Photos: Giant outdoor 'yoga domes' let people join exercise classes without worrying about spreading the coronavirus
- After months of quarantining and business closure to slow the spread of the coronavirus, gyms are finding innovative ways to reopen while keeping clients as safe as possible.
- Sick of Zoom fitness classes? If you're in Toronto, Ontario, a new pop-up yoga studio has you covered, offering private bubble domes for touch-free sessions, a safe distance away from other yogis.
- The domes are part of a limited-edition pop-up series of yoga classes from June 21 to July 31 from Lmnts Outdoor Studio. Here's what they look like.
The giant bubble domes are 7 feet tall and 12 feet wide.
Each person who participates in the yoga classes gets their own private dome, with over 110 square feet of space inside, according to LMNTS Outdoor Studio, which is running the event.
There are 50 of the domes total, installed outside Hotel X Toronto.
Instructors lead the yoga sessions from a raised podium so participants can follow along, and provide verbal instruction through an audio system.
There are also video displays arranged around the area to help make sure everyone can see the instructor, according to the website.
Participants have their temperature taken prior to the yoga class to screen for fever, a common symptom of COVID-19.
Participants must sign up in advance and present a photo ID on entry. They're also screened via no-contact temperature checks and asked about any other coronavirus symptoms before being allowing to enter the domes.
The domes are cleaned between classes.
According to the event website, professional cleaning staff sanitize every dome before and after each session. Hand sanitizer is also available for class participants.
Instructors from 6 local studios will be leading classes 7 days a week, June 21 - July 31.
The classes cost between $24 and $33 each, depending on how many you buy. They're sold in package of 3, 5, 7 or 20.
The temperature inside the domes can get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Participants are asked to hydrate, since there's a lot of sweating involved in the classes — depending on weather conditions, the domes create a warming greenhouse-like atmosphere.
But fans inside the domes allow for cooling.
But don't worry — there's a temperature control system that can cool the dome using a fan if it gets too hot.
A door that can allow some of the heat to escape.
Participants are required to bring their own equipment.
The classes are BYOM — bring your own mat, water bottle, and towel, but the studio also sells those items as well as snacks and beverages.
There's some evidence yoga classes may be less risky than high intensity exercise, too.
A recent study found that high-intensity exercise, such as dance fitness, may be more likely to spread viral particles due to the aerobic movement, heavy breathing, and humidity of people sweating in a small room.
Yoga, by contrast, wasn't linked to any cases of COVID-19, and researchers theorize that the slower movement may be lower risk.
Read more:
Gyms are starting to reopen — here's a look at what it's like to work out during the pandemic
The 'Kettlebell Guy' hand-delivers hard to find weights in New York City during the pandemic
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