Val’s Story, How OHY (aka Original Hot Yoga) Changed my life forever
In the summer of 1996 at the age of 28, I had a great life with a successful career in the shoe business. My only problem was that my right hip was experiencing terrible arthritis pain. I broke my hip when I was 13 and now found myself needing a visit to an orthopedic doctor at Cedars Sinai. ( I was told I would develop arthritis much later in life, as in later, not my 20s!)
He told me that I would need a hip replacement in the next three to five years and he gave me 3 prescription drugs to ease the pain. (notice the timeframe…Opiods…) It didn’t feel right to need this type or this much medication in my 20’s, so after I spent the next few months feeling sorry for myself, I traveled to Denver for my job. I spend a fwe days with my friends parents and his mom took me to a Bikram yoga Class in August of 1996. On that trip I found Bikram yoga and I realized I had found an alternative to drugs and surgery and my my hip pain and life were changed forever.
I also realized that Bikram world headquarters was 15 minutes from my apartment in LA. (Bikram never marketed or advertised, so I had never heard of Bikram Yoga at that time) I started practicing 3 times a week and noticed my limp and much of my pain went away. Then I increased my practice to 5 times a week and realized that I had discovered the incredible power to create healing and change by showing up for myself and committing to good life choices. This feeling was so powerful that in January of 1998 I quit my successful corporate shoe career and spent 11 weeks taking the 6th Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. I loved every minute of it and even won a trophy.
I opened Hot Yoga Pasadena (originally Bikram Yoga Pasadena) in Nov 1998. I moved to Pasadena from LA after quitting my successful job at a corporate shoe company. I loved my previous career and loved traveling to NYC 4 times a year and diving into culture, food and fashion.
Becoming a Teacher
There were many classes and stories that inspired me to become a teacher. One turning point was when he said in a class, that when doctors don’t know what is wrong with you, they give you an “-itis. That one sentence embodied my story. When I was 13 and my hip was actually breaking, the doctor didn’t’t know what was wrong, and continually misdiagnosed me with arthritis during one visit, tendonitis at another, and ultimately bursitis. (You can read my full story here for all the details. http://www.yogival.com/story/). For all of these reasons, I began thinking it would be “nice” to do teacher training, yet I still had a career. Then one day something happened that changed everything.
I went to see Bikram after class and wanted him to know that I was much better thanks to this yoga. He got in my face, his eyes lit up, and it felt like he was speaking to my soul. He said, “YOU SHOULD DO MY NEXT TEACHER TRAINING, YOU WILL BE THE BEST ONE!” I made plans the next day. I spent six months paying off debt and saving money for training so I could live financially without working.
In January 1998 I quit my beloved corporate job, and attended Bikram’s Teacher Training. I graduated in May of that year and spent a few months visiting studios to see what I needed to do.I returned home and decided to move to Pasadena to open a studio. When I told him during training I was thinking of opening in Pasadena, he lit up again and said, “THAT IS THE BEST IDEA.” I opened Hot Yoga Pasadena (at the time Bikram Yoga Pasadena) in 1998. (The original studio was only the yoga room, with two tiny changing rooms in the front, a de sk, fridge and bench. I took the space next to me and did a full remodel in 2013.)
In 2013, a sexual misconduct claim came out. Many of my fellow owners and I had conversations trying to figure out the facts and how we should proceed with our association with Bikram and Bikram Inc. Over the next few years, more women came out with civil case and more allegations. Although there were never criminal charges filed, as the accusations mounted, I made the decision rebrand to Hot Yoga Pasadena. Despite the fact that we were never a franchise, there was often the public impression that studios paid Bikram franchise fees. Hot Yoga Pasadena has always been a space for health and healing, and I did not want there to be any impression I gave him money.
Severing Ties with Bikram, Changing the Studio Name & Creating the Original Hot Yoga Association
The Early Days
My early days at Bikram’s studio in Los Angeles were incredible. I met amazing people; including celebrities who all professed a regular practice improved everything in their lives. It was an immensely fun and inspiring place to call my yoga home. Bikram was a revolutionary in many ways and this propelled his popularity for years. He had a direct way of communicating, although sometimes brash and lacking any political correctness.
