Prior Lake woman is sweat lodge victim

The family of a Minnesota woman who died more than a week after being overcome in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony said Sunday she prided herself on leading a healthy and active life.

[Falcon]

"participants paid between $9,000 and $10,000 to attend"

There is no recession in this country.

[Fred]

I get wanting to be all healthy and what-not but seriously,$9K-$10K for this and other scams like it??? I feel for the family of the victim but there were some other issues with this person other than just wanting to be on a health kick.

Eat healthy, exercise, self control/motivation and patience is all you need. If you have to, get a memebership at a gym if you want to spend money. But for God's sake, be smart and logical about it.

[The Real Whatever]

This is what happens when people mess with elements they do not understand. Native people have been having sweats for hundreds of years, and not had the same results. Why? Because it is done today in the same way it was in the beginning. No deviations. Sounds like this dude took something he didn't know enough about, added his own twist to it, and people died.

[The Big Bopper]

Prayers to the family over the loss of their loved one.

[Larry]

She did it to herself by being stupid.

[monroe]

What is the health condition of these people before they participate? One would think if their in poor health that a sweat lodge ceremony would probably not be the smartest thing to do.

$9-10k? You're right. There is no recession!

[Javier]

Foolishness for anyone in any condition unless you are properly trained for the experience. Your cancelled 9k check does NOT count as proper training.

[fishbach]

It is reported that Mr. Ray said "we have to find out what happed." We read this after reading that "Ray's pricey retreats are meant to push people beyond their physical and emotional limits." Well, there isn't too much to figure out here: Mr. Ray succesfully pushed a number of people beyond their limits. And it seems he makes a lot money doing it. Congratulations, Mr. Ray.

[YesWeCan]

I keep hearing that the victims were "overcome" -- was it carbon monixide poisoning that filled up the sweat lodge? I can't imagine what else it could have been.

[fishbach]

I don't know about "overcome" - I'd say they were over-baked.

[mary]

The reports on TV were that it was carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide. Too many people crowded together in a small space use up the oxygen & we all exhale carbon dioxide. The tightly enclosed space did not have adequate oxygen intake for all the people. Native American sweat lodges use spaces that have adequate air intake & only a few people at a time. Mr. Ray didn't know what he was doing & crowded a bunch of people in there - a get-rich-quick scheme that cost 3 people their lives & injured others. I won't be surprised to see him prosecuted.

[Ted]

Is Oprah going to be charged? She endorsed this clown.

[Conservative observations]

Let's see now, the woman paid $9-10,000 to have some schmuck exploit her interest /feelings about whatever for a "cleansing" experience that could be the death of her and it was. An expensive adventure in many ways for her. Interesting. Apparently, she and the others who left the veil of tears as a result of their sweating did not check out the lack of credentials and required permits that the schmuck operator was lacking. Heck, I am sure that some local folks would have let her use their sauna for less that $9-10,000 in order to get cleansed or whatever.

[JTY]

monroe wrote:

$9-10k? You're right. There is no recession!

I've been told that one person's crazy spending is a great way to judge the nation's economic health.

[Ted]

JTY wrote:

<quoted text>
I've been told that one person's crazy spending is a great way to judge the nation's economic health.

Can you read? It said that 55 to 65 people were in the sweat lodge.

[Incredible70]

"Louis Diesel, an attorney for her family, said appropriate measures were not taken to prevent Neuman's death and that he was planning a lawsuit on their behalf. "She left this world way too soon," he said Sunday. " - she stepping in on her own, and knew what it was. There is no grounds for a lawsuit here. The very fact that she followed this guy shows she wasn't the brightest bulb. If anything, I hope all the rubes she fooled into paying thousands of dollars to come with (she was a leader in his Minneapolis branch, remember?) on this trip sue her estate for their pain and suffering.

[sock]

The whole point of this was to induce hallucination by pushing the body well beyond the normal level of discomfort by using special tecniques. It is inherently dangerous because you might not get the normal danger cues from your body. It's like holding your breath: Few people can hold their breath for even a minute without your lungs seemingly screaming for air. I was taught a technique for holding your breath in free diving - hyperventilation. Done correctly (2-3 hyperventilated breaths) you can hold your breath longer but your lungs will not feel the pain you normally would. Done incorrectly (5+ hyperventilated breaths) you can hold your breath forever - you just black out with zero warning.

[jct]

What's the newest trend?!?-- mother nature's way!

Are you sure she's a minnesotan? sounds like a californian!

[JTY]

Ted wrote:

<quoted text>
Can you read? It said that 55 to 65 people were in the sweat lodge.

So? I just bought a new car, does that change the fact that we have been experiencing quarter after quarter of decreased GDP and job loss.

People paying 10k to sit in a hot room obviously have money to burn, but that has nothing to do with us being in a recession.

[Plymn]

Let's see, she died Saturday and already a lawsuit is being planned? The family must have contacted this ambulance chaser while she was struggling to live. Sorry about their loss but this sure seems like they couldn't wait to cash in.