Bringing a Little Bali Warmth to Mahé: Introducing Our New Infrared Heating Panels
Warm vibes, no heat waves.
There are some things you don't realise you miss until you live without them for a while. For me, warmth is definitely one of them. No, I'm not talking about the kind of warmth you get from putting on three layers of clothing, wrapping yourself in a blanket and hoping that your toes will eventually forgive you for living in the Netherlands. I'm talking about that lovely, gentle warmth that makes you want to slow down, breathe a little deeper, move your body and simply enjoy being in your own skin. After eight years of dreaming about it, I'm finally bringing a little more of that feeling into Mahé.
We have infrared heating panels! And I couldn't be happier.
A little piece of Bali in the middle of the Dutch winter
I grew up in Bali. Warmth has always been part of my everyday life. It's in the tropical air, the sunshine on your skin, the warm mornings, the prickly heat on your skin as you ride your motorbike, the afternoon breeze and the way life naturally seems to invite you to slow down.
When I moved to the Netherlands in 2018, I quickly discovered that the relationship between the Dutch and the sun was a little more complicated.
Coming from a tropical island, I had to learn how to live with grey skies, cold mornings, long winters and temperatures that sometimes made me question my life choices. But I also discovered something else: I wanted to create a place where people could feel at home, regardless of what was happening outside.
When I opened my first yoga studio in Zoetermeer, in August 2018, I already had a picture in my mind of what I wanted my yoga studio to feel like. A welcoming, comfortable and warm space where people could take off their shoes, leave their busy lives at the door and reconnect with themselves.
I wanted warmth to be part of that experience - for obvious reasons.
Over the years, Mahé has moved through different locations, grown, changed and evolved. I've taught through winters, summers, renovations, loud noises, relocations and all the beautiful chaos that comes with running a yoga studio. Throughout those eight years, one little dream kept coming back.
I wanted a warm yoga shala.
Not a hot yoga studio. Not a place where you walk in and immediately start sweating before you've even rolled out your mat. Just a warm, comfortable space.
A place where you can practise Yin Yoga without feeling like an ice cube. Where your muscles don't have to negotiate with the cold before they agree to move. Where you can lie down for a long Savasana without spending half of it thinking about your cold feet, or where to place your arms without having to feel the cold floor.
Especially during the Dutch winter, when the sun seems to have taken an extended holiday.
I've waited eight years for this. And now, finally, it's happening. A little bit of Bali warmth, right here in Dorpsstraat, Zoetermeer.
Why infrared heating?
For a long time, I knew I wanted to improve the temperature in our shala. The question was how.
I didn't want to install a conventional heating system that simply pumps warm air into the room - been there, done that. I wanted something that would provide a comfortable radiant warmth, particularly for the slower and more meditative practices we offer at Mahé Yoga. That's when I started looking into infrared heating.
We chose the FirTec+ infrared heating panels from Dutch Infrared Heating, which are based on their F.I.R. technology: Far Infrared Heating Technology.
So, what does that actually mean?
Traditional convection heating primarily warms the air. The warm air circulates through the room, gradually raising the ambient temperature.
Infrared heating works differently. Instead of primarily heating the air, infrared panels emit invisible infrared radiation. Surfaces and objects within the reach of the radiation absorb this energy and warm up. These surfaces then release heat into the surrounding air.
Think about how you can feel the warmth of the sunshine on your skin on a beautiful winter day, even when the air around you is still relatively cool (just like today actually before I wrote this blog). That is the basic idea behind radiant heating.
The FirTec+ system combines its heating technology with particular material choices, panel construction and positioning to distribute radiant warmth across a larger area.
According to Dutch Infrared Heating, this F.I.R. approach is designed to provide:
Radiant warmth: Heating surfaces and objects rather than relying solely on warming the air.
A broad heating range: The panels are designed to distribute infrared warmth over a relatively large area.
Efficient operation: The manufacturer aims to deliver a high level of heating performance with relatively low electrical consumption.
Flexible heating: Individual spaces can be heated according to their needs.
Low maintenance: The panels have no conventional moving or wearing parts that require regular servicing.