He was way ahead of talking about the overuse of prescription drugs and felt the yoga would help fix what he referred to as our “screw loose brains”. People craved his attention and corrections. They LOVED getting noticed. This aspect of the story is what people miss who never attended his class or read about him in the press, will never experience. Bikram had a tough-love style that resonated with MANY PEOPLE AND IMPROVED MANY LIVES.
As the Netflix Documentary, Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator debuts to the public, I want to share my experience with Bikram the man, the yoga and the Bikram Yoga College of India Teacher Training. I also want to emphasize the reasons why thousands of teachers relinquished careers, jobs, and school to attend Bikram’s program. Ultimately, I want to address the reason I changed my studio name, broke contact with Bikram, and most recently created the Original Hot Yoga Association as a positive path forward for our studios and teachers.
Here’s another fact: I love this yoga. I have practiced it for over 23 years and I still love it as much now as when I started in 1996. This being said, although I still love the yoga, I no longer love the man Bikram and I have nothing to do with him. There is also doubt raised in both this documentary and the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast that Bikram actually created the series; however he did in fact bring the series to the U.S and the only way to get certified for over 20 years was to go to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training.
Creating the Original Hot Yoga Association (OHYA)
What I realized in 2016 was that our Original Hot Yoga community needed a positive path forward for our studios and teachers away from Bikram. OHYA was created to unite, support and promote the Original Hot Yoga so that the yoga can continue and our studios and teachers can have the support they need for our community to grow away from Bikram. OHYA now has 170 studio members who have joined and over 400 teachers in the registry. I am just excited that we united and that we are continuing to work together to keep our yoga and community thriving.
In conclusion, I love to come to work at this studio to practice and teach this yoga every day. I am so grateful to have a dedicated staff of experienced teachers who believe in this yoga and its healing powers as much as I do. We have three teachers at the studio who have attended OHYA-approved Trainings and they are thriving here. Foremost, I am grateful to all of you, the students and community. The yoga is great and we will always make sure that Hot Yoga Pasadena is a community of health, healing and respect for all.
If you ever have questions about Bikram or the Netflix documentary, feel free to email me at info@hotyogapasadena.com
Val’s Colonoscopy, Who knew it could reveal so much
Having reached the milestone of a half century last year, it was time to finally get my ever dreaded, preventative Colonoscopy. My mother had polyps in her 50s, and since hereditary plays a part, I was eager to confirm that my colon was Polyp-free!
Even though I was confident my lifestyle choices of proper diet, and years of hot yoga and Pilates supported a clean colon, I definitely believe in getting this preventative procedure that makes colon-recto cancer almost 100% preventable. What I didn’t expect, were some of the other interactions that also reinforced all the years of leading a healthy, ‘Hot Yoga Lifestyle’, have really paid off.
Once I arrived for my procedure, the nurse took my blood pressure. She was really impressed with my reading, 110/62. I have to say that I know that 20 years of yoga have given me excellent blood pressure. (One of the many side benefits of an Original Hot Yoga practice.) But the nurses were so surprised by my blood pressure; they took it again, only to reveal the same number. (Why should such healthy blood pressure be so abnormal?) Next, they asked me about any medications I may be taking, but I take nothing, which also surprised the staff. Why is it shocking to not be on any medications? There’s obviously a place in our society for medication, but has it really become the norm, for everyone to be taking something? Don’t we want to avoid taking medication if at all possible?
I’ve had 2 C sections and a hip replacement in the last 15 years and in my experience, doctors love to prescribe pain pills even when you don’t want them. I realize sometimes people are in pain, and pain pills are appropriate, but ideally, you want to stop taking them as soon as possible. Also, more doctors should explore alternatives or complimentary natural ways to alleviate pain like stretching, strengthening, physical therapy and of course, yoga.
The third thing that happened, as I got rolled into the room for the procedure, was my nurses’ shock at my age and that I, “looked great for 50.” I realize they may say that to everyone, but I know a consistent and frequent Hot Yoga practice keeps you looking great at any age. I also saw this first hand in my early days of practicing in Beverly Hills with these women in their 60s and 70s that looked phenomenal and were amazing people. They did not only look great, but they just had a light and energy that shone inside and out. Their yoga practice was clearly their foundation to an overall healthy life. I aspired to be just like them when I started practicing at 28, and while I am still quite young at only 51, I hope to inspire others as well.
