Peggy Preston
Standing Bow
I took my first class from Bikram in LA in 1999. It didn’t take me long to love Bikram Yoga. I applied for and attended teacher training that fall. The training was an intense 10 week training that started at 6am and often finished well over midnight. Bikram doesn’t sleep and didn’t expect us to as well. It was a seemingly total deconstruction of my body and as I was to find out, my mind. The aches and pains were very intense and the suffering seemed unbearable. We practiced asana over 4 hours a day in a very hot, sweaty room, then had classes all day in between. I became stiffer and every injury I had ever suffered came to the surface and quite honestly, scared me to death. I had one thing that saved me, total faith in the yoga and Bikram.
I returned home to my very small and cold town in Colorado. I advertised for students to come to my house for practice. Pretty soon I had lots of us practicing in my attic. There I met Adria Ellis who was just off to training. She returned to CB and opened The Bikram Yoga College of India in Crested Butte. We shared the teaching at that studio for the next 5 years.
In 2004, I ended up in Queenstown visiting a good friend of mine. I saw a tremendous need for a hot studio I town. It took me three yers to get it all organized and opened but since opening have had a fantastic response and a steadily growing group of avid students. I have been blessed to have the teachers, students and support from the community.
I will keep striving to offer the highest standards of yoga and continue to help make our community a better place with yoga. May we all take a good look in the mirror and see the truth of who we are and why we are on this planet. The beginning of self realization…
Love, peace and practice
