our teachers
As a Certified Bikram Yoga Studio, all of our teachers have graduated the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training.
Every certified teacher, spends nine weeks immersed in an in-depth study of Bikram Yoga with Yoga Masters Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury and their staff of senior teachers.
The course, leading to a certificate of completion, introduces the teachers to the basic knowledge needed to begin teaching this powerful healing yoga.
The course covers asana, anatomy, therapeutic applications and health benefits of Yoga, nutrition, philosophy of Yoga, Bikram's Posture Clinic, and the Bikram Yoga dialogue.
Through dedicated practice and study of the 26 postures, the teachers worked to expand their knowledge of the Bikram Method and prepared themselves to teach it.
jon kinsman
I am the owner of Bikram Yoga Delray Beach and I became a Certified Bikram Teacher in March of 2004. I love to see people change in their bodies, their health and their overall happiness.
I love to have fun when I teach and make people laugh. The yoga is always a challenge for me, but I know that going through this experience with my practice everyday and coming out on the other side is what allows me to grow and feel amazing.
As an avid motorcyclist, unfortunately I have experienced a few injuries over the years - but with the help of Bikram yoga, I managed to re-habilitate my body back to full health. I fractured my pelvis in 2013, but I was back practicing 3 weeks later albeit with a slightly limited practice, but still in the room, using the postures to fix my broken body. Without the yoga, I would have taken a lot longer to mend.
Struggle harder and Don't Give Up!
jill bayne
Jill is a certified yoga instructor, qualified to teach students of every level. Her approach is to share the depth and strength of inward exploration and awareness. Her style of teaching emphasizes creating a safe, supportive environment in which students can explore, be challenged, and find their own inner voice. She wants students to emerge from her classes feeling relaxed, open and alive! Jill has taught yoga since 2008 in yoga studios in and around New York City, Boston, Colorado, California, and Florida.
ross barna
I was born and grew up in Philadelphia. I have always loved sports. I was very active growing up and played baseball all the way up through the collegiate level.After college, I began working in the legal industry and stopped paying as much attention to my health as I had in the past. By the end of 2010, I knew that I needed to make some changes and to take better care of myself. I decided that I would give yoga a try. Initially, I began practicing other styles of yoga. I found out pretty quickly that yoga involved a lot more than stretching, incense, and chanting. Somebody in one of my classes suggested that I try Bikram Yoga. All I knew about Bikram Yoga at the time was that it was the "hot" yoga. Never one to back down from a challenge, I attended my first class at 6:00 a.m. with Jon. I sweated more than I thought was humanly possible that morning. Very quickly I started to see the benefits that the teachers talked about during class becoming realities in my life. As a lifelong asthma sufferer, I had used inhalers for more than twenty years to regulate my breathing. After only nine months of consistent practice I was able to discontinue using my inhalers completely. I also lost about thirty pounds my first year of practicing.
I believe strongly that this yoga can have tremendous benefits for anyone willing to practice consistently, and I am so grateful to be a part of the awesome community at the studio!
cheryl cherne
If you had met me 15 years ago, I’d be the absolute last person you’d ever expect to be a yogini. My first class was in Paris. As fate would have it, the Bikram studio was the only one with daily classes in English. With a dedicated following, the disciplined students were packed in like sardines. It was beyond intimidating. I felt like an ugly American ducking in a sea of French swans. By the end of class, I had forgotten my awkwardness and instead was taken by how nice and supportive everyone was towards each other. I was curious. I was hooked.
After that, my practice was split between the Soho New York and Paris studios. I was traveling a lot and loved that wherever I went a Bikram studio was sure to be found. When it wasn’t, I’d practice in the hotel listening to the Bikram cd. With this practice, my body and life began to change in ways I never thought possible… In 2007, it was time to go to the source and attend training to learn more about this practice and myself.
Teaching is a privilege, an honor, to guide fellow students through the series and the benefits. It is a joy, my pleasure, to witness the unfoldment as students find themselves one posture, one class, one day at a time, in the studio in their practice and outside the studio in their life…
david salcedo
David started practicing Bikram yoga in Boca Raton, FL in 1996. He attended teacher training in 2002 and ever since his devotion as a teacher has brought humility, compassion and patience to serve his students through their struggles and accomplishments. He truly believes in the miraculous medical benefits of the series after healing himself from a deformed (kyphotic) spine. When not teaching or practicing; David is a full time pastry chef, an aficionado flamenco dancer and an amateur saltwater aquarist.
cole ulhrig
Cole began practicing yoga on June 1, 2010, in New York City at Bikram Yoga Harlem. After just that one class, he noticed such a profound difference in his energy, mood and physical body that he was clear about the desire to practice regularly for the rest of his life. Cole attended the FALL 2011 Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Los Angeles and began teaching at several studios on Long Island, NY after completing certification. Recently, Cole moved to Ocean Ridge with his partner Vincent Grucci, and has been teaching around South Florida ever since. In January 2014, Cole suffered a meniscus tear and a torn ACL which required surgery. The procedure and the rehab left Cole with a renewed respect for practicing mindfulness and a commitment to patience, which he now brings into both his practice and his teaching.
silvia garcia
Silvia is a Certified Bikram Instructor since 1995 and received her Training Certificate for Advance Class in 1997.
