GODDESS POSE VARIATIONI had a student collapse once in a hot yoga class.
I thought she was just being really elegant in her
descent from her Talasana to her Uttanasana.
Instead, she just kept folding forward and hit the
floor. I was watching her and thinking, “Ah, that’s
so beautiful... oh, no, it’s not! Woman down!”
Luckily, she didn’t lose consciousness—nothing
serious. But stuff like this happens, because hot
yoga is gnarly. The first few times you try it, if
you’re not used to it, you’re not in the moment,
breathing. All you’re thinking about is, “I am so
friggin’ hot!” When you teach hot yoga, you really
have to make sure your students stay hydrated
and drink, and I’m not talking about wine coolers.
I was scared, but I held it together. I went over
to her to make sure she was OK. She was, and
she wanted to stay, so I put her head in my lap
and sat there with her and kept teaching. You are
responsible for all of your students’ well-being in
a class. When one of them has trouble, you take
care of them, but you still have to keep the space
for everyone else there.