Greg Ja

I began my yoga journey in 2003, as a gift to myself on my 28th birthday (I didn’t really know that at the time). I was burnt out of my marketing position in a biotech supply company- too much travel and the underlying feeling that there was a greater purpose for me on this Earth. My little sister, Cindy, had been practicing yoga for over two years and yoga wasn’t really something I considered trying, until my sister told me that she was quitting her corporate job and attending Bikram Yoga Teacher Training- a nine week full immersion teacher training program.  And in the Fall of 2004 I was the proud studio director/owner of Bikram Yoga Fremont.

I vividly remember one of my very first Bikram classes at Bikram Yoga, Walnut Creek. I was about 15 lbs. overweight at the time. The studio owner and teacher Bill Wee was trying to correct my triangle posture, and at the time it was just impossible for me to understand the mechanics of the posture. But with constant practice, eight months later I was ready to attend Teacher Training and leave the Biotech world for the Yoga world! I enjoy the tremendous satisfaction when I can help students realize that they hold all the power.  As my teacher Bikram Choudhury states, “It’s the mind over the matter, Bengal Tiger strength, English Bulldog determination, you have no idea Your power Within.”

“Come discover your potential at Bikram Yoga Fremont-  practice yoga at least three times per week- think of the time spent as an investment in yourself and your family.  It’s very true,  One never truly appreciates his good health, until the good health sours. Through a diligent yoga practice, you will live a longer and healthier life, discover your strengths and weaknesses, and share your positive energy with the World.”

I would be happy to answer any of your questions:  greg@bikramyogafremont.com or call (510) 305-7402 (cell)

Judy Refuerzo

Judy has practiced yoga since college, but it wasn't until discovering Bikram Yoga in 2002 that she became a serious practioner. She received her RYT through Yoga Alliance in 2003 and earned her Bikram Teachers Certification in the Winter of 2004, after studying with Bikram Choudhury in Los Angeles. Judy really enjoys teaching and the opportunity to share the benefits and her love of the yoga with others.

Melinda "Tortuga" McCurdy
I took my first yoga class at the YMCA in San Jose in 1968. Something hooked me in right away; however "Life" interfered with my practice for a few decades!  I began practicing again in Carmel at Tri Yoga in 1987. I enjoyed the Kali-Ray flow and also Iyengar based classes.  In 2007 I took a Bikram class, crawled out of the hot room on all fours, and have never looked back.  I completed teacher training in Fall 2010 in San Diego and am thrilled to be teaching here in Fremont.

The Bikram sequence practiced in the heat is truly powerful and life affirming.  Every class is a challenge, every class is unique, and every class will connect your body, mind and spirit.  I  celebrate my 64th birthday in August  and I could not receive a better gift than being a Bikram Yoga Teacher.
                                                                                          
                                                                                              

Kelly Gibson
“Practicing Bikram Yoga has brought, health, strength, energy and vitality to my body and a connection to all things in my life in a deeper aspect than I had ever imagined possible. My view of beauty has expanded immensely. After decades of competitive sports and five knee surgeries my body was broken and I woke up feeling sore every morning. I could not walk down stairs and I had all sorts of aches and pains that I assumed was a natural part of growing old. After my first class, I felt a cleanness, I had never felt before in my life. After practicing Bikram yoga for only a few months, my aches and pains went away. My Ultimate Frisbee team members noticed my enhanced athletic performance and wanted to know what my secret was. Bikram yoga is no secret, it is like health juice for our minds and bodies. When I teach, I desire for every student to gain health and healing, and to feel tapped in to their powerful selves. Teaching Yoga has brought me so much joy. I am amazed and honored to work and be a part of this journey with the students at Bikram Yoga Fremont."

