shawna
jeavons
I have been studying dance
and physical movement and alignment since age eight.
I have always been fascinated
by the body, how it physically moves and ways
to maintain optimum health and feel great!
In Fall 2005 I decided to attend my first yoga instructor
course. I graduated from yoga instructor training to
teach hot yoga in November of 2005 and began teaching
the very next day!
I studied under Bikrram Choudroy
in Beverly Hills. My training was an intensive
three-month program. It felt
like a year packed into a short time period!
I have a love of all movement
and hatha yoga. I particularly fell in love with
this series because it makes you
feel so good and one can accomplish a lot in a
relatively short time. The 90-minute series I
teach is like an
all over body-mind tune up. So no matter what
ails you when you come to class, it will get worked.
This
is unlike other classes where one day the teacher
might decide to work hips and another day shoulders,
so if
you show up with a tense neck or back you feel
like you have missed out. EVERYONE benefits from
this series.
EVERTHING gets worked in EVERY class. The focus is the entire body, head to toe, bones to skin. I also like that it is practiced in a HOT room.
My area of study prior to teaching yoga was skin
care, so any time you sweat, you are working the
LARGEST
ORGAN in your body, the skin! It's great. The series
tones your muscles, engages your mind
and
reaches every ligament, tendon and bone, as well
as every organ and organ relationship.
Kim Ersan |
kim ersan
My hot yoga training started in the Bikram Yoga Ukiah in 2004. After my first class, I realized that it had made a huge difference in my skin. It was smoother, the color and tone improved and my skin looked clear and radiant. I also felt better, happier. This motivated me to continue. Since I didn’t realize it should be a daily practice, I only went sporadically—once or twice a month for about five years.
In March of this year, I was searching for a method to break a smoking habit and realized I needed to get away. I made a call to my yoga teacher in Ukiah, and found out that a Bikram Teacher Training class was starting the next day. I needed a letter from her and a release from my doctor. The next day I was in Palm Desert and had signed up for a nine-week training in the hot desert.
Bikram taught the majority of the classes. Our demanding schedule with little sleep proved to me that yoga is like a gas station to the body. It rejuvenates. With yoga and quality nutrition you can become a brand new human being. I also realized how important the daily practice is—at minimum three times a week. When I finished the training, I said, “I’m going to go out and teach this stuff because it’s so powerful. It’s life changing.” So I am here at Hot Yoga Willits to encourage myself as well as others.
I also realize that tradition and lineage are important. Paramahansa Yogananda, a world renowned Yogi and spiritual master, was the guru and older brother of Bishnu Ghosh who later became Bikram’s guru and teacher. Bishnu Ghosh was the first to bring the ancient science of Hatha Yoga from the sages and holy men to average people. Bikram took the next step. He put this twenty-six posture sequence together with Pranayama breathing at the beginning and Kapalbhati in Vajrasana breathing at the end as a way to heal as well as tone the body. Through this yoga he healed people’s ailments in India. Each new teacher must memorize the Bikram dialogue verbatim. I see this as a prescription passed from teacher to student and therefore I don’t change the dialogue.
After becoming a certified Nutritionist in 1992 and after many years helping people balance their body chemistry, I have been able to see the benefits of combining Bikram hot yoga with the nutrition. Hot yoga addresses all levels—the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Hot yoga and nutrition together rebuild the whole person. The nutrition makes sure the pieces and parts are available, while hot yoga delivers them to the correct address. How powerful!
kat macmillan
 |
My initial introduction to yoga came from the book The Sivananda Guide to Yoga. I would practice alone in the garden in the mornings. Soon after that I started to study dance and noticed that when a dance teacher began class with a Vinyasa yoga warm up, I felt much stronger. Finally I was able to connect! Moving wasn’t just about alignment but also strength!
I began to study yoga intensively with Sharon Gannon and David Life at Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City. Through them I was introduced to Jivamukti style (flow yoga) and Ashtanga Vinyasa. I love the passion and philosophy woven into a Jivamukti class—making it seem like meditation and dance at the same time. Chanting in Sanskrit and including sound and music in class also inspires me greatly.
In 2001 I began to practice Mysore style Ashtanga yoga and had the privilege to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. He created the series of postures that I practice now. I also studied with Christopher Hildebrandt & Guy Donahaye in New York and other amazing teachers such as Maria Rubinate, Barbara Verrochi, Mark Whitwell, David Swenson, Shiva Rea.
Alison West of Yoga Union in New York City taught me how to teach. Through her I learned that one style of yoga is not necessarily right for all bodies at all times. She inspired me to surrender to the exploration, always keeping a sense of humor. "It’s only yoga!"
My yoga practice is the rope that keeps everything tied together, weaving itself in and out through years, life changes and body shifts. It is the key to my journey back to my Self and to each present moment.
