Teachers
All our Instructors are trained and certified by Bikram Choudhury. Certification involves 9 weeks of intensive teacher training, two classes a day and over 500 hours of study.
- Why is certification important?
Bikram yoga is a very specialized and precise form of yoga. To get the greatest benefit, you need an instructor that is also highly specialized. Bikram Choudhury personally trains and certifies his instructors, ensuring that his methods and philosophies are preserved.
TEACHER’S BIOGRAPHY
Tamara Markatselis
Founder
Tamara studied Law and Marketing and has back ground experience in business and finance, however it was her experience with Bikram Yoga that changed her life path. After having tried other forms of yoga she quickly felt at home when she did her first Bikram Yoga class in mid 2003. After her very first class, she knew that there was something special about this practice and wondered how she could become a teacher. The intense sweating and challenge of the class kept her coming back for more. Tamara says “the effects of the yoga were immediate for me. I felt them on all levels: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.”
In 2004, Tamara’s sister was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor and it was then that she decided to attend the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. She had heard the remarkable stories of healing through Bikram Yoga and felt that by guiding her sister though yoga, she could help her recover from intense side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Tamara craved a deeper knowledge of the yoga and its benefits that had helped heal so many people.
In summer 2004, Tamara attended the rigorous Teacher Training in Los Angeles, CA, USA for the duration of nine weeks. One of the most incredible experiences of her life.
Since then Tamara is also certified in Kids Yoga and is an Internationally certified Hatha Pregnancy Yoga Teacher.
Tamara is married to her husband, Chris Markatselis and they have a beautiful son, Fabrizio. Through many life experiences and now being a mother she realize how important it is for her to practice Bikram Yoga on a regular basis.
Tamara says: “I take great honor in sharing and teaching this wonderful practice and am committed to serving and offering this magical form of yoga to my community. I invite anyone and everyone to try a Bikram Yoga class at least once in their lifetime.”
Asmita Marlow
My name is Asmita Marlow. I currently work in IT as a Business Analyst, however I teach Bikram yoga as frequently as I can.
I completed the Bikram Teacher Training course in 2004 after practicing Bikram yoga for just 9 months. After my first class, I was hooked and it was not more than 2 months later that I knew I wanted to meet Bikram and become a teacher.
The way I felt after my first class was incredible; which is probably not normal after the first couple of classes since one undergoes a physical, emotional and energetic detox which could be quite a shocker. Either way, one soon feels the amazing benefits as you begin to feel awakened and alive by the experience.
The sequence seemed perfect to make me feel that I had a total body workout. I knew things were shifting in me on more than just a physical level and I was most impressed with the teachers as they inspired students with the information they shared and the passion and love that came through when they taught.
I saw what they did as a significant part of my life as things around me and people around me started changing as I changed. The positivity, courage and enthusiasm I felt after class together with feeling healthier than I ever have in my life was one of the motivating factors for me to be a teacher.
The main reason though, was that I had always known of the general healing benefits of yoga. My first yoga teacher controlled his Multiple Sclerosis with yoga and soon took himself off cortisone as a result of practicing daily. The distinction then with Bikram yoga was the depth one reaches in a space of time due to the heat intensity and the well researched sequence, and that was what made me want to be a Bikram yoga teacher specifically.
Neil Joss
“I always dreamed of doing yoga and being taught by a real Indian teacher. In 2006 a friend told me she was doing yoga and suggested I try it out. My first class I sweated, went to hell and back and afterward was glowing in happiness, obviously since then I have been hooked. I went to teacher training in Hawaii (another dream fulfilled) living in Weikiki, training with Bikram and swimming in the sea where many of my surfing heroes’ swam. It was amazing and my love for yoga grew.
My yoga journey has lead me to train with many big names- Sean Corn, Anna Forest, Shiva Rea, Gurmuk, Michael Gannon,john Schumaker and the Jivamukti duo, (and many more) but no one compares to Bikram. He is an inspiration par excellence.
I train all styles but again Bikram is my language. No new age pretensions, just work hard to heal your life, to live the good life.
I am an artist (painting/drawing) and am a holistic health counselor, helping people find their own healing through nutritional guidance
I love teaching and came to my life’s work a little bit later in my life, living and loving to help people connect with their own healing and their real selves.
Mahalo and Namaste Neil.”
Paul De Stefanis
As like many of you a friend suggested trying Bikram Yoga, so on 3 March 2008 I practised my first class. And oh boy what an experience! I just loved the Yoga and how it started to further transform my life, in the physical, mental and emotional perspectives. So one year and one month later I left for Bikram Yoga teacher training in Palm Desert California.
My previous position working full time as product manager in a technical sales field did not allow me much opportunity to practise my other studies and passions. Now with a far greater flexible schedule I’m able offer Reiki, Transformational and Quantum healing and my service’s to many more people in a far greater capacity, which is an excellent compliment to my Yoga teaching and practise as it is the bodies most natural way of healing. Being able to share my experience and love wisdom and see all students and clients grow and transform is humbly gratifying and brings me great joy. I wish you all much success and great health. Namaste’
Shereeze Latchman
My yoga journey began in 2001 in an old school hall. My instructor was 80 years old and could easily manoeuvre herself into the splits…thus this has been an inspirational journey for me from the beginning proving that through yoga anything is possible. In 2005 I started practicing Bikram Yoga in Cape Town and fell in love…I knew that I had found my passion! During that period I was studying and working in Marketing. The yoga studio became my sanctuary from all life’s challenges, and all life’s ‘break-downs’ became ‘break-through’s’ through my practice. What I practiced inside that hot room was moulded in my life outside the room – in real life. Balance, focus, will power, determination, strength, control, perseverance, patience, gratitude, love, compassion and humility. In 2007 I decided that this is what I want to do all day every day and one day be able to share the awesome benefits of this yoga (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) with people everywhere! After much hard work and sacrifice, I fulfilled a life long dream and attended Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in April 2007.