One thing I particularly appreciate is that we can work towards a comfortable temperature in the Mahé Yoga studio without having to turn the entire space into a tropical greenhouse. Of course, the actual energy consumption and comfort depend on things such as insulation, room size, ceiling height, panel placement and how long the panels are operating. We're going to learn what works best in our own space.
And that is part of the fun.
What does infrared warmth mean for your yoga practice?
There is something about practising in a comfortably warm room that makes a difference to how you experience your body.
When the room is cold, particularly during the winter months, you might notice that your body takes a little longer to settle. You may feel the need to keep your muscles warm, pull your shoulders towards your ears or hold onto tension simply because you're uncomfortable.
A comfortable ambient temperature can make it easier to relax into a practice.
Here are some of the reasons why I'm particularly happy about introducing infrared heating at Mahé.
1. More comfort during Yoga Nidra, Yin and Restorative Yoga
Yoga Nidra, Yin and Restorative Yoga are practices in which we spend more time in stillness. Unlike a dynamic Vinyasa class, you're not continuously generating body heat through movement. You might stay in one posture for several minutes, supported by bolsters, blankets and blocks.
When the room is too cold, stillness can become uncomfortable rather quickly.
A comfortably warm environment allows you to settle into your practice without constantly thinking about the temperature.
And that's exactly what I want for our slower classes.
2. A more welcoming environment for relaxation
Relaxation is not something we can force.
You can tell yourself to relax a hundred times, but if you're physically uncomfortable, your attention will keep returning to that discomfort.
A comfortable environment helps remove one unnecessary distraction.
Whether you're joining a meditation, Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, sound journey or a gentle Restorative practice, I want you to feel that you can arrive, settle down and take your time.
3. Supporting comfortable movement
Warmth can influence how comfortable movement feels.
Muscles and other soft tissues generally become more extensible as their temperature increases. This is one reason why warming up before physical activity is important.
A comfortable room temperature can make the beginning of your practice feel less abrupt, particularly during colder months.
However, there is an important distinction here: a warm room does not replace a proper warm-up, nor does it guarantee that your body is ready for a deeper stretch.
We still move mindfully, respect individual limitations and allow the body to open in its own time.
4. A little more warmth during Savasana
Let's give Savasana the attention it deserves.
After moving, breathing, stretching and perhaps challenging ourselves a little, we finally arrive at the part of the practice where we do absolutely nothing.
Sometimes, doing nothing is the hardest thing of all. I want you to be able to enjoy those final minutes without feeling cold, reaching for our dekbed (which you definitely still can do - no judgement here) or wondering when the teacher is going to finish. A warm shala makes that experience a little more inviting.
One important clarification: infrared panels are a heating system, not a medical treatment. Although infrared heating is researched in other settings, we are not introducing these panels to claim that they cure pain, improve circulation, detoxify the body or treat medical conditions. Our reason is much simpler: we want a comfortable space in which to practise yoga.
Why Mahé doesn't offer HOT Yoga
Now, this is where I might have a slightly different opinion from some of the yoga studios out there. I know hot yoga has become increasingly popular. And I understand the appeal. Walking into a warm room, sweating, challenging your body and experiencing an intense physical practice can be enjoyable for some people.
But personally, I've never felt that making a yoga room extremely hot is necessary.
In fact, I believe that sometimes we confuse intensity with effectiveness.
More sweat does not automatically mean a better workout. More heat does not automatically mean deeper flexibility. And feeling exhausted after a class doesn't necessarily mean you've had a more meaningful yoga experience. I want to explain why.
Does hot yoga actually burn more calories?
One of the common assumptions surrounding hot yoga is that exercising in a heated room makes you burn significantly more calories. The science is not quite that straightforward.
A 2020 study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science compared the same one-hour Bikram yoga sequence performed in two different environments:
Heated yoga at approximately 40°C.
Regular room-temperature yoga at approximately 23°C.
The researchers measured oxygen consumption, energy expenditure, heart rate, range of motion and other physiological responses.
Their findings showed that the heated session did not significantly increase the aerobic demands or overall energy expenditure of the practice compared with the room-temperature session. Interestingly, the additional heat did not produce significantly greater improvements in most of the measured ranges of motion either.
In other words, sweating more did not mean the participants were burning significantly more calories.
You might leave a hot yoga class feeling as though you've worked incredibly hard. But some of that sensation comes from your body's effort to regulate its temperature, rather than from doing more physical work.
