About Us - Our Studio

At Bikram Yoga West Edmonton, we share a passion for Bikram Yoga and believe in its ability to affect positive change in people's lives. It is our goal to provide our students with an atmosphere that promotes growth. Our certified Bikram Yoga teachers will encourage and inspire you to do your best. In practicing Bikram Yoga you will develop tools that transcend the yoga room and can be used in your everyday life.
We strive to provide a safe, healing, supportive and fun environment where all individuals feel welcome; a space where students will create a true version of themselves through their own commitment of perseverance, patience and determination.

Instructors

All instructors at Bikram Yoga West Edmonton have been certified by Bikram Choudhury after graduating from his intensive Teacher Training Program. All instructors are required to re-certify every 3 years, and to maintain the integrity of Bikram’s Hatha Yoga system, the teaching methods, and his dialogue. We encourage our teachers to continue their study, practice, and development as teachers by returning to the source, attending Bikram’s seminars, classes, re-visiting the teacher trainings, and most importantly – maintaining their own yoga practice.

Julie Sagan – Studio Director/Instructor
julie@bikramyogawestedmonton.ca

Teacher Training Graduation June 2005

In the summer of 2002, I began my lifelong practice of Bikram Yoga. I was quite inflexible and didn’t know what to expect from this “hot yoga”. I was amazed at how challenging, fun and sweaty the classes were. Most importantly though, Bikram Yoga made me feel fabulous! Bikram Yoga has become much more than just a workout for me. It is a tool that I use to help balance my life. Hoping to share Bikram Yoga with others, I went to teacher training in the spring of 2005. I consider it a privilege to guide students and share in their practice with them. As an instructor I strive to inspire and encourage students to work hard, to do their best, and to discover “their true self”. As the Director of Bikram Yoga West Edmonton I truly hope that students can come and feel welcome, safe, and motivated to make a difference for themselves. My favorite Bikram saying is “yoga makes you you”

Jan Wilson
jan@bikramyogawestedmonton.ca

I was first introduced to yoga while I was traveling and playing competitive squash as a practice to help my body and mind balance and heal from injury. I quickly fell in love with yoga, and have been in love with the practice to this day!
I believe that yoga is about learning to develop a true and authentic connection with ourselves and the ability to remain present and aware in whatever healthy daily activity or situation we are in. Bikram yoga has and continues to be a truly valuable tool for myself in working towards this intention. I feel that I bring a genuine love for people, the yoga practice and the path of life to the yoga room. To learn from and practice with the Bikram yoga family is a true blessing and one which I feel very fortunate to experience.

Nikki Henriksen

Bikram Choudhury & Nikki Henriksen

I started Bikram Yoga in June of 2003 and practiced 1 to 2 times per week for the following 2 years. An instructor told me that if I committed to 3 times per week I would receive much greater results; I thought that my commitment to the gym would be sufficient. Then, in the fall of 2005 I was on a 2 week road trip and had a lot of lower back pain. When I got back I remembered that yoga is supposed to be good for back pain and because I never experienced back pain before,
I decided to give the 3 times/week a shot. Over the next 4 weeks I could not believe the difference. I bumped it up to 4-5 times/week and have been committed ever since.
It has truly changed and enriched my life for the better. Bikram Yoga helps me find and be me.
I feel I bring a strong dialogue to my class. I am the 3 f’s: Fun, Firm, and Fair.

Damian Kosabeck

In 2005 I found Bikram Yoga and started practicing twice a week.  After very few classes, I began to feel... something.  I couldn’t explain it other than an almost imperceptible feeling of change.  The benefits from the yoga were overflowing into my day to day life.  I was calmer, stronger physically & mentally, and I could feel more balance permeating my being.
My practice quickly increased to 4 and 5 times a week and with that, my progress accelerated.  I was continually finding ways to challenge myself and was being challenged in different ways with each class.  I wanted to share the yoga more and more; there were so many people I could see that could be, would be & needed to be helped by the yoga.  A thought... teacher training... came to me.  Soon, becoming a teacher seemed like a natural step, an evolution to deepening my understanding of the yoga and a way to share beyond my enthusiasm.
I went to Teacher Training in the Fall of 2008 and began teaching soon after.  Through teaching, I hope to bring a sense of openness, acceptance and community that has kept me with Bikram Yoga.  I want people to feel the same wonder that I still feel growing inside me.
You will change, you will be better; there is a more authentic you.  Do your yoga, do it often.

