From: Virginia Beach, Virginia USA

Started practicing Bikram Yoga: I opened an Ashtanga yoga studio in 2012, but Ashtanga was a hard sell in the community, attendance was low and I missed lively, spirited classes full of people. Usually after my class I would start my practice in the studio alone, I was working with a shoulder and a hamstring injury so I was not getting much done and very little exercise out of it. I heard there was a new Bikram yoga studio in town and I wanted to check it out. I loved that it was a disciplined set series like Ashtanga and I LOVED hot classes! So, on a random Wednesday afternoon in 2013 that’s where I went for my daily practice. That became my routine, after teaching and closing up my studio I went across town to the other. To say I liked the Bikram Yoga practice from day one would be an understatement. I loved it with every part of my being. My heart pounding again and sweat dripping from every pore was pure elation. My injuries started to heal and the pain disappeared. I felt like all my previous yoga practice and study was just preparation for this new chapter in my life.

Favourite Posture: Dandayamana Dhanurasana (Standing Bow Pulling Pose). It’s the best posture for me to find mental clarity and learn something about myself. Balancing, twisting, back bending, kicking and stretching all at the same time is enough to completely silence anything else going on and I get a true measure of who I am right then and there. I love that, even when it’s not great, I know what I’m working with for the day.

Why practice Bikram Yoga:

In 2014 as the owner and only teacher at my studio, I was getting tired, and my interest in it was really waning. I lost three family members that year; my father to a heart attack, my father in law to cancer, and my Guru, my maternal Grandmother who was 92. I was so very sad, rarely sober, had no energy to teach, and closed my studio. I am so lucky to have an amazing husband and three daughters who support and love me. With that support I was able to just be a student and practice almost daily, working myself out of the deep dark hole that was 2014. The Bikram studio was my mental and physical therapy. In 2016 I attended teacher training. It was such an emotional and challenging experience. There were a lot of us going through some big things, but as I’ve found, many other people also find this yoga the BEST therapy. That’s why I love it, and that’s how I know I will practice it for the rest of my life.

In 2020 when Covid hit, our beloved studio closed for good. I got creative like many others and brought space heaters into my bathroom with the shower running and Bikram on YouTube. I blew a breaker almost every single time. As we made our way back to normalcy in 2021 I started reaching out to everyone I could find from our studio. We are a small yet dedicated group! We gathered at a few different places until I decided to just put the heaters and humidifiers up in my garage! There I host practice alongs where we listen to audio classes, interact with teachers over Zoom, and I’m teaching again. We call ourselves the Garage Yogis. I find it a fitting name. Like mechanics, we’re always working on something.