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| I'm going to be attending this April too. I have to admit I have my concerns. I've heard the horror stories about the yelling, the crying, the offensive behavior. I haven't talked much to people who left the program or who felt ripped off by it though. The truth is, I believe in the series and the heat, i've seen what it does for me and for other people, and although Bikram's behavior inside the studio and out is often in question, I think the series is what's important. The yoga is good.
I would like those who posted about the training being just about learning the dialogue to tell me more. My understanding is that the dialogue is mailed to students in advance, and that it is understood that it's in the students' best interest to memorize it before training, because there is no time during class to do so. I don't have a problem with memorization, so that's what I'm going to do. If class time is spent going over the dialogue by rote, that would be troublesome for me. Any further information about this?
I'm going with the dorm accommodations. They're expensive, but I don't have a car and don't want to have to worry about transportation. I'll be too worried about other things. I'm 33 and don't enjoy living in close quarters with other people, but I've decided that this is all part of the challenge, and that I'll be more immersed this way. The more I hear about the program, the more it sounds like I'm going to feel as if I'm on a reality TV show!
I'm going into this thinking that being a teacher would be good, but I'm not pinning my hopes on it. I'm sure my practice will deepen, and I'm sure I'll know by the end of training if it's something I really want to do. I like the idea of teaching but won't be broken-hearted if it doesn't work out. That said, all of the studios in my area seem to be doing great!!! Packed classes in many of them. Depends on where you are I guess, but Bikram's popularity does seem to be growing, not waning.
Keep posting, I'd love to hear responses.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
  
Location: A Blue State | pigeonsailor - 2005-02-24 9:46 PM
I would like those who posted about the training being just about learning the dialogue to tell me more. My understanding is that the dialogue is mailed to students in advance, and that it is understood that it's in the students' best interest to memorize it before training, because there is no time during class to do so. I don't have a problem with memorization, so that's what I'm going to do. If class time is spent going over the dialogue by rote, that would be troublesome for me. Any further information about this?
I can only tell you what Bikram instructors have told me about the dialog, since I'm not
a Bikram instructor. I've heard from several of them that today's training involves endless
hours spent listening to everybody practice the dialog and working on memorizing it. I think
that you should get input from some of the [many] people who have done the training
and been dissatisfied, in addition to listening to those who have done well with it.
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| If nothing has changed, this is what you can expect at training:
9:30 - 11:15 - Yoga
11:30 - 12:30 - Lunch break
12:30 - 4:15 - Sometimes lecture (i.e. anatomy or a speaker); usually posture clinic
4:30 - 6:00 - Yoga
6:00 - 7:00 - Dinner break
7:00 - 10:00 or 11:00 or 12:00 or later - Sometimes lecture; usually posture clinic
Times are rough estimates. Sometimes yoga practice goes longer, sometimes not. Sometimes the lecture is started on time, lots of times not. Sometimes you get to leave early (rarely, but it happens), sometimes you have to stay really late.
We had about 300 people in our training. We were divided into groups for posture clinics. Depending on the day, there were 2-3 different areas where posture clinics were held. In posture clinic, you have 3 teacher trainees doing the posture while another teacher trainee attempts to recite the dialogue perfectly. The "students" rotate until each student has recited the posture(s) for that day. With 300 students and 26 asanas, you can imagine how long this can take. There are some days where you have 2 postures to recite. The posture clinics are supervised by Bikram teachers, who keep track of and "grade" your performance. If your "grades" aren't satisfactory midway through the training, you must take a "mid-term".
Hope this answers your question adequately. Some people love training, others hate it. It's totally an individual thing. |
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| How can I get in touch with the [many] people who have been dissatisfied? I've been scouring the Internet for such things and can't seem to find a whole lot. Thanks! |
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| pigeonsailor,
I guess you should ask your, why do you want to teach Bikram yoga? If your desire is to become a full time teacher and be totally dedicated to the Bikram system, then perhaps the training holds something for you. Do keep in mind that as with any yoga system is hard to be a full time instructor.
Competetion is fierce amoung the instructors for classes and there are lots of certified teachers in Bikram. Also teaching Bikram limits you to teaching only in Bikram schools(as Bikram does not allow his yoga to be taught anywhere else). There is also significant liabilty in being a Bikram teacher as he has a habit of bringing litigation towards people that displease him.
