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our teachers

As a Certified Bikram Yoga Studio, all of our teachers have either graduated the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training (BYTT) or an equivalent teacher training run by former Bikram Yoga HQ Faculty members.

 

Every BYTT 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 BYTT course, leading to a certificate of completion, introduces the teachers to the basic knowledge needed to begin teaching this powerful healing yoga.

 

The BYTT 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 the series.

 

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. 

Unfortunately I have experienced a few serious injuries over the years - but with the help of Bikram yoga, I managed to rehabilitate my body back to full health. Without the yoga, I would have taken a lot longer to mend.

Struggle harder and Don't Give Up!

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nina granatir

 

Nina took her first yoga class when she was 16, but it wasn't until she began her Bikram practice in 1999 that she knew she wanted to teach - it was love at first sweat.  She went on to attend Bikram Teacher Training in 2005 and has been teaching ever since.  Nina opened up a yoga studio in Seattle in 2011, which she ran for 10 years.   She was so happy to find BYDB when she moved to South FL in spring of 2017 and immediately felt the sense of community from the amazing students, instructors and owner, Jon.  She is humbled to be on the podium leading classes and sweating alongside her fellow yogis at BYDB. When she is not teaching, Nina is most likely taking class or walking her 2 rascal rescue dogs.

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!

 

ron gintner

 

I began my Bikram Yoga practice the day after Thanksgiving in 1989. What I learned from the first day is never, ever eat a turkey sandwich before class.  I was seeing stars by Standing Head to Knee and I was looking at my reflection in the toilet bowl by Triangle.  I thought I was going to die.   It took about three weeks before trying again.  Without the sandwich I made it through the class.  I wanted to do this because I was having chronic back pain and knee problems. Once I got the hang of it I loved it.  Bikram Yoga was just right for me.  Even though I struggled through each class I kept at it.  My instructor called me the “concrete man” for quite a while.  Talk about stiff.   Over the years I have become much more flexible. 

After 12 years of practice I found a time in my life when I could get away from my business for nine weeks and I went to teacher training in the fall of 2001. I began my teaching career in Washington DC, and then in Massachusetts.   In my early days I taught all over South Florida.  In 2007 I purchased the Bikram Yoga studio in Boca Raton.  I ran that studio for the ten years. I planned on retiring at the end of last year but I became very restless after the studio was closed for a few months.  I still love to practice and teach Bikram Yoga.  I’m very happy to be on the staff here at Bikram Yoga Delray.

I hope to get know all you soon!

Namaste,

Ron  

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mia paolini

 

I was a stressed out special education teacher when I stumbled into my first yoga class, but it wasn’t until I discovered Bikram yoga in 1999 did I fee the true potential of yoga to help decrease my stress and improve my overall physical well being. In the Fall of 2000 I attended the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Beverly Hills, CA. The yoga in my life has brought everything together nicely. My degrees in Psychology and Special Education both compliment my daily teaching. Soon after teacher training, I left the school classroom and found myself in the studio classroom full-time. Being able to teach and guide students in a practice that has not only benefited myself, but 1000’s of people is an honor I deeply cherish. Through multiple pregnancies, knee injuries, back and hip troubles and the many stressors of life in general, I have always found recovery and healing through the practice and meditation of Bikram Yoga. Trust the process - it works!  

 

Every time I walk into the studio to begin class, that initial excitement of being able to share my love and knowledge of this yoga overwhelms me. Whether it’s a first time student who makes it through their very first class or a seasoned student who has completed their 500th class I cherish teaching each and every one of their smiling happy faces. 

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cindy reardon

 

Cindy walked into her first Bikram Yoga class on a blind date! 15 years later and she is still practicing 5 times a week!! In 2016 she decided to attend teacher training and threw herself into a 6 week (400 hr) intensive learning experience. She taught in Nashua, NH for 5 years before her family moved to Boca Raton where she lives with her husband and 12 year old twins.

