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| Ok sorry I have to ask.
What is bikram yoga etiquette when people that are in the same class as you smell so bad that you almost vomit during class?
Solution one change classes - Due to work etc I can only get to the 6pm class. I can't change classes.
For 3 weeks now during my classes there has been a particular smell that was being emitted by 2 bodies in class. I know people can smell it because they talk about it in the change rooms and outside the class. That's not the point.
It so happens that last night I finally worked out who the two people are. A husband and wife. To add to it the husband douses himself up with lynxx and the smell is rather unbearable.
Here's the thing - If they come close to my zone do I tell them please can you find somewhere else, as you emit a very horrible smell. Or do I tell the studio who they are so they can say something to them?
I still have at least a month and half left on my membership and this issue needs to be addressed.
I told the studio there are a few people that smell but dont know who it is they have now provided tea tree oil which you can dab on your arms or legs. However that still doesn't kill the smell. It was ridiculous last night. I considered leaving the room to vomit it was that bad but I didn't want to miss out on any poses.
I know tough one.. what do I do?
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| I'd (discreetly) mention it to the owners so that they can (discreetly) address the situation with the people in question. Email might be a good option if you can't catch them in a quiet moment. If the situation is as bad as you're describing, then it's hurting the overall well-being of the studio, and it's really the owner's responsibility to do something about it. So make sure that they know about it, and then step back.
For the time being... well, maybe wait til you see where these folks are putting their mats for the night, and then practice on the opposite side of the room!! Be responsible for yourself. Moving your own mat is much better than asking someone ELSE to move, if it comes down to that. Just pretend that you suddenly saw a friend on the other side of the room or something... ;-) |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | One of the things that my teacher AlWAYS emphasizes is CLEANLINESS and Bathing before and after Yoga. Another aspect of this is NO PERFUMES or fragrances worn to class. It's very simple. Everyone always likes their own fragrance...whether that be in their deodorant or those body spritzers things..whatever. It's really a delicate situation and sometimes, it just needs to be addressed. I think if the instructors start saying it enough, people eventually get it. If they don't, then I think they deserve a talking to - to bring awareness, as MOST people have no freakin' clue about these things. As for just being plain dirty and body odor issues, sometimes a bath will take care of the problem and hopefully, they will get the message (the one the instructor gave!!) that a shower is in order before class. If that don't work....bring your own Lavender Essential Oil to class and start spraying it in your surroundings to make you feel better, LOL!! |
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| I agree with DancingJ.
Let the studio owner know. I personally as an owner have standing policy about keeping clean and scented creams, soaps and perfume or cologne. You stink, you don't take class. Period. |
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| Lol i like the Lavender Essential Oil comment.
Yeah ok here goes will have to mention it to the studio. Thanks for your guidance. |
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| I think this is something for you to work on and get over. It is not appropriate for you to tell someone they smell bad, and it is not appropriate for the studio owner to confront them about it, either. American culture has a deep sense of disgust for normal and natural body functions and smells. Everyone gets BO sometimes. We all fart. We all get garlic breath (if we eat garlic). A lot of times someone whose body is medically out of balance will produce more of these smells. Some people actually have a job and work all day before they go to yoga, so they can't stop at home and give themselves a spa treatment for your pleasure. You need to have compassion for them and recognize that they have the right to be in the yoga room just as much as you do. Focus on your own practice and stop judging others. Everyone has some kind of peeve with others in the yoga room. You may be plopping your mat down directly in front of someone, making a funny noise, falling out of a posture in a distracting way, wearing too much or too little, whispering or talking in the room, leaving too quickly at the end, snapping your mat, coughing loudly, using first savasana as a bathroom break, habitually skipping certain postures, etc. etc. etc. Everyone needs to cut each other some slack in the yoga room.
Ferret |
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| Catherine, I don't believe the the original posting is about natural body smells. But other than that, you are indeed correct that everybody has something. |
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| While we all have natural stuff going on, a guy who douses himself with Axe bodyspray before class is just NOT something that a person "has to get over". Also, every Hot Yoga place I've been to has a shower in the locker room. While one doesn't expect someone who works to go home for a spa treatment before class, IF you feel stinky and lets face it we ALL know when we do, just take a 2 minute quick rinseoff BEFORE class.
Sometimes I think yoga is so inwardly focused that we either forget or disregard the community aspect of this practice and often the simple considerations that we SHOULD be giving to each other gets lost in the "I am supposed to go within myself" aspect of yoga practice. Unfortunately the latter can turn into "its all about ME" at the expense of others.
Edited by freiamaya 2009-11-11 4:52 PM
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| I don't like heavy perfumes or or scented products, either, and I wish people wouldn't slather them on so heavily, but to comment on it or to ask someone to take a shower before yoga is extremely rude. I think moving your mat should be a pretty satisfying solution.
Ferret |
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| I agree and believe I have to take yogibrian's view on this. As he is a studio owner and I am more inclined to go take that road as to what a studio owner would recommend.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | ferret - 2009-11-11 5:16 PM
I don't like heavy perfumes or or scented products, either, and I wish people wouldn't slather them on so heavily, but to comment on it or to ask someone to take a shower before yoga is extremely rude. I think moving your mat should be a pretty satisfying solution.
Ferret
It is NOT rude to ask a person to take a shower before yoga. In all HINDU practices, all "Indria" (which means, nose, eyes, mouth, butthole, all private parts, etc. you get the picture) MUST be clean and pure. All systems of Yoga teach this. In order to purify your mind, you start with purifying your body. |
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Question about Smelly People
