Our teachers are fully certified Bikram Yoga instructors who spent 9 weeks immersed in an in-depth study of Bikram Yoga with Yoga Masters Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury and their staff of senior teachers. They did 2 classes a day, plus anatomical studies, for 6 days a week, for 9 weeks. The course is the only way to become a qualified Bikram Yoga instructor.
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SHAAN LIM (Studio Director)
My story of this yoga began in summer 2005 when I was referred to it by a good friend of mine. My first class was a torture! However I felt amazing after the first class and kept going back for more ‘torture’. I didn’t know why I kept going back, but after every class I always felt a great sense of achievement, and a good sense of well being. Through my years of growing up, I always wanted to help people. I was always amazed at how the Bikram teachers taught; how much compassion they had for the students and I wanted to be just like them; to be able to help others achieve great health, to be able to help make the weak, strong again. I practiced Bikram yoga everyday and finally decided to go to teacher training in 2007 in Hawaii and have never looked back since.
Sometimes, I wonder if my struggle in the hot room resembled something in life. It was never easy, always hard…but now I know. The secret lies in the power of Bikram Yoga revealed through daily practice. I wake up everyday feeling so energized and ready for anything that comes my way! Now, as a Bikram Certified Instructor, my goal is to help people establish their Bikram Yoga practice, improve and heal their lives, regain their health and faith in themselves.
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JESSICA LOERA
I first tried Bikram yoga here in Melbourne when looking for a new exercise routine. I found it very challenging, but liked the sense of accomplishment that I got after every class, so stuck with it. I soon was looking for an even bigger challenge and decided to go to Teacher Training -- just to see if I could do it.
I completed my training in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2007. I swear that it's the hardest thing I've ever done, but maintain, that it was even more worth it than I could have ever imagined. During training, I realized that They were right- the intensive training regimen was truly a nine-week course is self-discovery.
Through the years, I have become much more self-actualized and have also come to realize that Bikram yoga is so much more than just a physical workout, that it truly is a personal journey of the body, mind and spirit. Bikram Yoga teaches us that through faith, self-control, concentration, determination and patience we truly begin to develop our foundation of mental strength.
The most rewarding thing about being an instructor, is that I can now help other people to find their own true calling and to heal themselves through a consistent Bikram yoga practice. It's hard to hide anything from yourself when you strip your mind bare and spend 90 minutes in a blistering-hot room. A person learns very quickly that excuses don't help and that only through 100% honest effort can you realize your goals (both inside and outside of the hot room).
I'm happy to be doing something that I love. I can travel the world and teach class and help people to help themselves, while still learning more about myself every day. Through Bikram yoga, I have found contentment, happiness and health and I feel the best I've ever felt in my life.
"Trying the right way, giving 100 percent sincere effort, gives you 100 percent of the benefit, even if you can only do a posture 1 percent correctly! Never give up. Never slack off. It is only through disciplined willpower that physical health, mental peace and Self-Realization can be achieved." (Bikram Choudry)
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MIKA NISHIMURA
My yoga journey started in Spring 2006 when I was studying in Salt Lake, Utah. Coming from an aerobics/fitness background, I thought yoga was too calm, too quiet, not challenging enough. But Bikram yoga totally changed my image towards yoga. It was hot, sweaty, teacher talking non stop, challenging. I fell in love with it immediately.
During my first class I decided to go to teacher training and take this back to Japan where I am originally from. I completed my teacher training in Los Angeles 2006. Since then I've been traveling and teaching. I love the fact that Bikram yoga is for everyone, no matter what age, size, shape you are, no matter how strong, flexible, inflexible you are.
I want to share this yoga with as many people as I can, and want my students to realize that they are capable of doing much more than what they think they can.
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T.C. TAI
My earliest exposure to the world of Bikram yoga was in early 2006. I
had just returned from travelling and working overseas and had plenty of
time to kill whilst I was in between jobs. I have exercised all my life
but have been vulnerable to the cold since I was a young child, so the
combination of exercise and heat seemed like the perfect solution for
me. I survived through my first 90-minute class and fell in love with
the practice immediately.
Fortunately for my bank account, I was offered a position in an office
environment a fortnight after my first class and commenced my life as a 9 to 5 desk slave. Unfortunately
for my budding Bikram practice, my yoga was put on hiatus due to lack of
transport and commute time.
