SaunaScape

Photo of James Ray's sweat lodge, shown at his manslaughter trial. Photo from Prescott E-News

In the opening arguments in James Ray’s trial for the manslaughter of three in a sweat lodge at his 2009 Spiritual Warrior workshop, more details of the event have come to light. According to the Prescott E-News, part of Mr. Ray’s defense is the deaths of the participants were from toxins — not heat stroke as the Prosecution alleges.

Mr. Ray’s defense might be right: Toxins seem to us to be the cause of this tragedy.

Unfortunately for Mr. Ray, it looks like he was the prime creator of the toxins, not others as his defense team alleges. It sounds to us like his participants suffered from lack of oxygen in the sweat lodge.

The evidence in this case hasn’t been given yet, but Connie Joy, who attended more than 20 of Ray’s seminars, including his 2007 Spiritual Warrior workshop, wrote about the experience in her book Tragedy in Sedona:

We formed a line behind James. As the Native American drummed and chanted, we headed into the lodge.

We circled around clockwise, James stopped at the right side of the door, then told us to sit as close as possible to each other and to the tent wall, but not to put any weight on the tent itself. After the outside row filled up, the inside row formed with people packed tightly next to each other, their backs just in front of our knees, which we pulled up against us. No one could move. …

After everyone was in and seated, James called for [eight to ten] super-heated stones, which we called grandfathers. … [They brought them in on pitchforks] until all of the requested stones glowed in the pit. Then Joan took a five-gallon white painter’s bucket filled with water and poured it all onto the stones. As soon as she backed up to her spot and sat down the people outside dropped a cover over the doorway.

About halfway through the first [twenty-minute] round, I started to grow dizzy. … When the first round was finally over and they opened the tent flap, I grew more nauseaous by the second. Concerned I would get sick on the people packed tightly around me, I covered my mouth and got up and worked my way through the bodies to the door. …

After a couple of more rounds, the tent flap opened. A group of people rushed out. What I saw alarmed me. They were disoriented, throwing up, and after they were sprayed with water, a couple of people were shaking on the ground.

Several people who were there told me later, from start to finish, our group spent a total of three hours in the sweat lodge.

Wow. Let’s break this down:

From the photos and the description there was only one entrance to the sweat lodge. It is reasonably air tight, and it was packed full of people. While those people were in there, they were dumping 5-gallon buckets of water onto superheated rocks to fill the lodge with steam.

According to CNN, the sweat lodge was 5 feet tall and 23 feet around. That’s an internal volume of 58,000 liters. There were 60 people inside of the lodge in 2009. Each person takes up about 81 liters, leaving 53,100 liters of air inside the lodge. Let’s say half of that 5 gallon bucket of water turned to steam when it was poured on the rocks. That would displace another 16,200 liters of air, leaving 36,900 liters of air in the lodge.

Fresh air is 21% oxygen — the element we need to survive when we breathe. Looking at the volume of air in the lodge, there would be 7,700 liters of oxygen in there, reducing the oxygen concentration to 14.5% just after the water turned to steam and the door was closed.

All of those people in the sweat lodge are breathing, and consuming oxygen. The base rate is about 3.5 ml/min per kg of body mass. The average maximum rate for non-athletes is around 35 ml/min. Say that those people are consuming at about halfway to maximum, and we find that those 60 people in the lodge are consuming 92 liters of oxygen each minute. By the end of the first 20-minute round they would have consumed another 1800 liters of oxygen, bringing the average oxygen concentration to just 11%.

In a still situation, there would be areas with higher and lower concentrations of oxygen. Some areas, like Mr. Ray’s position near the door, would have a higher percentage of oxygen. In the middle of the mass of bodies, like where Ms. Joy was sitting, the concentration could be several percentage points lower.

According to Argonne National Lab, most people can function relatively normally in an environment down to 15% oxygen. As the concentration decreases from 15% to 10%, the pulse quickens, breathing rates increase, and people’s coordination and judgement decreases. Below 10% we start to see symptoms like Ms. Joy reports: nausea, vomiting, fainting, ash colored face and bluish lips. An 8% or less oxygen concentration is 100% fatal in 8 minutes. As the concentration decreases below 6%, it can put someone into a coma in as little as 40 seconds.

Reports by participants in the 2009 event talk about paramedics suspecting carbon monoxide poisoning — an easy mistake because carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in your bloodstream.

If you are going to run your own sweat lodge, there are some things you can do to learn from Mr. Ray’s mistakes and keep all of your participants safe:

• The sauna should be an appropriate volume for the people you are going to put inside of it. With all of the people and the steam you’ll be generating, you should be sure that there will still be enough oxygen for everyone to breathe during each round of the sweat.
• Between rounds, the sweat lodge should be emptied, and ventilated to ensure there is fresh air before each round. In a German sauna, they swing a towel in the doorway to force this changeover.
• The keeper of the lodge, with the most experience should be in the worst position to best monitor the conditions in the lodge. Mr. Ray, sitting near the door, had no idea what the conditions were really like: He was in the coolest spot with the most oxygen. He had no way of knowing what the conditions would be like at the far end of the lodge.
• Between sweat rounds, people should be encouraged to leave the sweat lodge and cool their bodies before the next round.
• If people are feeling ill, they should be encouraged to leave immediately, and be examined by medical personnel if they show any abnormal symptoms. They should not be pressured to stay in the lodge or be encouraged to return to the lodge.

