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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/60221303/ |
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| It's amazing what a full body wax and a bottle of baby oil will do... 
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| LOL! I wonder how much he weighs? Probably a-buck-fifty. If he is really doing "jesus on the cross" I find that very tacky and disrespectful.
I was always a little jealous of the tiny yogis that can give these types of adjustments... At almost 200 pounds, I would hurt someone.. But then I can support people in dropbacks without fear.. so I guess it balances out..
I've had that adjustment done to me by smaller teachers and it does feel nice.
I also had a supta Virasana one where they stand on your legs... yikes..! |
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| I just found the adjustment to be pretty funny, it's not my photo, though |
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| The adjustment is pretty crazy. But once you get past a certain point you really don't feel much weight on the back when you get squashed.
I'm sure you have seen people doing peacock feather on another person's back.... |
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| Anyone here done a teacher training with Bikram? I've always wondered what he would say to people who take savasanas in the middle of the practice. I think it was in this forum that I've read he would pick an incoming call, go out, chat for 30 minutes and when he comes back to find students in savasana he would be yelling?
I've also found it funny that he practices with hot pants and a rolex.
Edited by tabula_rasa 2007-07-14 2:56 AM
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| I've never taken one of his classes, I hardly ever practice in a group, every once in a while I'll go for a class if I need some learning, but the only reason I posted the pic was I thought it looked kinda 'funny'  |
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| Thornley, I don't find that picture kind of funny at all, I find it heck a LOT funny |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
 
Location: Oregon | Three people from my local studio recently got back from teacher training. They've been talking about Bikram and the experience. And yep, he'll leave the room, and expect you to be in the pose when he returns. He's like 60+ and they all say he's in amazing shape. I've never seen anyone stand on top of anyone in that pose. I've had one teachers stand on my back many times in Half Tortoise Pose... man what a stretch! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 418
Location: New York | I did Bikram TT in Spring 2002. Not a great experience for me- it kind of ruined my love for Bikram yoga. I quit teaching and practicing Bikram 2 years ago and have never looked back.
I don't want to take the discussion in a negative direction so I'll leave it at that. |
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| JackieCat: I'm curious if you think you would've continued practicing bikram had you not done the TT, or if you think you might have "burnt out" on it eventually anyway? I've heard a lot about his TT from third parties...can't say I personally have a desire to spend 9 weeks and thousands of dollars on the guy, but that's just me. I even felt disillusioned after emerging from a regular TT last year--I wonder if this is common? Overall I have fond memories of my TT, but was annoyed to learn nothing about the business side. I was under the impression that bikram was better on that end, but judging by what some have said here, it sounds like it's hard to earn a living on bikram, too...not to mention the expense of going to the training. |
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| What do you mean by feeling disillusioned? It's hard for me to go for TT with Bikram(even I'm new to the yoga in itself) because my impression was that you should be able to do all the asanas close to "perfection". But with lot of my teachers in hot yoga has been telling me how it took them couple years to just to do maybe 50% on some basic asanas. My impression on any hatha practice is whether you are a teacher or a student, you're always growing. So just because you're a teacher does not mean you should be able to do them all because to me that's more like a performance training.
I hope above made any sense, I've been working all day.
On other note, I'm surprised that someone here is making a comment on how hard it is to make a living out as a bikram teacher. Not only because it seems no one in this forum, as a yoga teacher likes to discuss about salary. But also because on some websites, yoga teachers in general tends to make 30000-55000 per year? I guess Bikram does not allow his teachers to go on teaching anything BUT bikram? |
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| Where I live, Bikram teachers make about $60 per class. That is a one and one half hour class plus check in and close up or two and one half hours minimum. That is $24 per hour before taxes. Since you can only teach 7 to 10 classes per week on a continuous basis, that isn't a very good living. That is maximum $30,000 per year gross ($24,000 net before health benefits etc)teaching 10 classes per week for 50 weeks a year. If you are teaching Bikram, you may run out of sweat long before that! Other studios often give the teacher 50% of the gross of their classes. That is $150 per class of 20, $60 per class of 8 or $30 per class of 4. If a studio gives you 50% of the gross, they probably will also give you the unpopular times and keep the popular times for themselves or their students who have become teachers and have been with them a long time. (Popular studios usually have long lists of people who want to teach there.) Some studios and most health clubs pay a flat rate of between $20 and $40 per class hour. Although this is an OK second income, it is difficult for most people as a primary income due to the limited possible hours. Studio owners usually have to make an investment of somewhere between $40,000 and $200,000 to get started. After that they will make only a small income until their business starts to grow. (They may have to teach all the classes themselves to start.) Once the business gets going, and assuming that enrollment continues to increase due to good marketing and word of mouth from happy students, they can start hiring and make 50% profit on what their teachers bring in (since the fixed costs like rent, utilities and advertising have already been covered). Many studios make $50,000 per year before taxes after a couple years and after five to ten years, some make $70,000 - $100,000 per year. Of course there are thoses who make considerably more, but they are the exeption. There are also people that lose their shirt because good Yoga skills and good business skills are not the same. Teacher training and special programs bring in a lot more income for many people than their regular classes. That is why they have become so popular, as the regular classes cover expenses and the teacher training becomes all profit. Teaching Yoga really needs to be something that you do for the joy in doing it and the growth that it affords and not the money. |
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| Rather be a struggling artist than rich and superficial (not that all rich are superficial!)