Luckily for me, fate brought Bikram yoga back into my life towards the
end of 2006 and I was able to resurrect my love affair with the
practice. I appreciate Bikram yoga for the physical strength I have
gained from a regular practice and for meeting the amazingly dedicated
individuals who turn up to class day-in and day-out. Bikram yoga became
the perfect medium for me to develop mental discipline plus the
after-class peace became a vital refuge for my hectic life in the public
service.
I decided in mid-2009 to attend the Bikram yoga teacher training so that
I could incorporate the practice further into my life. I also wanted to share
my passion and belief in the benefits of this yoga to as many
like-minded people as possible.
I have since successfully completed my training in Fall 2009 and am
thoroughly enjoying the balance of working, teaching and practicing. As
Bikram says "yoga is all around you", so I look forward to living a life
filled with yoga and watching those that come to Bikram yoga with open
hearts reap the maximum rewards this practice has to offer. |
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Eleanor Kathryn Xu
Years before yoga, I was dancing ballet and figure skating until I developed a chronic pain on my right leg that eventually made me sadly reconsider any future of it. I decided to continue on to finish my bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering which I was studying concurrently. My first introduction to yoga came 5 years after, at the time when I was burning out, stressed and working up to 14 hours a day. It was for a regular hot yoga class and I enjoyed it.
I then explored various kinds of yoga for a year before I first heard of Bikram Yoga. My yoga teacher told me about it when he encouraged me to join the first Singapore Bikram Yoga competition on November 2007. I was very reluctant at first since I knew absolutely nothing about Bikram Yoga and with only a month to prepare. He eventually convinced me to join and helped me prepare for the competition. By a very surprising twist of fate, I managed to get first place!! Things were never the same after... Three days later, I was invited by the studio director of Bikram Yoga City Hall to try a class in her studio. I went the following day and left the studio feeling very sore, exhausted and practically dragged myself out but at the same time I never felt so light, happy and at peace. I loved it! I felt I discovered something, that couldn't be fully described using words. Every day I returned to practice and each time, I keep discovering more and more, even till today… My daily practice goes beyond physical challenge.. it reconnected me to everything, to everyone, to LIFE and LIVING.. I have gained better and deeper understanding of every part of me, from bones to skin.. mind and.. heart. The best part, the pain on my right leg was gone after 6 months!
After almost a year of practice, I knew I want to share it with others too, help them rediscover and unlock that part in them that was lost. I joined the teacher’s training on the Fall of 2008, was certified and taught my first class 6 days after. I love teaching. Teaching is a practice, a challenge in a completely different way but there’s so much beauty and soul into it. I feel most fulfilled when students share their experiences, how much the yoga has helped them in the different areas in their lives. I feel privileged to see how far students have come from where I first met them, witnessing their breakthroughs. There’s no breakthrough too small for the person who made it. Each one significantly changes our next practice.
I have been teaching since and never looked back. I know I will always be doing this and will never let it go.. |
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Erika Stephenson
I always had a very poor immune system growing up and suffered with severe tonsillitis. After finally having my tonsils removed in 2009, I decided it was also about time I got my health back on track! It was then that I was encouraged by a close friend of mine (who is also a teacher) to try Bikram Yoga.
My first class was certainly overwhelming, but I loved it! Even after doing just one class, I immediately felt the benefits. As I went on and did more and more classes, I slowly became addicted to this yoga and how it left me feeling! My skin started to glow, my sleeping patterns improved greatly and I no longer suffered neck or back pain, which had always been an issue for me due to working on a computer all day. After practicing for only 8 months, my health had improved tremendously. I could honestly say that I felt like a whole new person! This was when I decided to become a Bikram Yoga Teacher. I attended the Spring 2010 Teacher Training in Las Vegas, which was without doubt the hardest but most rewarding experience I have ever been through. Of course there were days that I thought I could not go on, but our mantra was to “trust the process” and so that I did. I never imagined that three little words could mean so very much. Sometimes we simply have to just let go, trust the process of life and have faith in ourselves. I learnt to believe in myself and found strength inside me that I never even knew existed. I believe we all have the power to achieve self-realization. Now I hope to inspire others through Bikram Yoga and motivate them to change their lives as I have mine. I am so enthused when I speak of Bikram Yoga to my family, friends and people I meet and try to encourage as many as I can to give it a try. I hope to share my experience and pass on what I have learnt to my students, so that they too have the ability to heal their mind, body and spirit. I truly feel honored to be able to teach this miraculous yoga practice! |
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