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo of James Ray's sweat lodge, shown at his manslaughter trial. Photo from Prescott E-News"][/caption] In the opening arguments in James Ray's trial for the manslaughter of three in a sweat lodge at his 2009 Spiritual Warrior workshop, more details of the event have come to light. According to the Prescott E-News, part of Mr. Ray's defense is the deaths of the participants were from toxins — not heat stroke as the Prosecution alleges.   Mr. Ray's defense might be right: Toxins seem to us to be the cause of this tragedy. Unfortunately for Mr. Ray, it looks like he was the prime creator of the toxins, not others as his defense team alleges. It sounds to us like his participants suffered from lack of oxygen in the sweat lodge. The evidence in this case hasn't been given yet, but Connie Joy, who attended more than 20 of Ray's seminars, including his 2007 Spiritual Warrior workshop, wrote about the experience in her book Tragedy in Sedona: We formed a line behind James. As the Native American drummed and chanted, we headed into the lodge. We circled around clockwise, James stopped at the right side of the door, then told us to sit as close as possible to each other and to the tent wall, but not to put any weight on the tent itself. After the outside row filled up, the inside row formed with people packed tightly next to each other, their backs just in front of our knees, which we pulled up against us. No one could move. ... After everyone was in and seated, James called for [eight to ten] super-heated stones, which we called grandfathers. ... [They brought them in on pitchforks] until all of the requested stones glowed in the pit. Then Joan took a five-gallon white painter's bucket filled with water and poured it all onto the stones. As soon as she backed up to her spot and sat down the people outside dropped a cover over the doorway. About halfway through the first [twenty-minute] round, I started to grow dizzy. ... When the first round was finally over and they opened the tent flap, I grew more nauseaous by the second. Concerned I would get sick on the people packed tightly around me, I covered my mouth and got up and worked my way through the bodies to the door. ... After a couple of more rounds, the tent flap opened. A group of people rushed out. What I saw alarmed me. They were disoriented, throwing up, and after they were sprayed with water, a couple of people were shaking on the ground. Several people who were there told me later, from start to finish, our group spent a total of three hours in the sweat lodge. Wow. Let's break this down: From the photos and the description there was only one entrance to the sweat lodge. It is reasonably air tight, and it was packed full of people. While those people were in there, they were dumping 5-gallon buckets of water onto superheated rocks to fill the lodge with steam. According to CNN, the sweat lodge was 5 feet tall and 23 feet around. That's an internal volume of 58,000 liters. There were 60 people inside of the lodge in 2009. Each person takes up about 81 liters, leaving 53,100 liters of air inside the lodge. Let's say half of that 5 gallon bucket of water turned to steam when it was poured on the rocks. That would displace another 16,200 liters of air, leaving 36,900 liters of air in the lodge. Fresh air is 21% oxygen — the element we need to survive when we breathe. Looking at the volume of air in the lodge, there would be 7,700 liters of oxygen in there, reducing the oxygen concentration to 14.5% just after the water turned to steam and the door was closed. All of those people in the sweat lodge are breathing, and consuming oxygen. The base rate is about 3.5 ml/min per kg of body mass. The average maximum rate for non-athletes is around 35 ml/min. Say that those people are consuming at about halfway to maximum, and we find that those 60 people in the lodge are consuming 92 liters of oxygen each minute. By the end of the first 20-minute round they would have consumed another 1800 liters of oxygen, bringing the average oxygen concentration to just 11%. In a still situation, there would be areas with higher and lower concentrations of oxygen. Some areas, like Mr. Ray's position near the door, would have a higher percentage of oxygen. In the middle of the mass of bodies, like where Ms. Joy was sitting, the concentration could be several percentage points lower. According to Argonne National Lab, most people can function relatively normally in an environment down to 15% oxygen. As the concentration decreases from 15% to 10%, the pulse quickens, breathing rates increase, and people's coordination and judgement decreases. Below 10% we start to see symptoms like Ms. Joy reports: nausea, vomiting, fainting, ash colored face and bluish lips. An 8% or less oxygen concentration is 100% fatal in 8 minutes. As the concentration decreases below 6%, it can put someone into a coma in as little as 40 seconds. Reports by participants in the 2009 event talk about paramedics suspecting carbon monoxide poisoning — an easy mistake because carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in your bloodstream. If you are going to run your own sweat lodge, there are some things you can do to learn from Mr. Ray's mistakes and keep all of your participants safe: The sauna should be an appropriate volume for the people you are going to put inside of it. With all of the people and the steam you'll be generating, you should be sure that there will still be enough oxygen for everyone to breathe during each round of the sweat. Between rounds, the sweat lodge should be emptied, and ventilated to ensure there is fresh air before each round. In a German sauna, they swing a towel in the doorway to force this changeover. The keeper of the lodge, with the most experience should be in the worst position to best monitor the conditions in the lodge. Mr. Ray, sitting near the door, had no idea what the conditions were really like: He was in the coolest spot with the most oxygen. He had no way of knowing what the conditions would be like at the far end of the lodge. Between sweat rounds, people should be encouraged to leave the sweat lodge and cool their bodies before the next round. If people are feeling ill, they should be encouraged to leave immediately, and be examined by medical personnel if they show any abnormal symptoms. They should not be pressured to stay in the lodge or be encouraged to return to the lodge.

