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In 2006, I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship and was looking for a new “workout”. My new workout, Bikram Yoga, became my everything. It was my exercise, my hobby, my best friend, my boyfriend, my church. It was all I could talk about. Right after my first class, I wondered if they’d think I was weird if I went back the next day. It wasn’t long before I was regularly taking two classes a day and thinking about teacher training. I had zero interest in being a teacher but simply wanted to immerse myself in this yoga. And it happened to be in Hawaii.

In September of 2007, off I went to Hawaii to endure 9 weeks of teacher training. There are plenty of people who enjoyed teacher training. I wasn’t one of them. I had an overwhelming fear of public speaking. Thankfully I finished training, but left the Bikram Yoga world for about 7 months. For my 30th birthday, I drove to Charlottesville, Virginia and stumbled into the Bikram Yoga studio. I asked to teach, they said yes, and I stammered my way through my first class. It took me about 5 years to feel comfortable on the podium. With close to 13 years of teaching experience now, I still continue to learn about this practice and about teaching. I don’t believe it’s possible to stop learning if you’re open to it.

As a massage therapist since 2001, I’ve helped countless people feel better, one person at a time, one hour at a time. While I’ll always have my gift of touch, I can help so many more people on a greater scale as a yoga teacher. I love watching students with current or past injuries heal themselves with this transformative practice.

June 17th, 2017, the doors opened to Hot Yoga Baltimore formerly Bikram Yoga Catonsville. Owning the studio has and continues to teach me things I would never otherwise learn. Navigating owning and continuing to operate a brick and mortar business during a pandemic is nothing anyone could plan for. Life is full of lessons and when you lean into these challenges with patience and an open heart, it’s a gift instead of a struggle, just like doing this yoga.

I moved to Baltimore from California in 2002 to be closer to my family. It was like moving to a different planet. I was confused and defeated in every possible way.  Depressed, unable to sleep, and feeling completely disconnected. One afternoon, attempting to locate a health food store in Baltimore County, I found myself utterly lost, as was often the case, and a perfect metaphor for my life at the time. I pulled into a shopping center and a store with whited out windows and a big sign caught my eye. “COMING SOON…BIKRAM YOGA”. I yelped. I had never tried Bikram yoga, but had considered it in LA, where I had maintained a consistent Hatha yoga practice. A slice of LA. Ahhh…. A few weeks later I took my first class during the free opening weekend.  After the 90 minute class, as I lay in final savasana in a puddle of my own sweat surrounded by 30 strangers, I wept tears of joy. “I’m home.” I have practiced just about every day since. One of my first teachers used to say that “Bikram yoga brings us back to who we really are, deep inside.” Through daily practice, I started to understand what he meant. The weight I had put on since moving melted right off. The cloud above my head began to dissipate. I was starting to find myself. The Bikram series is scientifically designed to work each and every cell in your body in a very specific order. The postures are basic and simple enough for anyone to do regardless of fitness level, age, weight, injury, or flexibility. A consistent Bikram practice will return any student to maximum health. It builds strength, balance and flexibility. It controls blood pressure and circulation, regulates hormone levels, and lowers stress. The Bikram series is cardiovascular and has a very high calorie burn. Physically, this practice makes your body function the way it’s meant to. Physically, who you really are. So, it’s a great form of exercise. But it goes deeper. Living in the modern world, we are inflicted with stress everyday. Our bodies, our minds, and our spirit hold on to these injuries. Our physical and spiritual selves suffer from trauma, negative messages, insecurities, and the struggles of life. Some we feel emotionally. Some physically, and some lie deeper but continue to effect our thoughts, feelings and actions. A daily Bikram practice means that you perform the same postures in the same order in a heated room for 90 minutes everyday. This is a mindful moving meditation. Connecting the mind and body in a conscious meditative state is the path to releasing the negativity and stress from our bodies and souls. We leave class feeling emotionally lighter. We gain confidence and patience. We learn to be calm and to let go of thoughts and behavior patterns that no longer serve us. In effect, we are returned to our factory settings. We are free to be, once again, the person we always were  deep inside, the true self. This is the greatest gift of a Bikram practice. I finally went to Bikrams Teacher Training in spring 2007 in Hawaii, and I never looked back. I have been teaching full time ever since. To say that Bikram yoga changed my life is not quite accurate. It gave me back the person I was always meant to be. My practice and teaching yoga is a huge part of who I am. The people I have met, friendships I have cherished, lessons I habe learned and lives I have touched have filled my life with light and love. Being part of the Bikram Yoga Catonsville community brings me joy and purpose. I continue to practice everyday, always learning something new and still becoming more and more “who I really am deep inside.”

I was dancing professionally for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines when I took my first Bikram Yoga class in 2012. I was hooked from my first class and began practicing as much as I could between contracts. Soon, I discovered that with regular practice, my dance injuries were becoming less painful and more manageable during my time on ships. After years of encouraging everyone I knew to come to class with me, I finally decided to become a teacher in order to share the benefits of this series with everyone. I have been to Bikram studios all over the world and couldn’t be happier to call Bikram Yoga Catonsville my home.

Christina Martin originally hails from Lancaster, PA and now lives in Maryland. She connected with Bikram hot yoga (26&2) in 2012 and completed her 200-hour YTT in 2019. What started as a journey to get in better physical shape has evolved into being part of a supportive community that benefits all aspects of health.  Christina is certified in hot yoga (26&2), yin (Yin96), pyroPilates, and Mindful Resilience Training (MRT). She looks forward to practicing with you in the hot room!

Erin started practicing the 26&2 series in 2010. She came across it after being a two sport collegiate athlete who was looking for a new, stimulating challenge that would keep her fit. It soon became a physical, mental and spiritual practice that she continues to practice and study in daily. Erin completed her 200 hour teacher training in 2020, and has been involved in trainings and workshops with various instructors, including Jared McCann, Benjamin Sears, Esak Garcia, and Mary Jarvis. In addition to the 26&2 series, Erin has experience with and practices forms of vinyasa and Forrest Yoga.