While Bikram is still popular, in my area the trend is certainly waning. Now that the economy is not so good, the yoga business is definately taking a hit. There are Bikram schools that are either closed or closing soon in the bay area.
You will more then likely not be able to become a full time teacher at first and live off it unless it is your studio and teach the bulk of the classes. Being a full time teacher expect to teach upwards of 12-15 classes per week. Being a studio owner especially at first you more often then not you will teach more. Myself I do over 25 classes a week with privates.
If you are willing to spend the time, money and work very hard to get a return on the amount you are about to spend, then I say GO FOR IT! Being a yoga teacher is one of the hardest jobs you will ever love.
My cat's mom,
just a question. Is Bikram even teaching at the trainings? I have heard that he himself no longer leading the training anymore. Is that true? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 418
Location: New York | My Cat's Mom and I attended the same training and her description is really good. It doesn't, however, quite capture the sights, sounds, and smells of Bikram yoga teacher training. She is also correct in stating that whether you love or hate it is totally individual. I am one of those who had an extremely negative reaction on a visceral level to many aspects of the training. I'm not going to go into the details of exactly why on the forum because I don't want to get into a super negative mode here, but if you'd like, you can send me a PM and we can chat about it.
Given 3 years of distance though (I went in Spring 2002) I can be a little bit more objective. A lot of what I didn't like was due to my emotional reactions but, speaking more objectively, I also think that we just didn't get the opportunity to learn a lot about yoga. The bulk of our time was spent sitting in the posture clinics, watching others deliver their dialogue and waiting for our own turns to deliver it. Some of the outside lecturers were good, some weren't. And Bikram's lectures . . . . I'll just say that I found it difficult to access the nuggets of wisdom that I'm sure were there.
I've been teaching Bikram yoga for 3 years and I'm grateful to have found it 4 years ago because it got me started on my path of discovering yoga, which I love. That path is now leading away from Bikram. At one time I taught about 10 classes per week, which, for me, is WAY too many. I cannot imagine being in that hot room for 15 classes per week. I now teach 5, soon to be 4 because I'm giving one up in about a month (I teach unheated yoga and other forms of group fitness classes as well) and I plan to phase out of Bikram totally over the next year or so. I'm a little bored with the series, but mostly I'm starting to dislike practicing yoga in a very hot room.
But that's me. And as MCM said, it is an individual path. My advice for anyone attending training is to try to totally suspend judgment and go with the flow. I swam upstream for nine weeks and almost drowned.  |
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| yogabrien,
I don't know how much Bikram is participating these days. It probably depends on his travel schedule, which might vary from training to training. It was my understanding, though, that he would not have training during times of heavy travel. In 2002, you were never sure when he was going to pop his head in. Sometimes he taught the afternoon classes and he did a handful of lectures.
pigeon,
You will be hard pressed to get most teachers to divulge the nitty gritty details of training. I don't know why. When I was getting ready to go, I asked several and they were very vague. Only one hinted at what was in store for me -- she told me to just remember that this is just something you have to do if you really want to teach Bikram Yoga. Kind of like a hoop you have to jump through. If you really want to go, I'd say lose most your expectations, go with an open mind & just go with the flow once you're there. You can expect to learn something of patience, determination, & tolerance (i.e. tolerance of other people walking over you while you're in final savasana, dripping their sweaty bodies and mats across your face . . . )
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | yogabrian wrote: Competetion is fierce amoung the instructors for classes and there are lots of certified teachers in Bikram. Also teaching Bikram limits you to teaching only in Bikram schools(as Bikram does not allow his yoga to be taught anywhere else). There is also significant liabilty in being a Bikram teacher as he has a habit of bringing litigation towards people that displease him.
and Cyndi responds: That is not true. My teacher is Bikram Certified. She teaches other methods in her studio and teaches at the college as a professor...guess what the main study is?? the Bikram method You do not have to teach only in a Bikram studio and if you are certified you can open your own studio and teach Bikram, Iyengar, Ashtanga or even Tai Chi Chi Gong and Tibetan Buddhist Meditation. You just can't teach it (Bikram) if you're not certified and mainly you cannot call it the Bikram method that you are teaching if you are not certified.
