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| What the hell? He said he was in Palm Desert for 4 years, now this? Plus, the dates he had given have been moved up? The cost is still outrageous and he expects people to take 9 weeks off work, pay him 10,000 for a job that pays $50 a class, and oh, we can't wear green? What kind of a man is this? |
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| obviously some sort of genius
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| No one is forcing you, or anyone else to go. |
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| Haha... yea, I'm not crazy about the new location, either. I liked Palm Springs a lot. But we knew all along that those dates on the website weren't final, and there were rumors that this was coming for quite a while... Bikram was talking about moving to Vegas the entire time they were at Palm Springs. (He hated the food there. Apparently the main reason for moving to Vegas is the buffets? And he thinks it'll be fun?)
I'm not expecting Vegas to last. What they REALLY need (and WANT) is a permanent, INDEPENDENT location that's not just part of a hotel. I know that is still Bikram's dream. They should get on that! This nomadic teacher training business really is getting tough for everyone involved, the trainees AND the staff.
But everything else is the same as it's been for years, concerning prices, pay, etc. What's got you all worked up, veggie? Were you thinking about going? |
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Veteran
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| I'm absolutely horrified it's moved to Las Vegas. And I'm already enrolled, quit my job and fully committed. I disagree with you Juliana on one thing- the dates WERE confirmed shortly and then went back to being unconfirmed. The whole time I have heard nothing from the school- they cashed my check, sent me the dialogue and that was it. No announcement when the dates moved 6 weeks and became confirmed, nothing when they became unconfirmed again, and nothing this week about the new dates and location. I've never been to Las Vegas but I'm already seriously worried about access to grocery stores and the total lack of access to... anything. Searches on the web reveal that the only things the Hilton is close to are the monorail that will take you to other hotels on the strip (only 10$ for a day pass!) and the airport. There is a grocery store about a mile away but it doesn't look very pedestrian friendly around there. The hotel looks like a drag and Las Vegas... yuck.
They definitely need a permanent independent location (with kitchenettes in the lodging for students!). Why don't they get on that?
I also want to know what happened with the Palm Springs and the much touted 4 year contract? How did they get out of that? |
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| veggiepose - 2009-07-23 3:34 PM
and oh, we can't wear green? What kind of a man is this?
Methinks Bikram likes "GREEN" very much indeed...! |
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| Yea, I know hon.... that sucks. Vegas is weird. You guys will survive, though... I know at the last training, they organized shuttles and carpools all the time to get people to Trader Joe's and health food stores and stuff like that... they won't let you starve. There are really good people on the staff. And you know, Palm Springs was in the middle of nowhere, too! And hardly pedestrian friendly, since it was 110 degrees in the shade by 8am. You couldn't walk there, either. Theoretically (hopefully?), you guys will spend so much time in your yoga bubble anyways that you'll hardly even notice your surroundings. Same cool teachers, same staff, same visiting instructors, same trainees, same yoga. And it sounds like they plan to feed you REALLY nicely this time! (Finding silver lining... cuz I feel bad for gloating earlier!!)
I must have missed that one brief shining moment when there were "permanent" dates.
It's not malice, it's just... disorganization. :-/ Sometimes, they look the same.
I think Bikram was able to break the contract by saying that the hotel didn't hold up their end of the bargain... i.e. he was promised a real yoga room and buffet meals, and instead he got a tent and some fairly crummy little bag lunches. I was so stoked that they were gonna be in Palm Springs for 4 years... but there were multiple year contracts in Acapulco and Hawaii, too... so I can't say I'm shocked. Can't wait to see how long THIS one lasts! |
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| i think that if one is charging $10k per person and has 300 people in the training (lets just say), then one is bringing in $3mil for the training. assume that 1/3 of that goes away in taxes and expenses, and you have a $2m difference. do that twice, and you have more than enough money to buy an existing retreat center or camp, or you can buy a piece of land somewhere and build the camp of your dreams.
i mean, if the man can build studios, build a fleet of cars, build hospitals in india, surely he can build a training center anywhere in the world?
i dunno. it's like he's not thinking. |
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| well, I meant to put in my last post that I'm sure there were problems with the other locations too- it's not like we will be unique in trying to survive 9 weeks in a big hotel!
zoebird- yeah, exactly
juliana- as always I appreciate your positive spin on things and will take it on! |
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| No one is forcing you, or anyone else to go. Gee, talk about missing the point. Some of us actually want to teach because we know what the yoga has done in our lives and we want to share it with others. That is why we are willing to make the sacrifices of cost and time, but you saw the post about the person who had the dates firm, then didn't, then quit her job and heard nothing from HQ, eventhough they took her money. It's called respect. It appears Bikram has no respect for other people. He continually says one thing then does another. Continually. Not very yogic, or basically decent for that matter. |
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| Does the 10k include room and board? |
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| lockdaknee - 2009-07-24 1:40 PM
Does the 10k include room and board?