I taught in Cape Town ever since and still teach there whenever I’m in town. I also taught in Johannesburg in Fourways and Randburg for 3 months in 2008 before travelling and am happy to be back in Jozi and part of this dynamic team! At the moment I am broadening my ‘yogi horizons’ and started integrating different forms of yoga into my life such as Vinyasa and Ashtanga – I find that all the different forms of yoga compliment each other and definitely help me grow in my yoga journey.
Bridget Lydall
On the 5th of December 2006 I attempted my first Bikram Yoga class. It was awful and wonderful at the same time. I was nauseous, dizzy, sore, stiff, embarrassed, and self-conscious… I felt like I couldn’t breathe and was on the mat for most of the class. Yet for some reason I loved it! I had never experienced any exercise that made me feel so great and I remember driving home that evening, phoning my friends and telling them about the most wonderful thing I just did.
On the 5th of December 2009, exactly 3 years later, I graduated a Certified Bikram Yoga teacher after completing a rigorous 9-week training program in Las Vegas. This is an intensely demanding endeavor requiring a high degree of physical fitness and mental stamina. It entailed 3 to 4 hours of physical activity (yoga) as well as approximately 6 hours of theoretical instruction per day – 6 days a week. It was an incredible experience and I am amazed that I did it.
I certainly didn’t consider this even a remote possibility 3 years before – I was extremely unfit and inflexible. I’d heard some of the Teachers speaking about their own experiences on training and I thought “wow, I wish I was one of those people who could do something like that.” As I continued to practise and noticed how quickly my body changed, I started to realise that I could. The notion that I was capable of satisfying the requirements of training became conceivable. The idea of becoming a teacher resonated with my soul and I decided to attend the training with complete faith that teaching is in perfect alignment with my life purpose.
The benefits I have received have been enormous! My body has totally transformed in terms of strength, fitness and flexibility (I couldn’t even touch my toes when I started and I now have straight legs in “Hands to Feet Pose.”) I am by no means perfect but I’ve also learnt that the goal is not perfection in and of itself but “to be perfect in yoga is to be the best I can be” and the comparison is “to compare that point at which I began.” I have loved the journey of my practise unfolding and each moment I’ve gone just a little bit further in a posture has been an absolute delight.
It is not just the physical benefits that have been phenomenal. By practising Bikram Yoga I have learnt so much about concentration, determination, courage, patience, humility, discipline, etc… The benefits on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level are truly endless. You really do leave your ego at the door when you step into class and after 90 minutes of moving meditation you walk out equipped with the most powerful tools to guide you through the rest of your life. Yoga teaches you to forget about the previous posture, not anticipate the next and give absolute commitment and focus on the one you are in. When you can do this in class, you can do this in life.
I had previously always felt that I had a strong mind and was connected to the quiet voice of my soul, yet I felt dissociation from my body. I came from a place where I held so much fear and limiting beliefs about what my body was capable of. I had an inherent distrust of most forms of exercise and was always afraid I would injure myself or look like a complete fool trying.
What was really special for me when I started Bikram Yoga was how safe I felt. I began to trust Bikram’s series and understood that it was perfectly designed to work one hundred percent of my body and I didn’t need to be at any level of fitness to do this. I knew that my body would tell me how far I could go in a posture and I was guided by teachers who followed a strict methodology. Bikram Yoga provided that safe container from which I could begin to explore my body and ultimately move towards the union of body, mind and spirit.
This for me is a priceless gift and I trust that teaching will enable me to share part of this gift as it will offer me the opportunity to guide others on their own personal adventure.
Namaste’
Mark Fennell
Born in West Sussex England , I have worked in Financial Markets in London for 30 years Having always been active and sports/gym minded , 2 years ago I underwent a change in my life at 48 after realising that I was missing a purpose and fulfilment , something deeper than material and ego driven goals. I gave up alchohol and lost 18kg , i started training with a personal trainer and close friend , and she introduced me to Bikram Yoga to integrate into my range of fitness and health activities. Traveling to South Africa several times a year , it was here at Bikram Yoga 4ways that I started a daily practice i found my new interest in life . When the same friend went to Bikram Teacher Training ,i visited and decided that was what I now wanted to learn to teach. I attended Teacher Training in fall 2010 in San Diego with 400 other very keen Bikram Yogis. I now spend 9 months a year in South Africa, run a business in Fourways and teach both here and in the UK. Having taught Scuba Diving , Skiing and Swimming previously – I now find so much health, energy ,and enthusiasm in my teaching and practice of Bikram Yoga , it has helped me to improve my quality of life and understanding of body, mind and soul. It is now my goal in life to pass on the peace and happiness I have found , the life change that is within everybody s reach . Live a healthy life and it will be long and happy.
