Bill Thwaites (Senior Teacher / Director )
Bill Thwaites is the former Technical head of post production for the world famous Abbey Road Recording Studios and has over 25 years experience working with some of the top music artist such as Madonna, Robbie Williams, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and many more. His focus has always been one of customer service & care providing an environment in which customers wish to return time and time again. He has applied all the same hallmarks to the design and running the Sohot Yoga Studios.
Bill embraced Bikram Yoga finding it provided relief from the symptoms of chronic arthritis where all other treatments and therapies had failed. Working and living with this condition has enhanced Bill’s understanding and awareness into the difficult challenges many students face. Since graduating in 2006 Bill has taught extensively in New York & London, and has gained a good insight into the healing benefits of Bikram Yoga and how it helps to transform people’s lives.
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Lorraine Bell (Director)
Born in Brooklyn New York, Lorraine discovered Bikram Yoga five years ago, while searching for a form of exercise it was possible to get better at with age. “I am not a very athletic person, and the thought of sweating for 90 minutes is still a little intimidating, but there is no denying the way this yoga makes you feel. I want to share this secret with everyone.”
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Elaine Ruddock (Director)
My first Bikram class was a revelation – 90 minutes that worked my whole body, made me sweat and gave me an hour and a half to think of nothing – bliss. I had always dipped in and out of various styles of yoga though none of them hit the spot. In my 30s I was plagued with ill health following an emergency caesarean – headaches, back ache and sciatica. After only a few months of continuous practice the sciatica pain seemed to just melt away. It was during the nine week teacher training in Vegas that I fully realised just how much knowledge, experience, time and energy Bikram had put into developing the 26 posture series and why I no longer suffer the headaches or back pain – Thank you Bikram!
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Paul Dobson (Senior Teacher)
Paul was on a trip to Miami 2004 when he saw a sign for a Bikram Yoga studio. After the first class he was hooked, he couldn’t get enough of it! Paul practiced every day of his vacation. Returning to London, Paul continued with his practice before going on the teacher training in Spring 2006. Paul’s background is in Contemporary Dance. He performs for various dance companies around Europe and his yoga practice has given him focus. Paul enjoys teaching and being able to support the students with their practice. Paul encourages students to have an awareness of their body, mind and the process of practicing yoga.
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Simone Ripper (Senior Teacher)
Simi’s yoga journey began in Canada 2001 when she attended her first Bikram yoga class. For her yoga offers mental and physical strength, clarity of thought and a renewed sense of being. Helping to combat the stresses of working in the fashion PR and marketing industry and with continued practise, the more intrigued she became, feeling compelled to deepen her understanding. Traveling extensively in India, training in a yoga ashram and completing the Bikram yoga training course in June 2008 has given her powerful insights to the path of teacher and how she approaches herself on and off the mat. Simi feels honored to share this healing practise with others and increasingly feels touched by the students she meets; all so focussed and determined.
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Francesca Rytlewski (Senior Teacher)
Francesca qualified as a Bikram Yoga instructor in Spring 2007. Regular practice will bring different benefits to each person, depending upon wants and or needs. It helped Fran recover from a bicycle accident and to balance emotionally. Teaching Bikram Yoga is inspirational because it is possible to watch and learn from students’ own journeys.
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Karen Phillips (Senior Teacher)
After being a regular practitioner of Bikram yoga at Fulham since it first opened and bending everyone’s ear constantly about the amazing physical and mental benefits of the Bikram series, Karen finally completed the Bikram Teacher Training in Fall 2007. Karen feels extremely fulfilled to combine her love of the Bikram series with a desire to teach and strives to assist every practitioner in order to achieve maximum health and vitality, regardless of age and/or fitness level. With a background in ballet and trained as a freelance lifestyle journalist, Karen aims to imbue her classes with a strong sense of integrity, discipline and fun.
