…these foods all create “heat” in the body.  Leafy greens, raw fruits and veggies…these go somewhere into the “cooling” side of the spectrum.  There is so much to learn when we talk about health and diet that I cannot even start to talk about here, but ultimately, even if we think we eat well, we might not be.  Eat unhealthily, and yes, you will suffer through a “hotter” class.  And after, you’ll be so glad you did!

SLEEP:  This one should be obvious...get good rest, and you perform better in all aspects of life.  Short on sleep, and we suffer.  Your body is not working efficiently, and cannot perform or function as well.  This includes cellular reaction times, and ability to regulate itself.  Get your rest!  Naps can be invaluable, too!

STRESS:   Stress might be the deadliest element in your life.  It affects our bodies in so many ways.  I am of course speaking about mental stress, and how it negatively affects our physiology.  If you are experiencing a lot of temporary stress (assignments, deadlines, relationship, etc), your class will be tougher, and probably feel hotter.  And after, you will probably feel that much better.  Accept the challenge, then reap the rewards...

ILLNESS and MEDICATION:  When your body is fighting off infection or disease, it raises its own temperature to help the T Cells from your Thymus gland proliferate and be active, as well as producing more white blood cells.  When medicated, your body is working extra hard on cleaning that stuff out of your system.  The yoga is good for you, but you will probably feel hotter than usual.  As a side point, Bikram yoga gets your whole body in shape, including your insides, including your body’s defence system.  Regular practice means less fever and sniffles!

EGO:  Bikram says leave your ego at the door.  What he means is, don’t come with any expectation.  If you tell yourself, “this class will be easy because [insert reason here],” you set yourself up for a tough class.  Conversely, people always surprise themselves when the class they thought would be a disaster (weekend partying, bad diet, no sleep) turns out to be really great – the expectation was at zero.  The lesson?  Let it go.  Your class will be the class it is, so let it be that.

OTHER STUFF:  There’s other stuff?  Emotional state and/or mood, the power of suggestion, the weather (always blame the weather), the strange mustachio’d man at the front desk singing greetings out of key...there are a lot of elements here that are not mentioned, but they exist.  What affects your class?  Have you ever thought about it?

DON’T LET IT STEAL YOUR PEACE

In the end, nothing is perfect.  The room is not perfect.  Your body is not perfect.  Your home is not perfect, the city, the province, the country, even the planet Earth, the galaxy, and universe itself are not perfect.  But in not being perfect, everything is perfect.  It sounds absurd, but really everything we perceive is exactly that – our own perception.  A slight adjustment in how we see things makes all the difference.

At SSHY, we strive to give you the best experience, including trying very hard to regulate the hot room to the perfect conditions.  And we appreciate feedback; we ask for it all the time.  But if the heat is constantly consuming your thoughts, consider that maybe you can focus, concentrate and breathe deeper to help you overcome your pre-occupation with it.  All of life presents surprises, variables out of our control.  When you want to control the hot room, you will always feel hotter!  The key?  SURRENDER, TRUST, and have FAITH that this is somehow exactly the way it is supposed to be!

Let it go.  Then and only then will the heat ever be perfect.  Now room is perfect.  And the instructor is perfect.  Most importantly, you are perfect, here, in this moment, in the now.  Breath.  Nothing can steal your peace here.  Breath.  No sweat in your eyes, no mix-up of left and right, no person getting your favourite spot, no sweat drips on the mirror can take this away from you.  And when nothing can steal your peace in here, then nothing can out there.  A whole new universe opens before you, and guess what? 

It’s perfect.

Namaste.