Does hot yoga make you more flexible?
Heat can influence tissue extensibility and how flexible movement feels.
However, feeling that you can move further in a heated room does not necessarily mean that you've developed greater long-term flexibility.
There is also a difference between increasing your range of motion and having the strength, control and awareness to move safely within that range. In yoga, I am interested in all of these things. I want you to develop long term mobility, stability, strength and body awareness. I don't want you to chase a deeper posture simply because the room is hot enough to make it feel temporarily accessible.
Your body is not a competition.
What does the research say about the benefits of hot yoga?
A systematic review published in Sports Medicine - Open in 2025 examined 43 studies involving 942 participants. The researchers looked at the physiological, functional and psychological responses to hot yoga.
The findings were interesting.
Repeated hot yoga practice showed potential benefits in areas such as cardiovascular health, flexibility, balance, body composition and physical performance.
However, the researchers also highlighted an important limitation: the existing evidence does not establish that hot yoga provides greater health benefits than regular yoga or other forms of exercise.
A single session of hot yoga increased participants' heart rates and core body temperatures, but did not increase the energetic demands compared with non-heated yoga.
The review also highlighted that research in this area is still developing, with limitations in the quality and design of many studies. Cases of heat-related illness have also been reported.
So, does this mean hot yoga is bad?
No. That would be an oversimplification.
Some people genuinely enjoy hot yoga, and research suggests it can offer benefits. But the scientific evidence does not support the idea that extreme heat is a necessary ingredient for an effective yoga practice.
And that is precisely where my philosophy comes in.
Yoga is already challenging enough.
We don't need to add unnecessary external pressure to make a yoga practice meaningful. Think about what happens when you practise yoga.
You ask your body to move in unfamiliar ways. You develop strength, stability and coordination. You work with your breath. You learn to notice sensations without immediately reacting to them. You practise staying present when things become uncomfortable.
Sometimes, the challenge is holding a strong Warrior II.
Sometimes, it is sitting still for five minutes without reaching for your phone.
Sometimes, it is allowing yourself to rest when your mind is telling you that you should be doing more.
And sometimes, the hardest thing is simply showing up. There is already plenty to explore. I don't believe we need to turn the Mahé Yoga shala into a sauna to make any of that happen.
Warm Yoga, not Hot Yoga
So, what exactly do we mean when we say that Mahé Yoga offers warm yoga?
We mean a comfortable, gently heated environment that makes practising during the colder months more enjoyable.
We want to take the chill out of the room, not create an environment where your body has to work overtime to cool itself down.
Our intention is to find a temperature that feels welcoming for different kinds of practices, from active Vinyasa and Hatha to Yin, Restorative Yoga, Yoga Nidra and meditation.
And because every body is different, we also recognise that what feels warm and comfortable to one person might feel too warm to another. That's why we're taking the next 30 days to explore the temperature in our shala and find a comfortable standard. We will be paying attention to how the room feels during different classes, different times of the day and different weather conditions. We are not aiming for a particular number on the thermostat just because another studio uses it.
We're interested in what actually works for our space and our Mahé kula.
And no, we're not going to ask you to practise in 40°C temperatures. You can leave your sauna expectations at the door.
A warm welcome, whatever the weather
There is something quite special about seeing a dream that has been sitting in the back of your mind for years finally become part of your everyday reality.
For me, these infrared panels are not simply another studio upgrade. They represent eight years of building, learning, adapting and slowly creating the kind of yoga space I always wanted to have. A space that feels like home. A space where you don't have to perform, compete or prove anything. A space where you can move when you need movement, rest when you need rest and simply be when that's all you have energy for.
And perhaps, in a small way, a space that brings a little bit of my tropical roots into the middle of a Dutch winter.
So, the next time you arrive at Mahé Yoga shala, take off your shoes, leave your ego at the door, leave your coat behind and enjoy the warmth. Whether you're coming for a sweaty Vinyasa, a slow Yin practice, a floating sound journey or simply an hour to reconnect with yourself, I hope the shala feels a little more like the warm embrace I've been dreaming of all these years.
Because at Mahé, we're not chasing heat. We're creating warmth.
Warm vibes, no heat waves.
See you on the mat.
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