I have been studying Bikram Yoga for three years, beginning in Dallas and now at Still Hot Yoga for nine months. Yoga is a life and spirit enhancement for me. With the guidance that I am receiving from S.H.Y. it is both challenging and soothing. It is the simplicity of the instruction and no rush approach I find so attractive. Having a many year professional dance background, I am learning how to direct that same energy and focus into my yoga practice. In so many ways, the practice reminds me of how dancers are trained (minus the pressure. LOL) That is what makes practicing at this studio so rewarding, NO PRESSURE… S.H.Y. is a wonderful place to study and practice. There is a sincere welcoming at the studio. Time to speak and get to know the instructors, chat with newly made friends and get your YOGA ON! -Thank you Eric for saying TAKE YOUR TIME GETTING INTO THE POSTURE… -Thank you Nicole for that Eartha Kitt twang in your voice… “I’m not in the mood for your win’en today….” -Thank you Andy for allowing us to TWERK OUT BEFORE standing head to knee! -Thank you Cleveland for reminding me WHY we do this… because it’s COOL! -Thank you Randy for TOUCH IT!!!!! TOUCH IT TOUCH IT!!!!

Age: 69: to celebrate my 69th birthday, the same daughter encouraged me to “do a double” –two 90 minute classes back to back, and the class cheered. By this time, along with a new way of eating, I was already losing weight and no longer had to wear shoes with “good arch supports”. And to make things even more fun, sometimes my two granddaughters would join my daughter and me for a class… 4 of us, 3 generations in a row. We also signed up for several special workshops taught by renowned guest teachers, learning more each time. Age 71: by now I could straighten my formerly arthritic arms up beside my ears, do a decent back bend in Half-Moon and Camel, touch my nose almost to my knee in Standing-Head-to-Knee, and even see the top of my toes over my head in Standing-Bow. So proud, and feeling so much better! Every day I was thanking my daughter for encouraging me to not be afraid to try this.Age 72: to celebrate my 72nd birthday I checked into Piedmont Hospital for a total hip replacement. Practicing yoga did not cause this; suddenly a previously undiagnosed congenital hip dysplasia changed my mobility completely. Thankfully I came through the surgery splendidly, and returned to my yoga practice after only 6 weeks. The orthopedic surgeon and physical therapists discharged me from their care almost immediately, and credited my yoga practice with my swift recovery. Upon return to my wonderful 10:00 class and friends I had to be patient. But each day I am able to do more toward building back the mobility in my new bionic hip, and mending the muscles and nerves in that thigh. The future: I am so grateful to have increased my flexibility, balance, muscle tone and core strength! I intend to practice this yoga as long as I am able. As the saying goes; “ it is never too late, it’s never too bad, and you’re never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again”. Don’t be afraid to give it a try. Join me, won’t you?

I am a Bikram Yoga Decatur enthusiast. I’ve been practicing here for about four years, but over the last 18 mos have been attending 3-6 days a week (when in town). Why, one might ask, go into a hot box for an exacting routine that starts the sweat flowing within the first few minutes? A bit about me: I’m 68 years old and a retired physician in public health with CDC (including a year in Switzerland with WHO), DeKalb County and the State of Georgia (my last job was as the state health officer for 3 years). I know from these years that most of health depends on healthy behaviors, particularly physical activity. I was a wrestler in high school and my first two years of college (injury shortened my career), so I am familiar with hard physical exercise. I am interested in anatomy or how the body is put together and works. I enjoy the heat and sweat (and chill) of a sauna. I even built a wood-fired sauna in my back yard in Atlanta. So you can see some aspects of Bikram are naturally appealing. I greatly enjoy my experience at Bikram Yoga Decatur. I am always improving, so that is rewarding in itself. I will never make the cover page of a yoga magazine, but the continual improvement is a part of what Bikram Yoga is all about – always room for improvement, regardless of where you are. I enjoy the challenge of the same routine every practice because it allows me to observe the changes in my body and my mind – some days are not good and other days it’s a pleasure. I also enjoy the discipline of the Bikram method as taught at the Decatur studio (not rigid, but an effort to get everyone participating in postures at the same time). Finally, this studio has many different teachers, each of whom brings their own approach to practice and each has an area of interest that they stress in particular postures. (Plus they are all enjoyable people after class.) I have greatly improved my fitness and have lost more than 25 pounds with this practice. (I had to have all my trousers taken in to fit the new Stu!) I also travel a lot, so the fact that Bikram studios are located throughout the US (and I understand also in Europe) is a great plus. I look up my destination on line and have been able to attend practice most cities I visit. Typically they have multiple offerings, so I can fit a practice into my schedule of tourism, family time and other activities. In the last year, I have practiced at studios in Baltimore MD, Fort Collins CO, Santa Rosa CA, and Seattle WA. This is a pleasure in itself because each has their own philosophy and a unique set of instructors who emphasize different things. Sometimes they give me a lot of attention because I’ll “..only get their instruction for a few days”; other times they welcome me as though I was a routine student. At each out of town studio, one or more instructors have noted my discipline in practice, reflecting well, they say, on my home studio.

I stepped into my first class 5 years ago. After the first week I was convinced that yoga needed to be a part of my daily routine. I am thankful for all the wonderful BYD instructors and practitioners who foster an environment so conducive to all levels of growth.