I practiced yoga at least 4-5 times a week in San Francisco for about 4 years before we moved to Aptos. I was soooooo excited that there was a Bikam studio within walking distance from our new place that I checked them out immediately. I eventually signed up for 6 months of unlimited yoga for a super decent price of $99/month because I love the practice that much.
Although I had just completed the 30 day challenge in SF before moving, I found practicing at BYA difficult from the first day because it was extremely hot, hotter by far than any other studio I've experienced and I've visited a couple. At first, I thought it was just a matter of getting used to it. So, I continued to go regularly, meaning at least 3 times a week or more. But my body just refused to accept the outrageous heat. I was used to feeling a bit nauseous once in while during class, but, in addition to that, I often felt dizzy and physically weak to the point where I couldn't stand up and had to sit down for long periods of time during class. I also felt completely depleted of all energy by the third section of class. No amount of water helped, and I brought a lot more than I ever did before. Neither did the cold blasts offered every once in a while, depending on the instructor. After about four months, I was ready to quit. But I continued on at least 3 times a week in the hopes that it would change for me, but it never did.
As far as being nice and helpful, the instructors and Nicole were most of the time. It seemed to depend, however, on their mood that particular day. I never found them to be rude, but rather just indifferent. What I found to be a bit much, however, were the unprofessional comments/critiques I would occasionally receive from the instructors, including Nicole, when I would try and cool myself down by, for instance, leaving the room, placing my cold water bottle on my pulse (a trick I learned when feeling nauseous), and even sitting down. What's more upsetting is the fact that on those days the instructor felt the need to make the comments/critiques, she (and it was always a she) never felt the need to follow up with me after class to see how I was doing, how class was for me that day, whether the comments/critiques were helpful, etc. Class was over and so were they. The only other thing I found disappointing was the fact that in SF the instructors always included a spiritual angle to the practice, but in Aptos I found that was not the case for the most part.
The only person I found to be consistently friendly and concerned about my practice was Sarah, the British lady. However, when I expressed my concern to her that I wasn't getting used to the heat, and often felt extremely tired and burnt out for the rest of the day, she explained that the heat was supposed to be the challenge. Funny, because I thought the yoga was the challenge and the heat was supposed to be a helping factor, not THE factor. But maybe I misunderstand the purpose of Bikram. For my part, I know I didn't want to pay $99 a month to sit on my ass for an hour and sweat...I wanted to do yoga and get a workout. So, I guess if this is the way it's supposed to be, it's not for me after all. In any case, I left after my 6 month subscription was up. It bums me out because I really enjoyed the workout and felt great afterwards (both mentally and physically) when I was practicing in SF, but just never found that overall sense of enjoyment practicing in Aptos. Should they ever decide to lower the heat to make it more tolerable to most, then I'd try them out again. But otherwise, I'll leave it to those who are more heat tolerant that I am, and just move on to other opportunities. read more