yoga teaching is a vocation a calling and if you are doing it purely for the money, then your in the wrong bussiness, you really will burn out
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| JackieCat - 2007-07-16 9:13 PM I did Bikram TT in Spring 2002. Not a great experience for me- it kind of ruined my love for Bikram yoga. I quit teaching and practicing Bikram 2 years ago and have never looked back. I don't want to take the discussion in a negative direction so I'll leave it at that. Jackie, my teacher would say to you "How fortunate you are to have had that experience!". Good that you learned what you learned from it, even if it wasn't a purely positive learning experience, and have since moved on to what better suits you now. I had a similar experience with a training I began a couple years ago and have since abandoned. I learned what I didn't want, and I found that to be invaluable. So no, not a negative direction at all. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | OM, I totally agree, there are NO negative experiences...unless of course we make them negative. I keep thinking about my recent "experience" I had at the first of June. I got through it and I'm so much wiser now that I walked through it. Not only did I walk through it, this was the second time in my life that I had to face this person. Very intense to say the least. I was able to control the outcome and walk away with grace and diginity. I felt like I made a great accomplishment and it was a nice way to measure where I'd been and where I am at now. Sometimes we just gotta do these things, no choice. But, we do have a choice on how we "respond" to our experiences. This reminds me of my favorite BIBLE verse, Yes, can you believe I'm going to quote this?? heehee It's the Psalms verse that says something to the effect of "Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, cause thou art with me". |
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| So true, "act, act, but never react" is one of the most valuable lessons in life! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| TR - we discuss salary pretty regularly here. The range of $$ is significant and ti really depends a lot on where you live and where you teach. It also depends on how you are paid - employee or contractor - so there are a lot of variables. I make $36 per hour teaching, but there is no way I could teach yoga full time. I would burn out and I don't think our area would have enough students. The people I know who teach full time do a lot of running around from studio to privates to gym. A tough life! |
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| So out of curiousity, what does everyone do plus the teaching job to keep themselves a float? If it seems too personal you don't have to answer. |
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| I am Finance Director of a major non-profit social service agency by day and a professional French horn player and Yoga teacher by night (and weekends). I teach Yoga because it is fun and I enjoy the personal growth (I still keep the money). I am planning on teaching Yoga more once I retire to help keep my body and mind alive into old age. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| I'm an early childhood educator working with one year olds. The pay is lousy but the kids are cute and having babies around keeps me from pressuring my own grown children to hurry up and get me some grandkids  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 418
Location: New York | OrangeMat - 2007-07-17 8:08 AM
JackieCat - 2007-07-16 9:13 PM I did Bikram TT in Spring 2002. Not a great experience for me- it kind of ruined my love for Bikram yoga. I quit teaching and practicing Bikram 2 years ago and have never looked back. I don't want to take the discussion in a negative direction so I'll leave it at that. Jackie, my teacher would say to you "How fortunate you are to have had that experience!". Good that you learned what you learned from it, even if it wasn't a purely positive learning experience, and have since moved on to what better suits you now. I had a similar experience with a training I began a couple years ago and have since abandoned. I learned what I didn't want, and I found that to be invaluable. So no, not a negative direction at all.
OrangeMat, that is how I have come to look at it as well. I really did learn alot (not what I thought I was going to learn, but life is often ironic like that) and it did set me up to move on to where I am now, which suits me much better.
Libragirl: I think I probably would have burned out on Bikram eventually, although it would have been alot less painful and expensive to do it w/o having attended TT! But then I wouldn't be where I am today, so I no longer wish that I hadn't done it.
When I attended, you absolutely did not have to be able to do the asanas to perfection. There were people in my training who had never even taken a Bikram class. They made a big fuss over requirements, but if you could cough up $5000 (it's more now), they would take you.
I was making $55/class at the last place I taught. They did usually have someone at the front desk, but when they didn't, that included signing everyone in and waiting until everyone was done. If you teach at Bikram HQ, they pay you nothing (nothing!) because it is an "honor" to teach for Bikram at his HQ. He's got quite a racket going there . . . |
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| I'm a student of Yoga
I make a living as a chemist.
My wife might get a job as a school bus driver if she can pass all the tests, and I hope that she passes because with four kids money comes and money goes and survival is not guaranteed.
Of the few flesh and blood Teachers of Yoga that I've had I've taken few classes, a workshop or two and then take what I've learned and do the work at home in private---I find Bikram to be a real anomaly in the world when it comes to Yoga, and I find him an interesting entity to 'learn' about from a safe distance.
I continually go back to the writings of Swami Vishnudevananda because that's where I get my most useful epiphanies.
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| Interesting bits! For anyone who has gone to TT to Bikram, does he teach you about sankrit scriptures? I'm currently reading Jivamukti Yoga by David Life and Sharon Gannon(with recommendation from ali, thanks!) and it seems as though lot of studios leave that to students who are willing to go further to look into yoga. So I'm wondering if things are different in TT. |
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| I work full time at a university and teach 4 yoga classes a week at a local studio.
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bikram
