Kristin

Certified Bikram Instructor

After starting and restarting this bio about 40 times, I have come to realize that though yoga has solved many of my problems, it definitely has not cured my “type A” personality flaws (such as the inability to commit to a personal bio for people to read!). But in all reality Bikram yoga truly has changed my life, and because of this I feel compelled to share this life-altering gift with as many people as possible.

The cello and I have been together for over 16 years – until recently, it was my one and only true love. Unfortunately (and fortunately) the cello has proven to be, at times, a harsh mistress, and it was when I was studying music in college that I realized just how painful true love can be: In 2004 I ruptured a disk in my lower back. Three years later I developed tendonitis (due to a partially-torn tendon) in my elbow.

Both of these injuries were threatening my chance of completing my degrees in music performance. Cello was not something that I was willing to give up on, and since surgery (the only option being offered to me by doctors) equals career suicide, I realized I would have to take matters into my own hands. In doing some research I stumbled upon a website boasting that Bikram yoga could heal all different types of injuries. As luck (or something SO much more!) would have it I was traveling back to ABQ for spring break, where an amazing “Intro Special” definitely lured me into trying my first class.

I attended teacher training 13 months later.

The series of events that unfolded after that were unbelievable. It was three weeks into training that I lost feeling in my entire body, both inside and out. In the many tests and doctors visits that followed I learned that my body was still rebelling against me. I found out that:

-I have an autoimmune disease (which triggered the loss of feeling).
-I have a partially-degenerated cervical spine, which caused two slipped disks in my neck.

Though initially this seemed like bad news, I learned that blessings come in many different forms. First, my doctor said that if I hadn’t been doing Bikram yoga so religiously, I most-likely would have lost all of the mobility in my neck. Secondly, if I hadn’t attended teacher training when I had (and put my body through all of the physical strain), I might not have found out for YEARS about the autoimmune disease. But because I found out when I did I have been put on a treatment plan that, Lord-willing, will keep the disease from progressing any further.

I used to think that playing and teaching the cello was the only thing that I wanted to do with my life, but now I see that cello and yoga work together in perfect harmony to make my life even more beautiful than I could have imagined. The gift of being able to share these two things with others (for a living!) is a blessing beyond words. Thank you, all, for being a part of this miracle.

Peace, love, and yoga hugs!