While the whole scenario seems a little far-fetched, the brazen use of star appeal in an Oct. 5 invitation to a new yoga studio is intriguing enough to investigate — just in case.

As it turns out, not only are there no Hollywood celebs at the grand opening of the Bikram Yoga studio, but by the time I finally find the place, most of the catered munchies are gone, too. Sadly, there is no beer.

Even finding the studio proves to be a problem. Many of the buildings along Karolíny Světlé aren't clearly marked, and on this night there is no sign of fanfare along the desolate street, nothing at all to indicate there is a party going on. I end up passing the studio twice before realizing it isn't a shuttered bank.

Stumbling through the front door, down a long hallway and up a rather precarious, unlit staircase, I finally find a sea of people packed like sardines inside the tiny yoga center, which is painted a blinding mixture of pink, red and white. Dozens of primly dressed guests, many clutching flutes of champagne with strawberries, spill from one room to the next. It is hard to walk two feet (.6 meters) without colliding into someone. The air is stifling.

Bikram, as I soon find out, is an intense form of yoga that is practiced in rooms heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius). Evidently the Prague studio is trying to give future patrons a feel of what they can expect during class.

All I care about, though, is the glitz and glamour that I've trekked across town to see. Where is the Material Girl? David Duchovny? Anyone worth getting an autograph from?

Tereza Bonnet-Šenková, the studio's co-owner, is flitting about in a form-fitting silver gown and seems annoyed when I finally corner her, and perplexed with my questions. However, I am insistent that she explain why she plastered her invite with a bunch of star-studded names if she never planned to deliver the goods.

"Yoga is a very successful thing in the world," Bonnet-Šenková stammers, nervously eyeing my notebook. She explains that she included the celebrities on the invite not because they would be there, but as examples of folks around the world who practice Bikram yoga.

Bonnet-Šenková did manage, however, to rein in one big-name party guest: P.S. Raghavan, the ambassador of India. He is standing directly behind me, amid a crowd of admirers, and I worm my way up to the front of the pack.

Smiling, he turns to me. I ask why he decided to attend this soirée; is he friends with one of the owners?

"Where did yoga originate from?" he counters. India, of course. Is that why he's here? Raghavan, who has been stationed in the Czech Republic for the past two years, nods before explaining he is actually only stopping by on his way to a dinner engagement elsewhere in the city.

When I tell him I came late and missed his speech, Raghavan is kind enough to repeat it for me. I don't even have to ask.