Yes, and food. It's about 6k tuition, and 4k from room, board, and meals. |
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| I was more responding to the following points: the cost is outrageous, the training is too long at nine weeks, and the payoff is too little at $50/class, and he doesn't like green.
Given the number of people who keep going to training, it seems to me that the cost is certainly less than outrageous. If anything, as crowded as the TT's are getting, it seems to me that it probably costs too little.
The time commitment is steeper than some other training programs, but as I understand it, it's nothing compared to getting certified in Iyengar. Given that the nine weeks may just barely make teachers competent to lead a class, I don't think its too much either. And again, the fact that so many are eager to do it belies the idea that this sacrifice is outrageous.
Fifty dollars a class isn't much. But the flexibility of the lifestyle is very appealing to many people. And for someone willing to put in the time, its possible to make an OK living from teaching. And as a job, its a hell of a lot more satisfying than many, many other jobs I could think of (including my own).
As for the green thing -- I agree its weird, but so what?
I totally agree that changing dates after people have paid and rearranged their schedules is bad form. I would expect Bikram to make some amends for doing that. I haven't seen the contract, so I have no idea what his actual obligations are. But I agree that it really sucks for people who have already shifted around their commitments. |
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| If you want to be a Bikram teacher the path leads right thru the teacher training. So it's up to you if the costs, the time and the craziness of it all are worth it. |
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| It doesn't seem like too bad a deal. Appx $133 a day. Plus free Bollywood movies. |
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| There's more than one Bollywood movie? They all look and sound alike to me. |
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| Plus it should be noted that hotel is the same hotel where Elvis staged his momentous comeback 40 years ago. |
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| While I can agree that vegas is an armpit of a city, it can be very fun. It is also MUCH cheaper to fly into vegas then palm springs, facilities ARE actually much better and the hotels are set up to hold convensions that are huge. The thing that will suck is buying water, Fashion mall is pretty close with duty free type shop in it.
I am more curious to see how the new franchise will affect TT enrollment. To my understanding, if you attend training from now on you MUST be a yoga college of india. I'm not 100% sure about that and I will check will Rajashree as she is teaching in SF today.
As to permanent tt place. Bikram has had several places that he has tried to do it. He always changes his mind last minute and pulls out of the deal. In Hawaii, he had a place, in Half Moon bay and some where else, but I can't remember at this time. |
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| he Brian, I don't understand a couple of things in your post- why do we have to buy water? And what do you mean that from now on you must be a yoga college of india? I know they are starting with the franchise thing, but the tt requires already that you be studying with a legit bikram studio. |
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| Elvis?! Yea!!
Free Bollywood movies - HA. I think it IS only one that's on an INFINITE LOOP. And don't forget about Mahabarat!! (nicole - if you don't know about this movie yet... you will find out....)
Great points by Brian about airlines and facilities. That is DEFINITELY true about airfare; coming from the east coast, it's like half the price compared to flying into Palm Springs or even LAX.
I was at the 3 hour long lecture/Q and A session when they first unveiled the franchise plan a few weeks ago, and from everything that was discussed there, it didn't look like the franchise would have any effect on teacher trainings. Basically the only operational change is that it will cost a little more to own a studio, and studios will have franchise agreements in place of the previous affiliation agreements. I can see that the franchise will have an effect on people's decisions to open studios, since it changes the finances a bit, but it won't change anything for the people who just want to go and teach.
Of course, if Raj told Brian something different, I may eat my words. But that's what I got from Bikram and his lawyer dudes... |
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| the mahabarat is actually a nice piece of indian cinema indeed. ryan calls it "real time india history" because of the pace. we also like, btw, the "real time korean history" television series that they play on one of our local PBS stations.
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| Raj had no idea about the details of the franchise. According to the website, it looks like Bikram will be slowly phasing out non franchised bikram approved studios. So in the future, you want Bikram yoga, it will be only at a Yoga College of India eventually. Whether he will hand out more cease and desists really I believe will be on case by case basis.
As to the Water, looks like the hotel will be providing water as part of TT cost. WATER is Hella expensive in Vegas. |
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| you buy water in Vegas because the tap water is awful. I mostly avoid bottled water but even I drink it there.
If you buy water you definitely want to get it someplace like a grocery or even convenience store, not in the hotels. |
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| "Slowly phasing out" - well, sort of. Their stated goal (in an ideal world) is for all existing Bikram studios to immediately convert to franchises. That's why they are offering NO franchise fee AND no royalties for a year to existing studios that sign on within the first 60 days. They want everyone to come on board right away.
For studios that choose not to sign on, I understand that they will be able to continue operations legally until their affiliation agreements expire, but affiliation agreements will no longer be given or renewed, so I guess they will eventually die out. And you're right, Brian, that probably a slow phase-out on a case by case basis. But hopefully those will be the exceptions, not the rule. |
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| The hotel will be providing free (well, INCLUDED) BOTTLED water?!
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Training Moved to Vegas?