Shauna Tomanek

I was asked to do up a bio about myself and Bikram Yoga, what I’m about, why I teach and so on.  In keeping with the “25 random things” craze, I have come up with the following as they relate to yours truly and this wonderful yoga.  Good news for you, I shortened it to 10…

Ten random facts about Shauna:

1. I have been practicing Bikram Yoga since 2004.
2. I have completed two 30 day challenges, so I do “get it”. In a moment of enlightenment during one of the challenges I decided that I really wanted to walk into the room, flip on the light and start teaching instead of going to my mat to practice.  That was the ‘ah-ha’ moment that lead me on the path to teaching.
3. All we can do is try.  But it is your responsibility to try your best on any particular day.  It will change and that’s ok, but be honest in your effort and always do your best.  As your guide through this yoga, that is one of my expectations, that you try your best.
4. Don’t be afraid of what your body can do. Once you let go of the fear of achieving great things, they just seem to suddenly show up!
5. I encourage my students to laugh – whether it be at life, at me or my lame jokes, or at nothing at all. I really want you guys to have fun killing yourself in the “torture chamber”.  The torture is so much better when you can smile about it.
6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching this yoga, and it is because of the students.  To be able to guide a group of people towards a healthier, better, stronger self is amazing.  I am honoured that you allow me the opportunity to do so.
7. It WILL cost you $20.00 to leave my class, and just because the bill collector hasn’t come knocking doesn’t mean I’m not keeping track.  Think about how much you’re willing to pay before you trot out those doors.
8. The family that sweats together stays together – my mom, sister and aunt are all practitioners of Bikram.  It is an absolute pleasure to see their smiling faces in my class. It is also a great way to take out years of sibling rivalry when you get to hold awkward pose until your sister sits down!
9. Speaking of awkward pose, in training I held awkward for nearly 2 minutes and my jeans just haven’t fit the same since!  Nikki can verify this fact.
10. I think this studio is a wonderful place for you to get to know yourself and to get to love what you see. 

Embrace and enjoy your practice and know that you all make a difference in my experience as a teacher.  I’m here for you, the students, because you guys show up for me as a teacher.  Remember – to leave the class it’s $20.00, but the butt kicking is free!

Allison Levy

Bikram Yoga found me in 2007, through a suggestion from a colleague of mine at work. I complained to her that it was difficult for me to find something that fit my 9-5 schedule and was enough of a challenge to push me and help me de-stress at the end of the day. Having danced my whole life,
I had always been skeptical about Bikram because I knew it was the same 26 postures every class. As students of Bikram know and I have learned, every class is always different every day. Finding that Bikram studios often have 6 am classes that fit perfectly before work, I took my colleague’s advice to jump into the torture chamber and have never looked back. My first week, I took 5 classes…and every week from then on. 
Bikram gives me so many things I can’t get from anything else. I don’t have to feel like I’m putting on a show and competing, which can get tiresome as a dancer, I get a crazy workout and a total body cleanse – in and out. The cleansing aspect is really what keeps me coming back. I know however I feel on any given day, I’m going to feel better after a class.  
I started teaching Bikram so I could pass the experience onto others and lend a little of my personality to the cleansing process. I teach with compassion and strength – always trying to push in a way that is motivating while being understanding and calm. I love injecting little things that make me smile and seem to get a few giggles from my students. 
When asked to choose my favourite/least favourite postures, I struggled a little….they can change on a regular basis depending on how I feel, but the two I chose are regularly up there. The posture I look forward to each and every class is Standing Bow Pulling Pose. It targets the areas I place most importance on working – abdominal wall, upper thighs, hips and bum. Above all, it is gorgeous to look at. The posture that sends my body and mind into angst is Locust Pose. It is pure evil – particularly both legs up, in which breathing becomes difficult and bringing body weight onto the shoulders is a major challenge and rather uncomfortable. Locust Pose also works some of my target areas and has numerous benefits that women tend to love (anti-cellulite), but it’s my nemesis.   
So that’s the inside look at Allison…do your best, stay in the room….and I’ll give you nothing but love…with a little push.

