Just starting out with an idea I have been playing with for awhile about posting ideas and chatting about Bikram Yoga in different studios around the country. I travel for a living and get to experience so many different places and people and would like to meet more of the hot yoga addicts online. Let me know what you think about the studios in your city. Tell me why there isn't a place to do Bikram in yours! How much do you practice? Who is your favorite teacher and why? How do you feel during class and after class?
One of my questions to whomever might know is why why why is there no Bikram in Cleveland? I mean, I grew up near there and it isn't my favorite place on earth but really, not ONE studio! I was just in Detroit and there are two within 30 miles of Detroit which is much ickier than Cleveland! What would someone need to open a studio within driving distance of say Avon or Lakewood, both decent size towns with people who are health minded and open to different ideas about health. And we all know that people do have to be open minded to the idea of yoga let alone yoga in 105 degree temperatures! I have gotten one or two friends to try it over the 4 years I have been practicing but everyone else I hang out with and work with (so that list is actually mostly the same people but....) think I am insane to enjoy it the way I do. I have woken up at 5 am for a 6 am class because it was the only class I could get to that day! I think the studios do an awesome job of trying to get people to try it. Almost every studio offers a first class or first week special. The studio I am in currently in New Smyrna Beach was $10 for the first class and the second class was free, then I did $45 a week for unlimited classes which is a really good price. Most studios offer specials only to locals but sometimes offer to all.
So speaking of the New Smyrna Beach studio in Florida's Atlantic coast,(www.bikramyogansb.com) it is a very nice kind of intimate studio. It is kept very clean, NO sweat smell at all. I think I have had a different teacher at each class and they are all very concise on their oration. One or two have offered more advice than others. I like the tips they give and anything that alleviates the tension that builds. I like it when I can smile at something a teacher says and it makes the pose seem easier to hold. The studio has two bathrooms and an outdoor hose for showering but since it is not enclosed you have to shower clothed which is still often nice and refreshing! This studio has a nice amount of clothing and beverages and both cold and room temp water which is nice. They are affiliated with the Port Orange, FL Bikram studio but I have not gone there for a class at all, maybe later in the week.
I do have a couple of favorite studios around the country that I would like to mention and see if I get any feedback on them, first and foremost would be Funky Door Bikram in San Fransisco (www.funkydoor.com). Great studio, awesome teachers and so many classes you can find one that fits your schedule. Then the studio in Baltimore (www.bikramyogahampden.com) which is clean and beautifully new, very relaxing and some awesome teachers, arghhh, I think the one who was my favorite was a young man named David? Anyway, he was youthful and totally into teaching, giving his energy to the whole room. Toronto (www.bikramyogacentre.com) is fantastic! Clean, great schedule, a solid floor instead of carpeting. Nice area to wait for class or recuperate after class. Paul was the first teacher I had there and was so fun to listen to, he is an actor and his speaking voice is great. he also did a little relaxing talk after class while in savasana that helped to sink into the floor and recuperate.
I will think more about my favorites and what made them that cool! Please send me any thought you have!
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