Hot Yoga Journeys: From Student to Teacher
Passionate insights from passionate Hot Yoga teachers.
Featuring contributions from Marit Sathrum, Kerry Helmer, Karen Knetter, and Anne Morgan.
1) Why did you decide to do the Hot Yoga teacher training?
MARIT: I decided to do Hot Yoga Teacher Training (Bikram Yoga in 1997) because I absolutely LOVED Bikram Yoga and really wanted an all intensive experience with no opportunity for "life" to interrupt.
KERRY: I wanted to share with others all the benefits I receive from practicing this style of yoga.
KAREN K: Teaching was my motivation for enrolling in Hot Yoga teacher training. I had been practicing for many many years and hoped the experience would deepen my practice, but I felt too that sharing yoga through teaching would bring me joy.
ANNE: I decided to participate in Hot 90 teacher training to learn more about each pose, but also to challenge myself to face my fear of being in front of people.
2) What did you enjoy most about the Hot Yoga training?
MARIT: What I enjoyed the most was the intensity. It was a 12 week full time (only Sundays off) experience, with 11 Bikram Yoga classes required each week. It was awesome. I also really enjoyed being with the others who loved it as much as I did, including my best friend Robin.
KERRY: The deep dive into form, technique, and benefits as well as learning how to deliver dialogue so it inspires people to stay energized for 90 minutes in the hot room.
KAREN K: I especially liked the challenge of the teacher training. It wasn’t easy, but you share that with others in class, and grow a little.
ANNE: Students and teachers spent several hours in training breaking down the poses one by one to understand the alignment and mental and physical benefits of each pose.
3) What do you enjoy most about teaching Hot Yoga?
MARIT: I enjoy so many things about teaching Hot Yoga. Mostly I love the community of Hot Yogis who come together to practice this amazing, disciplined yoga style that results in incredible benefits. I also enjoy seeing individuals transform. One of my favorite transformations is watching a student move from not liking to look at themselves in the mirror to loving themselves as a result of disciplined, committed, regular practice. It's remarkable.
KERRY: Again, it goes back to the benefits. I focus on the details, the specific way this yoga was designed to be practiced and talk about the benefits of doing the asanas as prescribed. I want people to understand that those little details - the precise way of setting up, moving into, and being in an asana according to the dialogue - are what sets this practice apart, makes it so amazing, and creates the mind body connection.
KAREN K: When I teach yoga, I’m putting my practice to practice, reinforcing the knowledge I’ve learned, and also broadening my understanding as I watch and learn from the diversity of people in class. It’s a great feeling when you help others feel good.
ANNE: It took a long, long time to feel only somewhat comfortable. To be honest, as I drove to my first classes after I began teaching, I would get sick to my stomach and wonder why on earth was I doing this to myself! To this day, I am still not 100 percent comfortable, but I have grown in so many ways from this training both on and off the mat. I have more confidence in myself. I have made many wonderful Hot 90 yogi friends who share the same love of this very brilliant sequence, which, as the years have gone by, I realize is the most important part: being in a community of Hot Yoga practitioners.
What’s your Hot Yoga story? Share in the comments below!
Learn more about Inner Fire Yoga’s Hot Yoga Teacher Training program here.