The 1630 session it was to be. Towel, water bottle, yoga mat, shorts. Wallet. $39 bought us entry into the cult. Enter the carpeted hall; the type where each cheap polyester strand is not woven but erect. A young Bikram Choudury sat on the righthand wall in a cross legged pose; in front of us a mirror so we could see the deficiencies on our physique in comparison.
The series of postures began; the rote-learned dialogue through a headpeice microphone sounded, some phrases so mechanical they passed from the lips and into the ear without meaning imparted or received. It mattered little - we knew the drill - the cadenza enough to infer beginnings and endings.
The air grew viscous, blood flushed the skin; capillaries tore in a maddened an effort to excise heat. But as with all discomfort that does not proceed to death; the apex of suffering was afterwards forgotten, and the oaths sworn mid-session have their terms relaxed; and in this climate I entered into discussion with the studio owner.
After I received obligatory dose of encouragement, I asked "What's the theory in regard to humidity in Bikram?"
"40/40. Forty degrees and forty percent humidity according to the Bikram manual," the teacher replied.
"It must have been in the high nineties in there."
"Well we open the windows if it gets too stuffy"
"But even so, the mirror was fogging which meant the air was saturated; it could not hold any more moisture. No matter how hot it is one should still feel a chill on the skin; the evaporation of sweat. Our heat regulation system must be allowed to continue unabated and I say, the humidity levels made it quite impossible."
Another lady, thin and loose-skinned veteran unperturbed by the preceding trails, chimed in "You'll get used to the sweat. When I started I didn’t sweat as much as I did now; but now I finish and my towel is completely wet. You don't stop sweating"
The studio owner smiled to signify that was the end of that matter; the sweat a justification in itself.
DAY 2
Hot afternoon sun, slanting through the car windows. Eastbound to Bunnings Cannon Hill. I was off to buy a humidity meter.
The guidelines didn't end at 40/40; the go on to state " Temperature can be adjusted for extremes in humidity; LOW humidity + HIGHER temperature; HIGH humidity + LOWER temperature".
What line could I draw between scientific data-collection and causing offence?
I erred in the aisle, the choice between a cheap plastic analog meter and digital tablet-display with an external sensor. I bought the plastic one at first, and tested it inside and outisde the car. 35° in the car: fair enough, but when I walked out under the shade of some trees where I estimated the temperature to be no more than 30°, and more likely around 28°, the needle had not dropped within two minutes, and I had to return and buy the more expensive one, for if I was to mount a credible argument I must have faith in the accuracy of the reading, and though analog meters can certainly be accurate, a) they must be calibrated (and this model lacked any means to do so) and b) the accuracy depends on the precision of the mechanical components, and at this price point they could only be of poor quality. So I will take the digital scale in with me tomorrow and present the results.