Edited by Cyndi 2005-02-25 9:58 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Just to add another wrinkle to this conversation - you can't teach Iyengar yoga unless you are Iyengar trained and either certified or training to be certified. As far as I know BKS does not sue people for doing it but if someone has had a few Iyengar classes or workshops and says they are teaching Iyengar, that is misleading (at best).
Cyndi - from what I've read here, teaching other than Bikram will invite litigation if not now, somewhere down the line. I would be hesitant to do that. |
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| About teaching forms other than Bikram:
Yes, I've read that Yoga Loka in San Rafael, CA was threatened because they were teaching forms of yoga other than Bikram (not many, either - I remember the schedule was mostly Bikram). Now they've sold the studio to someone who's teaching Bikram only. They didn't want to face down Bikram in court.
I can understand Bikram's not wanting people to teach without being certified by him, but I don't understand why they can't also teach other forms. I'm personally not interested currently in other forms of yoga, and I know Bikram thinks his is the only true form, but if Bikram yoga is really superior, he doesn't need to disallow other forms. His yoga will rise to the top if it is indeed superior. Whether or not he's right about Bikram being the best kind of yoga, he'd have a hard time proving that the other kinds are *bad* for you. So I hope this Yoga Loka type of situation stops.
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| Cyndi,
I am happy that your teacher has managed to avoid Bikrams lawyers, however with Bikram franchising his method it most certainly is true that he only allows his method is to be taught in Bikram only studios. Take the case of the Morrisons. Bikram sued them for breach of copyright and though not judgement was not reached the Morrisons settled out of court in order to stay in business. They also no longer offer his method at their school I believe (www.hotyogastudio.com).
It is also true that competition is strong for classes. Especially in urban areas. Do the numbers, the training average training get between 100-300 people. Multiple that number by 2-3 times a year and you have several thousand people that teach the method. I know many Bikram teachers who do have trouble only teaching the Bikram method and making a full time living at it. A good deal (not all) of them go off and get other certifications and teach in other places just to make the bills.
Pigeonsailor,
Yoga Loka did sell their San Rafeal branch but not wanting to face Bikram in court. There are currently part of the law suit that is challenging Bikrams copyright. They have been fighting him in court for nearly 2 years. Go to www.yogaunity.org for the full details.
I feel that I should also voice that I am not discourageing you from Bikrams Training. I do know people that had great experiences also. I just feel that you should have as much information as possible to make a educated desicion.
Brian |
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| Cyndi --
At training, we were told you cannot teach any other type of yoga at a Bikram Yoga studio, not even Yoga for Kids or Meditation classes. Some studios get away with this by not posting other classes on their printed or internet schedules. We were asked to report any Bikram studio that holds non-Bikram classes. If your studio hasn't had legal issues, I'm guessing it's because he can't tackle all of them at once. Also, if a certified Bikram teacher is reported teaching Bikram classes in a non-Bikram studio, he/she can lose their certification.
This is all quite well known within the Bikram community. Your studio owner probably knows as well, but is hoping he/she flies under the radar.
Just the facts, ma'am. |
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| I have a question for My cat's mom and all the rest of the Bikram trained instructors:
Are you allowed to teach pre-natal yoga classes at a Bikram Studio? I am talking about pre-natal classes that are in a non-heated room and have nothing to do with the Bikram sequence?
Also the bikram studio near me (Long Island) used to have Yoga Kids program, and rented the space for anusara classes.. Would that also not be allowed?
Just curious about these rules.. Please advise at your earliest convenience.
Thanks,
Daniela
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| It might be best to call Bikram Headquarters in LA and find out. You could inquire about the details regarding becoming a certified instructors and what you can and cannot do. The worst that will happen is you might not like what you have to hear from them. |
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| is it possible to make a comfortable living being a bikram yoga teacher?
what is the pay like?
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| Thanks Brian,
Indeed this is a forum, and as I asked in my earlier post, it would be great to hear what Bikram teachers have been told.. I would really love to hear input on the contract --- as to what you sign and agree to... Also I would rather not spend the money on a long distance call.. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to respond. I greatly appreciate your time and interest..
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| I think if you go to the website & download the application, it should be spelled out. I have no idea where my contract is in my mess of an office  I'll look for it. Unless something has changed, you cannot teach a Kids Yoga or Anusara class in a Bikram facility. |
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another trainee to be