Cindy has been teaching group exercise for 20 years. Some of the certifications she holds are: 400-hour Original Hot Yoga Certification 2016, Inferno Hot Pilates 2017, Hot 26 Plus Certification 2019, 50-hour Yin Yoga 2019, Spinning, AFAA Group Exercise, Zumba and AFAA Personal Trainer.

For Cindy, the joys of teaching have been in witnessing the progression of someone in their practice, to see and experience the change in their attitude towards life, changes in their body, and the connection that she has with every single person that comes to the studio. For Cindy’s students, the laughter found in her classes is equal to the challenge of the practice.

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

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kristiina olsson

 

Grew up in Helsinki, Finland, raised riding/training horses meant broken bones and dislocated joints.  

A motorcycle accident, during college years in Spain, left me with a deaf ear and poor balance.  

Arrived America in my late 20’s, begun digging deep into meditation/self-realization. Many teachers, many methods. A stay living with the ancient Arhuaco Indian Tribe in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada Mountains had a deep impact on me, revealed how teachers can be so many, all over the world, but the Truth is always the Same.     

Physical pain forced me to leave high-impact sports and lead to Hatha Yoga.  However, soon became hard on myself again, forcing my body to fit inside advanced postures. Pain returned.  

Heat attracted me to Bikram. It wasn’t love at first 90 minutes but during my first one-week introductory noticed pain diminishing, balancing on one leg becoming easier, hyperventilating stopped.  I was learning to breath; I was learning Patience. Finally found the perfect combination of Physical Exercise, Healing and Meditation.  

Sharing my own practice as a Teacher I continuously educate myself and follow new Science discoveries of Human Body and Mind.  However, my emphasis remains in the step-by-step Simple, Original Bikram dialogue that facilitates the concentration and meditation.  The Healing happens when your only goal is the Next Step!  

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diane simpson

 

Training-2018 spring. 1st Bikram class 10/22/2013, I will never ever forget.

BS in Dietetics, years of nutritional counseling, developed recipes, food styling & wrote cookbooks for several Fortune 500 companies, procured healthy foods for major grocery chain in 90's.

Homemaker for several years (with continued consulting in above areas) to 3 children (1 son Derek & 2 daughters).

Lifetime of study & proponent of wellness mixed in with living today's best day.

My 2 favorite sayings "that everything you do doesn't make you better at yoga but yoga makes everything YOU do better"  and "sea/salt water cures all" and my very favorite "Today will be a great day! I am glad to be alive!! (author my son 1st day of 1st grade).

Favorite thing I've learned from practicing Bikram... Power of breath in valley's & mountain's in each of our journeys.

erica predmest

 

Teaching Bikram Yoga gives me the ability to help change peoples lives and I can watch my students blossom and learn to love and respect their bodies as I did and still do. I honestly can not imagine my life without this practice. It has helped me in the most tremendous ways. The benefits from Bikram Yoga are endless and I have found a new respect for myself. I can say without reservation that participating in Bikram Yoga has been the most important decision I’ve ever made to nurture my mind, body and life. 

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kat stack

 

Kat’s yoga journey began in 2006 while studying English in NYC, but her passion ignited in 2010 when she attended her first Bikram yoga class and became an avid practitioner. She felt a deep calling to the yogic path and intuitively stated that one day she would be a certified yoga teacher. Kat got sober in 2018 and supplemented her recovery with devotion to her yoga practice. Kat feels deeply called to share her love for yoga as a means of fostering the mind, body, and spirit connection. For Kat, yoga goes far beyond the physical postures; it is a practice in spirituality and returning to the true essence of who we are.

 

In addition to her yoga practice, Kat spends a lot of her free time immersed in South Florida’s recovery community and being of service by carrying the message of sobriety. Kat loves to read and she is drawn to spiritual books that further her inward quest.

Kat is a 200 RYT and is continuing her education at a 26&2 yoga teacher training in January 2022.

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