I have often felt uncomfortable practicing āsanas in heated rooms. Due to this discomfort I have never been to a Bikram Yoga class and have avoided doing the Vinyasa as much as I can. I did not know why I felt this discomfort until I took an āyurveda consultation recently. I found out I am one of those "Pitta" dominat personalities who can get easily irritable in hot environments. These type of people already have a lot of heat in their bodies and when they are exposed to more heat externally, it exacerbates the irritability and their ability to focus in the class.

According to the Āyurvedic concept of “Dōshas”, or energy types, each individual has three dōshas in varying proportions: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Unless there is a balance in these three dōshas, one cannot be completely at peace in the mind and body. I am pretty sure many peopel are not even aware of these imbalances in their body. 

I bring up this issue because because these days every yoga studio heats up their yoga rooms. While heating the room to a certain degree has its benefits, yoga studios and instructors should be aware that there will be people with different dōsha balances and extra heat may cause some discomfort to them. They should probabaly choose a certain temperature range in which people of different dōshas feel comfortable. I think this range should be between 75 - 80 degrees. 

For the benefit of everyone, one can balance these dōsha imbalances through a well planned diet, āsanas, prānāyama and dhyāna (meditation). First thing to do is get an āyurveda consultation, you will be surprised how much you wil discover about your body in just one consultation.

Om Shanti