She has been practicing yoga for 53 years. She started in Argentina studying Shivananda and Iyengar yoga styles. She started practicing Bikram yoga style in 1988. She also is a Certified Teacher of Chair Yoga and Ying Yoga. She teaches private and group classes. She helps patients to recover through yoga movements at Physical Therapy Medical Center at Boca Raton office.
She guides beginners and advanced students through the learning process of building the asanas with steadiness of a strong foundation and good alignment; reaching the fulfillment of the postures through the total awareness of breath and fluidity of movement. She is a strong believer that planting the seeds of yoga’s principles in kids of young ages will lead to the improvement of future generations.
“A healthy mind, a healthy spine and a strong digestive fire are the most powerful healing human sources”
Unknown author
hilary crows
My Bikram yoga journey started at Bikram Yoga Delray Beach in December 2003 and what I thought would be a once a week workout along with the gym and other styles of yoga turned out to be life changing. I saw weight drop off, self confidence rise and mentally I was much more focused. After seeing how beneficial this practice was in my life I wanted to be able to share this amazing practice with others... and prove to myself that I could get through the 9 week teacher training! I attended teacher training in the spring of '09 in Palm Desert CA. Training was physically and even more so mentally one of the most challenging things I have ever done - and I am so grateful for it! Teaching and continued practice has given me a foundation for my life and I try to take what we practice in the hot room into my life: compassion, discipline, humility, patience and honesty. I am so glad to be back at Bikram Yoga Delray Beach and look forward to seeing you all in the hot room!
tegwyn dougherty
Tegwyn has been practicing yoga for eleven years, and became a certified Bikram Yoga Instructor in 2008.
A dialog focused teacher, with special appreciation for those who like her, thought maybe life was over due to age, pain and injury, brings to her teaching the joy of connecting mind, body and spirit for healthy life.
At 49, had to quit running and bicycling due to chronic pain in spine and diagnosis of degenerative disk disease. A passion for fitness drew her to yoga, and once Hot Yoga with Bikram was discovered; she knew instinctively that it would heal and give her the fitness level including cardio vascular fitness she had enjoyed most of her life.
In spite of having to have a complete discectomy and fusion of C4 – C7 (cervical disks), was back in the hot room, 7 weeks’ post-surgery practicing with care and awareness, has very little pain with her continued passionate practice of yoga.
The power of yoga to heal, and bring focus to your life that is meaningful and aligned with your spirit, is a gift and power she loves to share with students.
One of my favorite quotes: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” Mick Jagger
mili lovcevic
I started my Bikram yoga practice in 2005. My best friend had begged me for a year to try Bikram and I finally gave in and decided to give it a try. I was hooked immediately! After 8 months of regular practice, I attended Bikram's Yoga teacher training in Los Angeles in the fall of 2006 and have been teaching and practicing regularly since I graduated from FAU. Bikram's yoga has had a tremendous therapeutic benefit on my body and mind and I love passing on the knowledge I have gained from my teaching and practice to all the amazing students at BYDB!
teresa bongolan
Teresa Bongolan is one of the latest addition to the Bikram Yoga Delray Beach Studio. Originally from Northern California and trained at famed the Bikram studio in Los Angeles, she’s a fourteen year veteran of practicing and teaching yoga. Teresa has taught at a diverse collection of studios from across the country, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. From the prolific Funky Door Yoga in Berkeley to boutique studios in Denver Colorado, and now South Florida, she has drawn universal praise. Teresa’s strength is her voice, combining motivational techniques with a calm and positive command of the class. As she is able to inspire the physical demands of the postures without sacrificing the emotional and metaphysical core of yoga, she has earned the nickname The Quiet Tiger. Whether you are an experienced and tested yogi, or one of the thousands of new Bikram converts coming for your first class, she will make you feel comfortable but inspire your sweaty best.
”This yoga has confirmed for me that we are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit. We have infinite potential when we have our health. Some days I struggle and other days seems like a breeze, but no matter what comes my way the yoga reminds me that I have the tools to deal with the minutia of life. I am extremely grateful to be able to maintain a personal practice as well as being able to guide others on their journey to optimum health. When you take my class, I make it a point to learn your name so I can give you clear, caring, verbal corrections but not interrupt the flow of the class. On numerous occasions I give some pointers on a posture, so you can learn proper form and alignment. Someone told me long time ago that in order to be a great teacher, you also have to be a good student. I believe the road to success is trying.”
Outside the yoga, Teresa’s professional career includes Marketing Communications and Real Estate. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from San Jose State University. She is an avid family woman, including her husband, daughter, grandchildren, and many good friends. In her spare time, she enjoys the arts, interior design, cooking, and salsa dancing.