Mariam Jazayeri

It’s never too late, it’s never too bad, and you are never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again” I was 51 when I started Bikram Yoga, in my younger days I played volleyball and went to the gym, ran, hiked and biked….I started having lower back problems and with life, one thing led to another and most of my activities stopped. I heard about hot yoga and wanting to try it, thinking it would be a good stretch for my back! I took my first class, and was hooked. I kept going and going and going….and became a teacher! This practice transformed from an interest into a life style. It helps me physically and emotionally. My body is not as flexible as I would love it to be, YET. I told my family, my goal is to touch my face in “Hands to Feet pose” by the age of 80! The seed on mindfulness meditation was planted in me when I faced a hard time in my life and became very depress. This practice has been another stepping-stone toward my self-realization and one of my main coping method. I’ve learned that my choices in life make my character. I choose to practice yoga, be mindful, and have compassion for all being.

… and for those of you wondering, I’m not a crazy old women with pink hair, I dye my hair pink to honor breast cancer victims, support the survivors and spread the awareness and yes I’m a survivor.

Jenn Field

Jenn walked into her first Bikram’s Beginners Yoga class in 2002 and immediately felt a special connection to the practice. She understands that ultimately, it is in one’s mind where you find Bikram’s true benefits. She believes that a consistent practice of Bikram yoga taps into an energy source that has the ability to allow the practitioner to transcend the physical body and begin to experience life with a deeper level of awareness and peace. In 2008, Jenn attended Bikram's Teacher Training in Acapuloco, Mexico. She has been teaching Bikram's Beginners Class for the past 3.5 years and Advanced Bikram for the past two years. Although Bikram is her favorite practice, she has over 500 hours of additional training in various traditions of yoga and yoga theraputics. She has trained with some of the most talented instructors on the planet including Tony Sanchez, Mark Stephens, and Janet Stone. Her additional knowledge of yoga and the body only enhances the way she teaches the Bikram series. Her yogic path thus far has led her Mexico, Italy, Africa, and India. Jenn has spent 10 full days in meditation at an ashram in India and has practiced yoga on the banks of Kerela and the deserts of Morocco. She is excited to join the Fremont studio and share her passion for yoga. To read more about Jenn, please visit jennfieldyoga.com

Lauren Lopez

I began practicing Bikram Yoga in 2009 in San Francisco. After my first class I was hooked!  Within the first month of practicing  I felt like I had much more energy, I slept better, my skin cleared up, the benefits I receive from practicing are endless. I knew from the beginning of my yoga journey I wanted to teach.  I attended the fall 2011 Bikram Teacher Training in Los Angeles.  I have a background in Holistic Health from San Francisco State University, combined with Bikram Yoga I hope to help lead others to their optimal health.

Jackie Johnson
I started practicing Bikram Yoga in San Luis Obispo, CA where I attended college. I’ve been in love with this yoga since my first class and have always wanted to become a teacher. Others things got in my way, like finishing up school and working for corporate America.

So, after 7 years of practicing I finally decided to stop everything and attend teacher training. I went to teacher training Spring 2010 in Las Vegas, it was such an amazing experience and it confirmed that this was the right path for me. Now I look forward to teaching and practicing with my students everyday.

Mohan Sthapit
I know exactly when I started my Bikram yoga, that is January 1, 2004. My friend Jade took me to my first class in El Cerrito. Since then I have been practicing this great yoga.  I am originally from Nepal and have been living in Bay Area for 21 years. After practicing for few years, I decided to go to Teacher Training in spring of 2007 in Hawaii.  Bikram Yoga Fremont is special for me because this is the first yoga studio I taught at.  I was little nervous in the beginning of my teaching, but Greg encouraged me to teach and really helped me a lot.  I have taught Bikram yoga in the Bay Area, Costa Rica, and Nepal.

