Influencer felt hurt after being forbidden to drink water during class
Roma Abdesselam, a 29-year-old influencer, took to her social media to share that she was reprimanded by her hot yoga instructor for trying to drink water during class.
The incident occurred in January, when Abdesselam was attending a hot yoga class — also known as Bikram yoga — at a Bode studio in New York, United States.
In this yoga style, participants complete a sequence of 26 postures in a room with temperatures ranging from 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, resulting in a lot of sweat and calorie burning.
Students are instructed not to drink water until reaching the “eagle pose,” which takes about 30 minutes, but Abdesselam broke this rule, upsetting her instructor.
“Is this normal?” the influencer asked her 660,000 followers in a TikTok video recorded after leaving the class.
“I was in class and reached for a sip of water from my mat and the instructor intimidated me, called me out in front of everyone and said, ‘It’s not time to drink water. I’ll tell you when it’s time to drink water. You drink water when I want you to drink water.’”
Traditional hot yoga instructors discourage drinking water less than 30 minutes into class because it interrupts the internal heat and lowers body temperature, which, according to them, leads to less flexibility and potential discomfort or nausea, in addition to breaking concentration during the flow.
“I was so upset,” Abdesselam continued, visibly shaken. “I didn’t get the memo that she was paying my bills or that she paid for me to be in that class. Like, it’s a hot yoga class — of course I’m going to drink water.”
Roma’s video has garnered over 2 million views.
@therealsahdI’m about to open up my own studio so I never see that woman again in my life. I never beefed with a yogi like this♬ original sound – Stay At Home Daughter
Source and images: NyPost / Instagram and TikTok @therealsahd. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
