Yoga teacher loses her job after telling influencer she can’t drink water during class

A New York yoga teacher lost her job after she refused to let an influencer drink water during a yoga class.

It wasn’t just a normal session either, it was hot yoga, where the exercise is intentionally done in a hot and humid room between 32 and 40.5 degrees Celsius.

Roma Abdesselam, better known as Stay At Home Daughter on TikTok, went to a 6pm class at famous New York yoga company Bode on January 26th.

She was thirsty, so she went to take a sip of water, but the instructor told her she’s not allowed, so she got up and left in the middle of the yoga session.

On her way home, the 29-year-old filmed a TikTok video about it, explaining: “Okay, so I just left hot yoga in the middle of the class because of water.”

“So I was in the class and I went to go get a sip of my water, I just picked it up from my mat, and the instructor bullies me and calls me out in front of everyone.”

The yoga teacher told her it’s “not time” to drink water and she’ll “let her know” when she’s allowed, saying: “You drink water when I want you to drink water.”

“It’s a hot yoga class, of course I’m going to get water. Is this news to you that I would get water in a fuc*ing hot yoga class?” she continued.

@therealsahd

I’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

In the comments, everyone was appalled, with one person writing: “That’s actually so dangerous.”

“Denying hydration in ANY workout class is a huge red flag,” someone else said.

The 56-year-old instructor Irena told the New York Times she has now lost her job, but insisted that she wasn’t in the wrong, saying: “I thought it was innocently said.”

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“It was my invitation — not an order, not a royal command,” she continued. “You are seeing in this new era, young people are having a very hard time to be told what to do.”

In traditional Bikram, a type of hot yoga, some teachers advise against drinking water because it breaks concentration, but this is a very outdated view.

After the incident, Jen Lobo Plamondon, who founded Bode NYC in 1999, shared an apology on TikTok.

She said Irena’s actions “do not align with our code of conduct, standards or guidelines” and assured everyone that hydration is the “most important thing” before, during, and after classes.

“For 25 years, we’ve worked at being a very supportive community, always encouraging our clients to take breaks, sit down if they need to, hydrate if they need to and leave the room if they need to.”

“It is not okay for an instructor at Bode NYC to tell you you can’t sit down, can’t leave the room if needed, or drink water.”

@bodenyc

Hi all, Thank you for all of your feedback and comments. We are taking immediate steps including and addressing this issue with our teachers. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

♬ original sound – bodē nyc

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Featured image by: Canva and therealsahd/TikTok