I introduced Bikram Yoga to Nepal and ran the studio for a year and a half there. It was so much fun to see all those people from different walks of life come to do this yoga for the first time and their reaction to the heat in the studio.  All of you know already how good this yoga is. I had severe back pain for more than 10 years.  After practicing this yoga, it totally cured the pain.  I want to be honest, it did not cure it right away, took me almost a year.  I was patient for that whole time. After one year, the pain was totally gone.  Now that pain cannot stay in my body for more than 5 minutes, I guess it's because of the increased flexibility if the spine.

This Bikram yoga has helped me improve overall quality of my life, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  It helped me increase like in a camera, this megapixel of the lens through which you look at this world, people, and your life.  So with your increased megapixels, you start seeing the world more clearly and crisply than before. That's what yoga did for me.  So my recommendation is to practice regularly like brushing your teeth, do not give up.  Soon you will start seeing the results.  I wish all of you happy and healthy life.

 

 

Holly Mathews

At the age of 30, I was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis in my neck and scoliosis. I was told I will eventually develop nerve damage in my arms from the arthritis in my neck. I was scared and depressed about this prognosis. Soon after, I saw an advertisement for Global Yoga in San Francisco, owned by the one of Bikram’s most devoted teacher’s Mary Jarvis. The ad read, “Miracles happen here daily”. Having absolutely nothing to lose I drove the 40 miles from Palo Alto to San Francisco to take my first Bikram Yoga class. I barely made it through the class. Nevertheless, I was hooked. After that class, I felt great. I completed the Yoga College of India’s teacher training in 2002 in Los Angeles and have been teaching for the past nine years.
 
That said, my unique set of life experiences and tremendous challenges, have formed me in to a deeply compassionate and humorous teacher, like no other. I think different, talk different, learn different, and consequently, I also teach different than other Bikram yoga instructors. I wear these differences like a badge of honor and wouldn’t want it any other way!!! I hope I have a chance to have you in my class and share the love I have for this yoga with you, while we do the hard work of daily practice. It ain’t easy, but it is so worth it. Miracles do happen here, daily!

Megan Martin

I took my first Bikram yoga class in 2001 and it didn't take me long to realize that Bikram yoga is a pathway to a fulfilling and healthy life. It is a tool for fine tuning the mind and body. It is an active meditation to enlighten the spirit. And a catalyst for self-realization.
My duty for life is to educate and aid others in becoming smarter, aware, peaceful, stronger, healthier and happier. My passion and belief in yoga is what brought me to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in the spring of 2009. Now I have the best job in the world; to guide my students to the very same pathway that saved my life.

Mirna Marusic

"My yoga story starts with my other love- Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing), which I had been training for about 3 and a half years at that point, and even competed on amateur level.  Over the years injuries started packing and taking a toll on my body.  I spent hours in the gym working on various techniques, running, doing weighs, and essentially always looking for new ways to stay active and add to my training program.  This time I needed something that would help me gain some flexibility, so I looked online and everyone kept mentioning Bikram Yoga- I had to learn everything about this yoga.  From the very first class I fell in love and ever since I've been coming every day. About 8 months into the practice, I've decided to change my life a bit, so I quit my job, and went to Teacher Training so I could share this yoga and help others the same way it helped me."

I started Bikram Yoga shortly after my doctor told me that I needed a knee replacement surgery.  All the years of playing soccer when I was younger had resulted in several knee injuries. I had very few options for exercise.  I practiced yoga for the first time at the old Bikram Yoga Headquarters in Los Angeles.  I was hooked after my first class and would take classes every place that I traveled in the U.S. and abroad. I have been practicing Bikram Yoga regularly for the past two years without any knee pain.  Guess what? I don’t plan on having my knee replacement surgery during this lifetime.

I went to the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in 2012. The training brought my life’s priorities into clear focus. I have much more patience, energy, and work-life balance.  My goal is to introduce more people into this beautiful practice.  Everyday I see all types of people gain so many different benefits from practicing.  My Mother is turning 60 this year and started taking my classes. This is one of the best gifts I could have ever given and received.  

I can’t wait to teach or take a class with you in Fremont or other studios around the world.