Stay in the room, stay in the room....

Day 1
I arrive at Bikram's ready for my first class.  The staff are friendly, almost empathetic to the fact that it's my first class.  The words, "You'll have so much fun..." were resonating in my ears as I walked to the dressing room.  The dressing room was crowded...full of women with tiny shorts and tops...all rushing around getting ready.  I finally manage to find a spot to get dressed.  Mental note...bring less luggage.

I walk into the room..the lights are dim..everyone is lying down..it's warm, but not scorching.  I think to myself, this should be ok.  I set up my mat in the back row, in the corner.  Close enough to the door that I can run away if I have to, and near the wall, to keep me from falling over.   The instructor walks in and turns the lights on full...the room is bright.  She is wearing a wireless mic.  The first breathing excercises start and things are good.  Then the standing poses begin.  The instructor sounds like an auctioneer.  I wasn't expecting the constant talking.  It's not annoying, just different.  Towards the end of the standing set (which I'm guessing is about 1/2 way)...I am hot.  I was trying to explain the heat to Viv (my husband).  He asked me, "Is it hot like a super hot day in Malaysia?"  The heat is less like being in a hot sunny place, because that heat burns you from the outside.  The heat of Bikram's is like the opposite...this intense heat that's trying to exit your body through your skin.  It's like a fire that you can't put out.  The heat was more difficult to tolerate than the sweat to be honest.  Toward the end, I was feeling a bit dizzy.  I think I was probably dehydrated.  I only drank about 1 litre of water today in total.  According to the Bikram's site, I should be drinking about 3.7 L for my weight.  There were some parts of the class that I just stayed on my mat and lay down.  I kept saying to myself, "Just stay in the room, stay in the room..."  This was difficult as I saw 3 different people leave the room at 3 different times.  I thought you weren't allowed to leave, but I guess you can't force people to stay if they have to leave. 
When I finally made it to the end of class, it was strangely satisfying.  The very nice girl on the mat beside me gave me a thumbs up...which was nice encouragement.
Although it was hellishly hot, I'm actually looking forward to the experience tomorrow.