Teacher Feature: Jayme Timbol

Transitioning into Pigeon

My first yoga asana practice started with one of my friends in Phoenix taking me to a Bikram class. After the session, I remember thinking, I wasn't exactly sure what we did in there but it felt awesome! But it was not till I moved to Salt Lake that I took my practice more seriously. At that time, I was off-balanced with my weight. I was vegan, went to the gym and even ran, but I was bloated and was at my heaviest and did not know why.  On the outside, I was doing everything everything I should be doing to be healthy, but felt really off-kilter on the inside. So I went back to the hot room and did my yoga practice every single day, no matter how trying it was sometimes. Then I began to love it - the teachers, the practice, and became so inspired with fellow students who were so determined and were there every single day. After a few weeks, my weight went back to normal. I felt so much clarity in my thinking and I was more calm no matter what was happening around me.

After a few months, I was approached by the studio owner to join the US Mid-West Asana Competition. I didn't know what exactly a yoga "competition" meant but decided to give it a try since the goal was not to win, but to inspire others to do yoga. I was introduced to my coach who did teacher training when she turned 60 and was amazed with the other "competitors" and what they could do with their bodies! I would then be completely star struck when former champions just popped in the hot room to help train us, and even if I was in the hot room for 4 hours, it did not matter! I felt great! I was so inspired with the control I was developing with my breath, body and mind. I also started getting into my meditation easier and deeper with the concentration discipline I developed with the practice.

With Bikram Choudhury, creator of the Bikram Yoga Series

After that, I traveled all over the world with my mat, everywhere I went, and one day hoped to become a teacher to help others make changes in their lives, the way yoga changed mine. The opportunity presented itself when I came back to the Philippines and yoga+ was offering the Absolute Hot Yoga Teacher Training. I just gave birth at that time, but it did not matter since I knew that I really wanted to teach. It has been an amazing journey since. I have taken more certification courses and not only teach Hot, but also Yin and Pre- and Post-Natal Yoga. I have also been certified as a Theta Healer and currently specializing in Intuitive Anatomy, Diseases and Disorders.

My practice has been richer by doing all yoga types now, not just Hot, and my love for yoga has even more intensified. I am very grateful that my practice and teaching have given me more compassion and kindness not only towards others but especially for myself. Most important of all is my divine romance with Guru and God which continues to get sweeter with the constancy of my practice and meditation. After all, we are all divine beings who are awakening to who we truly are and yoga is our path to remembering exactly that.

Teacher Feature: Michelle Monroe

A few months before my 30th birthday, I noticed that my clothes felt different- tighter, harder to put on and take off.  I realized that my metabolism was slowing as I aged, so I decided to step up my fitness routine from walking around London to actually exercising on purpose.

I did what most people might do.  I hired a trainer and headed to the gym.  We set a goal together, then he collected data to track our progress.  The data made me cry.  I'd never been so out of shape in my life.  I was both disappointed and ashamed of myself for letting it get so bad.  I confided my feelings to a childhood friend and she suggested I try Bikram yoga.  She'd done it before and thought it was my style.

I'd practiced Hatha intermittently, but never tried Bikram.  I found a studio walking distance from my mom's home, read up on the first timer info, and took my first class.  I had never sweated so much in my entire life, but I was hooked.  I practiced daily for six weeks while visiting the US.  I felt strong, capable, and in control of my own body.  

I'd never been much of an athlete.  In secondary school we were forced to play sports and participate in PE and dance classes, but in college I quit fitness.  Friends convinced me to be their workout buddies and we'd spend an hour in the gym together chatting and doing the same light weight routine a few times each week.  Needless to say, after college it didn't stick.  I don't think I saw the inside of a gym from 2000-2008 and it showed.  

Yoga ignited a love of movement and active behavior.  It allowed me to become aware of, and listen to, my body.  I looked forward to my daily, 90 minute moving meditation.  I began to inadvertently memorize the dialogues of my favorite teachers and purposefully practice their classes.  I asked questions.  I practiced tough poses outside of class.  I did doubles.  I found the familiarity of the sequence comforting, like visiting an old friend.  No matter what kind of day I'd had, my practice always set things right.  I found refuge on my mat.

About three years in, I got bored.  I started cheating in poses and being inconsistent with my practice.  I credit yoga+ with exposing me to other styles of yoga that could stimulate my mind, as well as my body.  I'd never thought to try Jivamukti, Ashtanga, or Yin before practicing those styles with various yoga+ teachers. I did 30 day challenges, increased my strength, particularly upper body strength, and flexibility.  

I put it on my bucket list to take teacher training one day so that I could share my love of yoga with others. Again, yoga+ deserves credit for offering me an opportunity to learn more about yoga and maintain my full time job at the same time.  Without the training I did, my goal of becoming a yoga teacher would probably have stayed a dream.  I did my 200 hour Absolute Hot Yoga Teacher Training Certification from February to April 2014 with my yoga family and felt loved and supported throughout the entire process and beyond.

Off the mat I teach middle school English and I try to incorporate yoga into my lessons.  This way my students range in age from 12 to adult. I am also certified as a Kids and Family Yoga Teacher by Rainbow Kids Yoga. I offer a weekly yoga club for my tween and teen students to explore asana practice and breathing techniques.  

Sometimes you have those pivotal experiences that alter to course of your life.  Yoga was one such experience for me.  My yoga journey continues as I practice more, learn more, and teach more.  I'm happy to have found such a welcoming community to enrich my journey.

How to survive hot yoga: hydrate

It is said that yogis fall into three groups when it comes to hot yoga

- they love it with a passion
- want to try it but are afraid that they might not survive the heat
- they avoid it because of the heat