(Photo | Pexels)
Bend Hot Yoga, formally Bikram Yoga Bend (BYB), is celebrating 15 years of serving the Bend community. Shifting away from the Bikram name and adding wellness education and other Yoga practices to their services.
After the news broke out in 2013 of sexual assault allegations against Bikram Choudhury, BYB did not send any more students to Bikram’s Hot Yoga Teacher Trainings. Allegations against Choudhury were the main reason for changing the name, and then they realized there is something more happening here in our community that kept them dedicated to their practice. “I held onto the name because I believe in the method’s health benefits. We separated the man from the method,” says Susie Mclagan, owner since 2012.
As the allegations continued and became more public, students began to ask if the business had a stronger affiliation with Choudhury. Keeping the name gave into assumptions that the studio is a franchise to Bikram himself or Bikram Headquarters in Los Angeles. The studio, from the very day it opened, has not, and never did, pay a franchise fee to Bikram.
Many Bikram Yoga studios are currently being sued for using the name Bikram Yoga, and are being threatened to pay from as far back as 2015 for the usage of his name as part of their business. Bikram Yoga Bend was not a target, but it helped inspire them to make the change and go forward with dreams for this Hot Yoga studio. “We gradually allowed ourselves to become Bend Hot Yoga and continued on the path toward wellness and overall alignment.”
As other Bikram Studios around the country and the world rebranded and expanded their offerings, McLagan remarks, “It opened our eyes to what more we can give our Bend community, it was the perfect opportunity to expand our offerings, bringing more wellness that supports a hot yoga practice.”
At the core of Bend Hot Yoga is the original 90-minute 26 + 2 postures set up in the traditional style of Bikram Yoga. There are also 60 and 75 minute classes based on the same sequence. The studio now offers more yoga classes: Hot Intermediate and Advanced Flow are offered as well as Kundalini (Tuesdays 7 am), Yin Yoga (Thursdays 7am). A monthly Yoga Nidra and Crystal Bowl Sound Baths, community gatherings and retreats, and starting January 20, will host a monthly women’s circle. They offer private yoga sessions and small group sessions upon request. Special classes on Ayurveda, nutrition, rolfing, mental health, body image and addiction are now offered regularly to support a truly holistic healthy lifestyle.
The added wellness education and workshops create an even stronger community of likeminded folks from so many different walks of life. “I am seeing real connections between the students, from networking to friendships,” studio owner Mclagan says. “The creation of community here is beyond my dreams. We have a staff with so much talent, education, drive and passion far beyond just what we specialize in teaching, (the Bikram Yoga Method). Watching them come up with ideas, implementing and sharing what they know is like watching flowers bloom.”
They are the original Bikram Yoga studio in Central Oregon and are extending an invitation to all who have ever walked in the door, to those who are curious and just want to ask questions and to those who have been here since the get-go to attend the celebration to launch all the new classes and offerings available at our studio.
“Personally, I believe all yoga is good. While at Bend Hot Yoga our foundation is built around a set sequence of postures in the heat, from our Ghosh lineage, we of course know that all bodies are different: therefore alignment of each specific body, has become paramount in teaching. Our staff works together to educate and engage with how we can help students discover their best alignment to feel well, not just look a certain way in asana. We work with each individual to promote further healing. As the body finds this balance, a deep mental shift occurs towards more awareness and connection to our true self.”
There will be an open house on Saturday, February 2 from 5-7pm to gather and celebrate.
bikramyogabend.com (URL to change soon)