Photo of a traditional sweat lodge by matthewvenn on Flickr

There is no sacrifice—only greater and more magnificent results, wealth, adventure and fulfillment.

James Arthur Ray – On his Spiritual Warrior signup page.

Last week a tragedy ensued in Sedona Arizona leaving two people dead, three in critical condition and 16 more hospitalized after a sweat lodge experience as part of a multi-day “Spiritual Warrior” self-help seminar. Coverage of the incident has ranged from articles in the New York Times to CNN to TechCrunch.

According to the coverage of the event, up to 60 people took a session in a 1450 cubic foot sweat lodge for about 2 hours on Thursday night. Causes of death are still being speculated upon, and unlike your favorite crime show, may not be known for several months. Some things are known:

• There was no temperature monitoring in the sweat lodge, so no-one really knows how hot it may have been.
• The sweat lodge was constructed from plastic tarps and blankets, and does not appear to be well ventilated. 60 people in such a space could have easily brought the oxygen level below safe limits in under 15 minutes.
• A two hour session is quite long for any kind of heat bath. There is a strong possibility that the participants suffered from dehydration and/or heat stroke in this situation.
• The leader of this ceremony, who should by all rights be responsible for the health and well-being of the participants in the sweat lodge ceremony, had other motives, apparently tweeting after the incident, “JamesARay: is still in Spiritual Warrior… for anything new to live something first must die. What needs to die in you so that new life can emerge?”
• The leader of this ceremony was probably not qualified to run this: “You’ll become privy to techniques that I searched out in the mountains of Peru, the jungles of the Amazon (and a few other places I don’t care to recall).”

How can you avoid being part of this same tragedy? Keep a few things in mind:

• Lots of people are willing to say anything to get you to part with your money, and ritualistic experiences are a part of them. Consult the forums at New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans before signing up for something like this.
• Does the establishment you are going to use to participate in this ceremony have your well-being in mind? If, as Arizona ABC 15 reports, the event is “meant to push people’s personal limits and transcend pain,” but there isn’t a full physical for each participant and a trained medical team standing by, then you can be sure they don’t.
• Heat baths can give real benefits if used with care. However, like most things, if basic common sense is ignored, they can be very dangerous.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="375" caption="Photo of a traditional sweat lodge by matthewvenn on Flickr"][/caption] There is no sacrifice—only greater and more magnificent results, wealth, adventure and fulfillment. James Arthur Ray - On his Spiritual Warrior signup page. Last week a tragedy ensued in Sedona Arizona leaving two people dead, three in critical condition and 16 more hospitalized after a sweat lodge experience as part of a multi-day "Spiritual Warrior" self-help seminar. Coverage of the incident has ranged from articles in the New York Times to CNN to TechCrunch. According to the coverage of the event, up to 60 people took a session in a 1450 cubic foot sweat lodge for about 2 hours on Thursday night. Causes of death are still being speculated upon, and unlike your favorite crime show, may not be known for several months. Some things are known: There was no temperature monitoring in the sweat lodge, so no-one really knows how hot it may have been. The sweat lodge was constructed from plastic tarps and blankets, and does not appear to be well ventilated. 60 people in such a space could have easily brought the oxygen level below safe limits in under 15 minutes. A two hour session is quite long for any kind of heat bath. There is a strong possibility that the participants suffered from dehydration and/or heat stroke in this situation. The leader of this ceremony, who should by all rights be responsible for the health and well-being of the participants in the sweat lodge ceremony, had other motives, apparently tweeting after the incident, "JamesARay: is still in Spiritual Warrior... for anything new to live something first must die. What needs to die in you so that new life can emerge?" The leader of this ceremony was probably not qualified to run this: "You'll become privy to techniques that I searched out in the mountains of Peru, the jungles of the Amazon (and a few other places I don't care to recall)." How can you avoid being part of this same tragedy? Keep a few things in mind: Lots of people are willing to say anything to get you to part with your money, and ritualistic experiences are a part of them. Consult the forums at New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans before signing up for something like this. Does the establishment you are going to use to participate in this ceremony have your well-being in mind? If, as Arizona ABC 15 reports, the event is "meant to push people's personal limits and transcend pain," but there isn't a full physical for each participant and a trained medical team standing by, then you can be sure they don't. Heat baths can give real benefits if used with care. However, like most things, if basic common sense is ignored, they can be very dangerous.