Hannah Elwell
I took my first class, in 2008 in Leicester, which when Libby Nockles opened it in 2004, was the first Bikram studio outside of London in the UK. I went with my mother one Saturday morning (with a hangover I might add!) and recall walking out of the studio after class, in a complete daze. I couldn’t quite believe what had just happened to me.
I had no idea my body had the capacity to sweat so much and was equally warmed and surprised by a pair of students who so freely and happily started asking how we were and how we found our first class. Little did I know then, that that is one of the many wonderful things about Bikram Yoga – the community of passionate, loving people who really care. I even vividly recall one of the things the teacher Sharan, said to me during that first class – ‘you can do that Hannah’. That also stuck with me long after class and still resonates with me now (thank you Sharan).
My practice is the antithesis to my ‘day job’. I am also a company director of a busy marketing agency. I’m ‘on show’ every day. I’m driving hundreds of miles a week, work 12 hour days and it’s intense. The pace is both my passion and my pain. I can escape to myself for 90 minutes in that hot room. It’s what gives me the energy to keep going, it’s what gives me patience, confidence in my physical self and keeps me sane. It’s my salvation pure and simple.
I’m not sure I can recall exactly when and where I realised that I had to go on training, but having witnessed some of my fellow students taking the leap I knew one day, that had to be me. And so it was, Acapulco Spring 2018. It wasn’t easy to leave daily life behind, it took a lot of organising and planning. But I am forever thankful to my fellow company directors, my wonderful team, my partner and my family who not only made it possible but supported me every step of the way. I loved every moment of those nine weeks of Teacher Training, even the horrid parts!
And now, as the current studio owner to be able to continue to build on the legacy founded by Libby and latterly by Pam White, to provide a place in which people can to practice in a dedicated space, to teach and stand up on that podium and in some small way try to create for someone else the feeling of renewal that I get through this series, is nothing short of a blessing. It’s been my dream and is my greatest honour.
Pam completed her Bikram Teacher Training in Spring 2015 in Thailand.
More to come
Pam White
John Wallsworth
I was in my late 40s when I discovered Bikram Yoga, stuck in a rut, trying to find the strength to turn my back on a mental health nursing career that was making me ill. I fell in love with the simple, inclusive, safe, accessible, radical formula.
Bikram Yoga gave me back my mental health and strength. Bikram Choudhury says himself, ‘it’s never too late, never to bad, never too old, you’re never too sick to start from scratch again.’ I know that through my own journey to be true. So, using my early pension I undertook my teacher training in Spring 2016 in Aamby Valley, India. I see my role as a Bikram Yoga teacher as just as much a vocation as I did my previous career. Bikram Yoga is the far preferable alternative. There are no bad side effects that I know of.
Anna Moir
Anna undertook her Bikram Teacher Training in Spring 2013 in Los Angeles.
More to come
Harry Hewetson
I worked in the trades as a bath-tub restorer for 15 years during which time I started practicing Bikram yoga to help with back problems, obesity and poor overall fitness; it helped immensely with these issues but what surprised me most were the psychological benefits: mental clarity, ability to concentrate and an enormous sense of well-being.
In the spring of 2013 I attended the nine week, residential, Bikram Yoga teacher training course in Los Angeles and have since taught full-time at several studios around the country under the mentorship of various senior teachers.