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Sindy Haque
As frequently heard, Bikram Yoga really did change Sindy’s life. After narrowly escaping death in the 2004 tsunami, she suffered severe post-traumatic stress and actively sought to combat her anxieties without medication. Initially, she discovered meditation and relaxation yoga techniques on a beach in Thailand with friends. On returning to London she decided to try Bikram Yoga and although it wasn’t exactly “relaxing on a beach,” loved it immediately. Working every bodily system provided the complete physical release that enabled her to change her entire outlook. Finding calmness and balance through her practice virtually all her anxieties began to disappear. Never looking back, Sindy graduated in December 2009 and has loved the journey with her students ever since! |
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Federico Zanni
Fed is an actor. But don’t tell anybody. He took his first Bikram class on 1st of October 2003 and he hasn’t looked back since. Having played waterpolo for 9 years in his teens (in his native Italy), upon his move to England, he was looking for an exercise / physical activity, in the world, which would require the same level of intensity and could be just as fun. Bikram Yoga was just the ticket, being incredibly demanding and allegedly the Rock’n'Roll of fitness, with the added bonus of healing the body, as opposed to gradually wearing it out, like any other sports. His skin, lower back, sleeping patterns and mental clarity improved just after a few classes: it was the most incredible transformation he had ever witnessed. After seven years of consistent and regular practice, Fed decided it was time to have another unstable career and embarked on the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Course, in September 2010, in San Diego. Teaching and sharing his practice with other people is the most rewarding job Fed has ever had. |
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Andrew Jungwirth
As exciting as the incendiary world of commercial litigation was for Andrew, he discovered something uniquely rehabilitative and energising in the Bikram series some years ago in Sydney after adding a hairline fracture to a femur to a list of distance running injuries. Immediate results followed. Having been a victim of the “yoga’s not for me” naysayer crowd, being in the hot room for the first time was a revelation. Invigorated, mentally focussed and an undiluted curiosity were what followed from his first class and those benefits have continued with him now for some years, even after completing the challenging but transforming experience that was teacher training in Acapulco in 2008. Andrew finds regular inspiration from leading students in their practices and in seeing them progress, grow and even, occasionally, smile. |
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Brittney Henry
Brittney comes to us from Vancouver Canada. She has a background in dance and gymnastic, so yoga was a natural progression for her. She had done a lot of different types of yoga, and always wanted to try Bikram Yoga, but was afraid of the heat. Finally after about 6 months of deliberating a customer at her job convinced her to go. She showed up to her first class in May 2009 and never looked back. In the fall of 2010 she officially made yoga her life by becoming a teacher. Her full circle happened when she was able to teach the customer who convinced her to take class in the first place. Yoga has helped change Brittney’s body, mind, and the way she see’s the world and loves seeing these changes happen in other people. |
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Lorraine Stewart
Lorraine has been a dancer all her life training at The Royal Ballet and working professionally in film, t.v. In 2001 she disscovered the challenge of Bikram yoga keeping up a regular practice to realign her body and sooth aches and pains after dance rehearsals and performances. Discovering new ways to stretch and strengthen her muscles was the first attraction but over time became more self aware and thrived being in such a welcoming and friendly enviroment where no one is there to judge. Bikram has kept Lorraine injury free, strong minded & spiritually sound. Since qualifying as a teacher in 2009 lorraine has taught in London and Los Angeles. She loves teaching and sharing her passion and enthusiasm for Bikram yoga with her students.
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Alexis Vickers
It was my mom who persuaded me to go to my first Bikram Yoga class in Jersey and I went along expecting an easy stretch. Instead, I experienced a hot room that inspired and challenged me. The heat, sweat and frustration when I lost my balance was of course part of the class but what got me back was the part of class which lead to calmness of mind and strength of body. I moved to Brighton to study for a degree in English and continued my practice. It was during this time while studying for exams that I realized the mental benefits of yoga; the better concentration and focus. In 2009 I began my year by traveling through South American and New Zealand. I spent some time practicing in Chile and made the decision to go to teacher training that same year. I now crave the heat, the sweat and have learned how to balance on one leg.
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Cristian Liotta
Cristian started Bikram Yoga thanks to a series of coincidences (if you believe in them). He used to run 6/7 miles, 4 times a week and ended up with an injury in the right calf, caused by lack of proper stretching after each running session. At the time he happened to work with an Indian guy who advised him to try some yoga, so went online to look for Yoga Studios near his area. He had no idea that there was an “hot” kind of Yoga, but it sounded interesting, so he got down the Studio and was greeted by the receptionist with a “don’t worry, you’ll get addicted”. Needless to say he fell in love with it immediately. Practised for 18 months straight, almost everyday, and experienced a complete life transformation.
