Teachers
Kat Kelley-Chung
I have always dreamed of opening a yoga studio since teaching my first Hatha Yoga class in December 2001. My very first student, Nancy, said to me, “I am 70 years old. I have tried all kinds of stuff and people keep saying they are going to fix me. Are you going to fix me?” Thinking to myself, “Wow, this is not what I expected in a yoga student”, I replied, “What’s wrong with you?” She laughed, slapped me on the back and said she thought we would get along great. We did, but after six months, Nancy decided she wanted to try something else. She had noticed some positive change with the yoga, she seemed more relaxed and her body had opened up in ways she had not expected, but it was not happening fast enough. Nancy wanted to be “fixed”. I was very sad when Nancy left. This relationship, as well as all my various students and classes proved to be as much a part of my training as the actual course work. My dream of a studio had become eclipsed with the exploration of teaching.
I had been teaching yoga for about three years when I discovered Bikram and was hooked. I really came to appreciate (and witness in others) the rapid effect Bikram yoga has on the body and mind. In April 2005, after nine months of watching this yoga “fix” people, I left for Los Angeles to endure the nine week long teacher training at Bikram Yoga College of India. My hope was to someday bring this yoga to my hometown; my dream had resurfaced. I started teaching Bikram Yoga the day after I got back from training. I have taught at all the Maryland studios and have received so much support from the Bikram community here. It has been really heartwarming.
My journey continues to unfold, sometimes in the most surprising and mysterious ways. My practice has gone through many twists and turns. I continue to seek the balance of effort and ease, both in my practice and in my life. Teaching yoga is as therapeutic for me as the practice itself.
Bringing the dream I had almost eight years ago to life has been a long, arduous process, even so, whatever I have needed along the way the universe has presented. I am so proud to finally announce the opening of Bikram Yoga Columbia! I look forward to seeing your “happy, smiling face”, at our studio!
Love, Light & Laughter!
—Kat, Director, Bikram Yoga Columbia
Nikki Gordon
Nikki started practicing Bikram Yoga seven years ago as she tried to recover from a major hip injury. For three years she struggled after dislocating her hip and separating her pelvis. A former long distance runner, she kept pushing herself too hard and re-injuring it. “By twenty one I thought my athletic career was over. I couldn’t walk without pain,” she says. She credits Bikram Yoga with her recovery, “I was able to receive the benefits and heal my hip. The yoga helped teach me about limits, and changed my all-or-nothing mentality”.
“In life, people are on edge, everybody’s mind is going a mile a minute; but yoga makes you stop. In our society taking time out for meditation is not realistic. But with Bikram it’s a moving meditation, and we can get our physical benefit as well as our mental at the same time.”
Nikki has a Masters degree in Applied Healing Arts from the Tai Sophia Institute and has been certified as a nutrionist from the School of Integrative Nutrition.
Iram Weaver
Iram Weaver has practiced yoga for about seven years, beginning with Anusara and relaxation yoga. A public school teacher at the time, she was looking for a way to reduce stress, and yoga was her answer. “The practice served as an outlet to release tension. In class, the only person that mattered was myself, not the students, administrators, colleagues, etc.. Hatha yoga is me-time, just me and the mirror.”
In Bikram yoga, she found a more complete practice. “I started practicing Bikram yoga in 2005. While the other disciplines helped me feel more relaxed, they did not offer relief for my arthritis and lower back pain. Bikram yoga does. I believe in the health benefits so much so that in Fall 2008 I enrolled in the Bikram Yoga College of India teacher training program.”
Additionally, she found Bikram yoga compelling for another reason, “Bikram yoga is an oral tradition. One night in lecture, Bikram told us that the 26 hatha asanas are carried out exactly the same way his guru taught them to him. Another guru taught the asanas to Bikram’s guru. The yoga lineage goes back several generations.
“Bikram’s guru taught people that the mind and mental stress are responsible for most of the body’s physical ailments. Today, we hear and read a lot about the link between stress and health. Bikram’s Guru made the link 75 years ago.”
Iram is one of the first students that BYC sent to teacher training, and we are proud to have her on the team. She began teaching at Bikram Yoga Columbia immediately upon graduation from teacher training in 2008.
Lynne Bretschneider
I started practicing Bikram yoga in September of 2006 because I needed a new workout. I became bored with my routine and wasn’t excited about my Monday gym class options. Bikram was going to be my Monday workout routine. The practice soon proved to be much more than a workout, and more of a daily practice than just a Monday routine. Since I was doing this new thing everyday, I felt I needed to know everything there is to know about Yoga and Yoga Philosophy and meditation.
After a year of practicing, I left Baltimore for the warm, sunny beaches of Hawaii for 9 weeks to undergo the intensive Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. It took me a couple months to muster up the courage to teach. I’ve been teaching since June of 2008 and absolutely love it.
In addition to teaching yoga, I’ve been a massage therapist for 8 years. I’ve worked at spas, gyms, another yoga studio, and even traveled to clients’ houses. With my time at Bikram Yoga Columbia increasing, I am now taking clients here! I’ve found it so beneficial to see where a student holds his/her tension in class and know exactly what I need to do when they come in for a massage. I offer a variety of modalities, but frequently incorporate what I’ve learned along the way to tailor each massage to an individual’s needs.
Please contact me with any questions or to set up an appointment. I’ll see you in class and look forward to working with you on a more personal level in the massage room!