The cherry on the top of this fascinating day was the results of my Colonoscopy. The nurses showed me photos of my colon (lovely) and the compliment from the doctor that my colon was “beautiful.” I know, I know, don’t get jealous, and I don’t mean to brag, but it was a nice thing to hear! In all seriousness, with my mother’s challenges at my age, hearing about my beautiful colon was fantastic news to receive. I feel confident that the choices I’ve made with my diet, yoga and lifestyle choices have definitely contributed to my healthy colon, and I’m thrilled I won’t need another colonoscopy for 10 years.
A note on thee above photos. A few weeks after my colonoscopy, I was invited to a surprise 50th Birthday party with a dress up theme of “80s Prom. A week before the party, I realized I still had my actual senior prom dress, from over 30 years ago. (I am not a hoarder, but I have always loved this dress. I bought myself at Macys in SF with money i’d earned working retail. Even at the time, it was an unusual style for a prom dress and I was always convinced i’d wear it again or give it to one of my girls)
I ran upstairs to find it and try it on. It took a minute to get on, but it actually still fit! Ironically, the whole look is pretty much back in fashion, but the shoulder pads were still extra. I can’t tell you how fun it was to wear this dress to the party, and tell folks this was my actual prom dress from 1986! I was always a bit of a fashion gal, so even back then, I thought this dress was stunning and cool.
So get that colonoscopy when you are 50 and every 10 years after that, and in the meantime, find the time to make your health a priority and live a life where you prioritize your health, diet and balanced lifestyle. Make the best choices you can, and you may get a nice complement on your colon too.
Why I chose Yoga over Pain Pills
It’s a great time to make resolutions or, what I prefer to call them – Intentions. Intentions seem to have more staying power. Whatever you choose, I hope that this is the year that you, and those in your life, will choose to practice Original 26 and 2 Hot Yoga, to relieve pain and stress, and to set yourself on a path of full body health and healing. I wish more people realized that it is within their power to achieve better health without fancy diets or gimmicks, by stepping into that hot room, doing the best they can, and trying the right way.
There is one thing that rings true for me. My yoga practice continues to be the foundation upon which all my physical and emotional health begins. It is hard to watch so many people around me falling apart but not able to see how much they would benefit from a regular Hot Yoga practice. When I was 28, I went to a fancy orthopedic practice due to terrible arthritis in my hip (from a break at 13). I was told that I needed a hip replacement in the next 5 years, and I was given 3 prescription drugs. I knew there had to be another way. I threw those drugs in the trash and started 26 and 2 hot yoga. It was the best decision I ever made, and I derive benefits to this day!
Many people are given pain meds when they go to the doctor because it is easy for the doctor. When I see stories on 60 minutes or VICE about Opioid addiction, I am horrified to see that the addiction usually started with a prescription for pain, often from teen injuries. In addition to addiction, pain meds can also lead to other problems. Even more poignant, when you take only pain meds and don’t move your body, more problems tend to arise.
I think most humans are fully aware that you will be healthier if you “exercise and eat right.” But that is so generalized and does not dial in to true health. The cost of healthcare continues to rise, and our system is more about sick care than healthcare. I heard an interview recently on NPR discussing why more doctors did not prescribe or promote yoga or physical therapy, as the doctors knew it was a better course than pain meds. The doctor explained that it was easier and on his time and easier to get paid by insurance in a 5 minute drug consult, than spending 30 minutes diving deeper talking to a patient to see if yoga or physical therapy was an appropriate next step. That is our healthcare system today.
My hope and intention for 2018 is that more and more people will trust themselves, no matter how hard and uncomfortable it may be, and that they will take a leap of faith and try an original hot yoga class. It’s not easy, but it is simple, and they’ll be glad they did.
Let me finish by saying that there are times when you may need to take pain meds. (I certainly had to, after my C-sections and hip replacement, but I went off them ASAP!) I am not trying to diagnose or tell anyone what is best for them. That is up to you. But my hope is that our society will choose movement over pain meds, whenever possible, and that people will stop being so scared – and sometimes so lazy – to try something new that may take longer than the ease of taking a pill, but may improve not just a certain injury but also add to whole body health. And, what’s better than that?
