Annemarie F
Every class is different, it feels like I am taking the students through a journey. Teaching has a calming affect on me and I am grateful for it.
Sometime in 2005 I came across an article in Het Parool about Bikram Yoga. The heat was what caught my attention. At the time I worked as a writer for a daily Dutch soap opera. I spent too many hours hunched over my computer. I was stiff as a plank, not to mention I was also over worked and stuck in my head. My neck and shoulders hurt and I felt I was on a road to nowhere.
Not exactly love at first sight, but…
I must be honest I was not hooked after my first lesson. It was very confronting to me to stay in the room, be still and be quiet. I found it quite a challenge to go back each time, I wanted to quit but something made me go back. But over a period of about 6 months I increased my practice frequency and then I started to get it. I could see and feel the positive effects for me physically but also mentally. I remember after about 1 year feeling a strong sense of gratitude I had found this yoga.
From student to teacher
My decision to become a teacher happened very slowly. I spoke to the school owner in Amsterdam about it and was invited to join in the extra training sessions for teachers and those wanting to become teachers. Right away I saw it was too much, too soon and I abandoned the plan. I still had a full time job, small kids and just needed more time on my mat.
Years later I was practicing with Huub at his school Forty Degrees (a Bikram Yoga school) in Amsterdam and he encouraged me to become a teacher. Under his guidance I followed two teacher training programs in 2013 and 2014 and then spent endless hours with him sharpening my skills as a teacher. When his school abruptly closed in 2017 I found myself without a school to teach in. I contacted Lydia to teach in Rotterdam.
The next chapter
Taking Lydia’s class I could see this was a similar fit and feel to Huub’s school. It wasn’t just a place to teach, it was a community where you learned the student’s names, you witnessed their struggles and gently encouraged them to find their strength and make positive changes. Every class is different, it feels like I am taking the students through a journey. Teaching has a calming affect on me and I am grateful for it.
Bikram Yoga beginner’s tip
Keep an open mind and be patient.