After attending a Master class led by Craig Villani in August 2009 decided this was his calling and went to Teacher Training.
He graduated in Vegas, spring 2010 and has been teaching since, feeling absolutely blessed and extremely grateful to be able to help people with this amazing practice.
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Philip T.
I started practicing Bikram Yoga regularly in November 2008. Actually, my first experience with Bikram Yoga was in Spring 2007, but I only stayed with the practice for 3 months. I found some weak excuses to walk away. The funny thing is that between this time and going back into the studio in November 2008, I never stopped thinking about this yoga. Since walking back through the door again, I have never looked back. It has changed my life in so many positive ways. Becoming a teacher was one of the best things I’ve done in my life, because I feel so lucky to be able to share this with other people and realize what a wonderful thing this yoga can be for everyone’s life.
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Annika Rosic-Escalante
Annika’s first Bikram class was a completely different experience to what she had previously experienced in a yoga studio! She found her first class so hard and struggled through the full 90 minutes. ‘I didn’t like my first class at all but there was something within me that told me I had to come back and keep going.’ She followed her instinct and took up regular Bikram yoga practise. While working as an accountant, Annika went through a very stressful time and her Bikram yoga practise was what helped her through. ‘It helped me find a balance, to de-stress and to find mental clarity’. Having seen and realised how the practise helped her first hand, Annika wanted to see where it could take her and to be able to share it with others. She decided to give up her full time job and become a Bikram yoga instructor in spring 2010, Las Vegas. She is amazed every day by what Bikram yoga does to her body and mind; Seeing each class as a journey and never knowing where that hot room will take you.
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Michelle Melendez
Michelle Melendez was born in Puerto Rico and came to live in London when she married her British husband. When their son was diagnosed with autism, she was really confused and at a loss dealing with situation, fell into a depression. One day a friend invited her to come to a Bikram yoga class and she accepted. At the end of the class she felt so much peace and so much love in her heart that she knew right away that she wanted to become a teacher. “If I could share a little bit of this love and peace that I feel with other students at least once a day….the world would seem a much better place”. Bikram yoga became part of her life and it helps her find the patience and determination to help her son; who is doing brilliantly! In spring 2009 she graduated from Bikram’s Teacher Training and absolutely loves teaching. “It’s the best job in the world!”.
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Helena Biggs
For Helena, Bikram is a foundation, a base, a system that works for life. Having practised Bikram yoga for ten years during long contracts as a lead singer in the musical theatre industry, teaching salsa for adults and drama to many young students, it has become Helena’s back bone. “Bikram yoga is a constant challenge and humbling in its form; It is also a most supportive and nurturing environment, a family. This yogic system allows me to step up and face anything, to let go, to get better, to transform and become more aware of my physical and mental processes. It enables me to live a more spirited life.” Helena became a teacher in June 2011.
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Beth Crivelli
When I first opened the door into the studio I felt invincible. After years of hard core competition swimming and running I felt no physical activity was in-surmountable, especially not yoga. I was wrong. As I walked into the studio I felt a wave of hot air and thought there is no way I am doing exercise in this room for 90 minutes. Somehow I managed it and every time I found myself in the room I enjoyed it a bit more, felt a bit stronger, stopped looking at the clock for a bit longer and started listening to the teacher’s words a bit more. Disenchanted by my fashion career I decided to swap luxury rags for sweaty shorts to become a Bikram teacher. Bikram Yoga has stretched, healed and strengthened my body, belief system and mind in unexpected and amazing ways. Practicing can be hard especially at the start, but stick to it, really! The benefits are solid. It continuously challenges you. It changes and shapes you in ways you will not believe.
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Nicola Copsey
I first started Bikram Yoga to lose weight. Like many other students, I wanted to change my body. After beginning Bikram Yoga in 2009, my life took a complete 180-degree turn. Within the first few months the weight was falling off and toned muscles started appearing. I grew in love with the yoga, the physical changes were great, but it was the changes in my mind, which really led me to become a Bikram Yoga Teacher. Becoming calmer more focused, and stronger minded, I realized how much I want to share this amazing yoga with as many people as possible. I encourage students to practice patience with no expectations, and to keep trying every single day. Every time you come back to your mat, you start again from the scratch and make yourself new again; physically and mentally. “It’s never too late, you just have to try.”
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