Ilona Rakievich’s

I started my Bikram yoga journey after I had to give up distance running due to knee injuries.  My first Bikram yoga class in 2003 was indescribable; a mix of awe, nausea, and every emotion and sensation in between you could possibly imagine.  It was so incredibly intense I just had to come back again and again to see and know that what I felt was even possible and real.  The inspiration to become an instructor occurred to me shortly after I started my practice; I had after all, survived my first class.  I attended training in 2004 at Bikram Yoga Headquarter in Los Angeles. Bikram yoga challenges me on so many levels and it is a significant influence that continuously guides me to gain a deeper understanding and insight to all aspects of my life.  As I continue to grow in my own understanding and awareness, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to share the wonderful benefits of a Bikram yoga practice with students of all ages, and give people the chance to learn more about themselves as they continue on their own individual journeys.

Sharon Kyrzyk

My Bikram Yoga journey began in August, 2007.  After my first class, I felt the most incredible, euphoric high and equated it to running a marathon.  I then started to notice the profound spiritual connection I felt during and after class.  I knew I was hooked for life and that this yoga would help me to manage any challenge that came my way.  I completed a 30-day and 101-day yoga challenge before going to Teacher Training in Las Vegas of Fall, 2009.  I feel so blessed to be able to teach Bikram Yoga.  When I'm not teaching or practicing the yoga, I'm being a mama to my two kids, Roman and Oksana!

Blessings!

Leanne Tomanek

I will never forget the first time I went to Bikram Yoga; it was in May 2005.  Before this point my life consisted of horses, which is all I did! I trained them, competed with them, and all my physical activity was horse related; mucking out stalls, hauling hay bales, etc.  I did do regular hatha yoga with my whole family every Tuesday night, and some ashtanga yoga on my lunch hours at NAIT. My sister convinced me to come and try out this Bikram Yoga.  “It’s a little hot, but not too bad, we will put you near the door and you will be fine”, was what she told me.  So off I went with her, thinking how bad can it be?  RIGHT!!! To keep this short, I HATED IT!!  I thought she was crazy to be doing this; I thought it was stupid and way too hard!  So I did not go back, right away. I entered my MRI program that fall.  The workload was intense and I felt very overwhelmed.  I suddenly remembered that yoga class. It just popped into my mind!  I decided to go back on my own and I have been hooked ever since!!  I have maintained a 3-5 (sometimes more) day per week practice since that day in Sept.

After my sister went to Teacher Training, I knew that one day I would follow suit.  My plan was to go in the fall of 2011. By then I would have put my time in at work and they would have no problem with me taking a leave of absence.  Funny how things work out; it just so happened that we were replacing our MRI machines and there would be some down time at the hospital.  So I thought I would apply for the leave and see what would happen, what did I have to loose, right? Worst thing they could say is no, and I go back to my original plan of fall 2011.  So I applied and within a week they approved it! It all happened last minute, I think it was all finalized in August, and training started in Oct! I was in denial until about a week into the training!

I did the teacher training more for the personal journey, and I felt that it was the next step for me to progress further in my practice.  I knew I would teach a bit but never thought I would love it sooo much!!! So now here I am teaching twice a week, trying to maintain a 4-5 day a week practice and working full time!  What a great life!  I look forward to teaching every time and wish I could teach more.  I try to have fun in my classes while maintaining the discipline that this yoga requires.  It is amazing to share the gift this yoga brings by teaching it.  I think I have found my calling.

See you in the white hot room!

Our Studio

Our spacious 1400 sq ft studio/hot yoga room features:

Locker rooms feature:

Reception Area features:

We feature Mondo Tech Advanced Rubber Anti-Microbial flooring. This anti-microbial rubber flooring system is non-porous, bacteria free, and odorless. The floor is insulated to keep your muscles warm, and it has been bio-mechanically engineered to perform with your body, absorbing shock. The Athens Olympics 2004 Modern Games used this floor for the indoor volleyball courts.