How to Build a Bikram Room

Choose a location near a heat source. You can set up a temporary practice location in your bathroom. Preheat the room with a space heater, fill the tub with hot water and allow it to sit to keep the temperature and humidity high. To build a dedicated Bikram space, choose a room without drafts or leaky windows and with an adjacent bathroom. Place a space heater in the room to control the temperature and fill the tub with hot water and allow it to sit. Leave the door open and the heat will escape into your practice location.

Design the room around an easily accessible escape route. If you become overheated during practice, you must leave the room to cool down quickly. De-clutter your room and make sure the exit door is not stiff and does not pose a barrier to getting out of the heat.

Place a shelf along one wall for your gear. Depending on your personal style, this can be a bookcase with several shelves or a low shoe rack to place only the basics, such as your footwear after it's removed.

Populate the room with the elements of your practice. This will include a yoga mat and towel. Be prepared with extra warm-up gear; Bikram experts recommend practicing with warm-up gear on if you can't get your room hot enough. You'll keep the gear on throughout your practice to keep the heat contained in your body. Arrange these items on your bookcase or a low shelf.

Include emergency props in your supplies. Bikram practitioners sometimes experience symptoms of heat exhaustion, which include a rapid heart rate, dizziness, headache and nausea. If you feel you're going to pass out before you can leave the room, you'll need to lie down on your mat and elevate your legs. Keep a cushion or chair to elevate your legs and a bucket of water and cloth to wet your skin to cool down.

Put several bottles of water in the room. Drink 16 ounces of water two hours before the practice, drink regularly throughout the practice and drink 20 to 40 ounces of water per hour of exercise after the practice is over. Placing a water supply, such as a cooler, in the room is another way to ensure you have a hydration source readily accessible.