Hot yoga is trendy, but not for everyone

In a hot, sticky and steamy room men and women twist into yoga poses, sweat dripping from the ends of their noses. But the air conditioner isn't broken - it's January. This is a hot yoga class, a growing trend, and it's not for everyone.

Some people worry about the risks of taking hot yoga, otherwise known as Bikram yoga, because of the possibility of heat-related injuries. Bikram is a 90-minute beginning yoga class that takes place in 105 degrees Fahrenheit, which is meant to "detoxify" the body, "heal and prevent injuries" and "enhance physical performance," according to the 105F.com website.

Lyn Levin is a student at Bikram Yoga Chicago, which has three locations, and has studied yoga for 15 years. Levin said she has suffered injuries during hot yoga classes and has seen others get hurt. She saw someone pass out in a class the first week of January, she said.

"I think they don't get the breathing down and they get hot, they get nervous and they just pass out," Levin said. "I think with passing out it's just all of a sudden, boom, you're out, you're on the floor and most of the time they wake up and they're fine."

On one occasion, Levin said, she saw a man collapse and hit his nose so hard on the floor he got a nose bleed, but he came back and finished the class.

Maura Spiegel, a Bikram Yoga Chicago instructor at 47 W. Polk St., said she has seen people pass out in her class.

"It's usually when it's their first time and they aren't trusting their instincts," Spiegel said. "They stand up when they feel dizzy. They freak out and rush out of the room instead of listening to their bodies and lying down."

Spiegel said people often feel embarrassed when this happens, but many of them become returning students.

Colleen Duncan, another instructor at Bikram Yoga Chicago, agreed injuries do happen in class. Of course, injuries happen during all kinds of physical activities, she said.

"People pass out doing anything in life," Duncan said. "People will get lightheaded sometimes."

Duncan herself has experienced injuries, including strains and pulled muscles, during class and attributes them to losing her focus.

"I never blame it on the instructor, I never blame it on the yoga because I'm the one that's doing the yoga," Duncan said. "It's my responsibility to be mindful of my body, and if I push it past the limit then potentially injury can happen."

But hot yoga is not for everybody, Duncan said. People who are more sensitive to heat might prefer the slower-paced Vinyasa yoga over Bikram.

"I walked in for one class and I wanted to get out of there right away," said Chicago personal trainer and conditioning coach Dmitriy Binkin, who finished the class despite his initial reaction. But that was the first and last time he ever tried hot yoga.

Bikram yoga might be dangerous, especially for older people, those who are more sensitive to heat and people with lower back problems, he said. Duncan, however, said age does not affect who can do hot yoga.

"As far as injuries go, a lot of people try to do what the instructor does so they hurt themselves by hyperextending," Binkin said. "If you have lower back problems you have to be very careful, because some positions could really hurt you."