Happy 11th Birthday BYC!!
To celebrate 11 years of BYC and the imminent arrival of 2014, we are offering you, our amazing customers, 14 classes valid for 111 days for the incredible price of....
�111!!
Thats just �7.92 per class!!!
As deals go it's a good one one one.
A BYC Birthday wouldn't be a BYC birthday, if we were only offering you one special deal... So, by way of an early Christmas gift and additional Birthday present, from now until December 31st 2013, we are offering �50 OFF all Yearly Unlimiteds.
That's one whole year of unlimited yoga for the bargain price of �900.
If you do roughly 2 classes a week, over a year thats ONLY �8.65/Class.
If you are averaging 3 classes a week, then it's ONLY �5.76/Class.
CLICK HERE TO BUY
YEARLY UNLIMITED WINTER SPECIAL.
The (not so) small print:
Ts & Cs apply.
Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers, discounts or concessions.
One purchase per student.
14 Class Card available until 30th November 2013.
�50 OFF Yearly Unlimited available until 31st December 2013.
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 With A Gift In Mind BYC may have the perfect gift for the Yogi in your life. Whether it's Christmas or a Birthday, BYC has many wonderful gifts for the yogi in your life.
Be it the gift of yoga, in the form of one our of gorgeous gift cards (available both online and in the studio)...
Or..
A BYC embroidered grip mat towel in an array of beautiful colours!
Keep your eye out for the ever expanding product range with BYC.
What more does a yogi need.... ;)
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 Treats & Charity Thank you to everyone
A Big thank you to all our fabulous BYC staff and students, who made this Halloween such a fun filled and charitable day! We raised a wonderful total of �440 to support the amazing work of Hand in Hand for Syria. Click HERE to find out more or make your own donation.
To see more images from the day, please visit our Facebook page.......
A special thank you to Kim for providing us with special Halloween themed cupcakes. Who was brave enough to eat the spider one...?!
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FedExpressed
From Fed's mind to your eyes.
The other day I decided to attend a French class.
I've always been fascinated by the French language: so soft, so beautiful.
I turned up at this language school in Oxford Street, just next to a hot dog kiosk and something else, eager to start learning!
I got there very early, so that I could get the best seat in the class room. Three rows back, near the window. That's ALWAYS the best spot. In every classroom.
My soon-to-be classmates started to arrive, one by one, and they all seemed pretty nice people! Except for the lady who asked me to move my bag from the chair next to me, so that she could have the last seat left in the room: I pointed out to her (very quietly and respectfully) that, since my seat was right next to the window, there was no space for me to move any further and I always have to have my bag to my right, because I'm right-handed. She didn't seem to understand this.. It might have been the pregnancy. Anyway, in the end a guy at the front offered to stand, so she could have his seat. It was very nice of him to help me out.
Finally, the teacher arrived and class started.
The teacher seemed really good! Boy, was I in for a surprise...
Right at the beginning, she said that she would speak to us only in French and that we would have to answer back in French too, but that there's was nothing to worry about, because the questions would relate to the relevant section in the book that we had in front of us, where we would also find the right vocabulary to use. Straight away, I thought that method was great, and I was really looking forward to jumping right in! However, this is where it all went wrong.
As the questions came, I soon realised that, quite often, the right word to use for the answer looked very similar to the equivalent word in Italian (which is my first language). However, the pronunciation was different and quite difficult, actually... So, I decided to answer in Italian! It was easier and it just made more sense to me. Well, it didn't go down well, did it? The teacher just wouldn't understand my situation!! She kept asking me to answer in French.. to stick with my fellow students, 'because learning is so much more effective as a collective effort'... That even if Italian and French were both languages, they were 'different' languages and I was there supposedly to learn French... And a whole load of other demeaning and humiliating abuse. She made me feel so small and inadeguate. It was awful. I had to leave there and then.
I didn't even ask for my money back. I'm not that kind of person. And it was a coupon, anyway, so a hassle to retrieve, once put through the system.
I'm never going to a French class again. I'm sticking with Italian. English at a push.
I can't believe some teachers can have such a big Ego.
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Get to know your BYC teachers & team a little better!
Each month we will be introducing a new member of the BYC team. This Month....
BYC Teachers Class 2008/9:
Lorraine:
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
A dancer.
How did you come to Bikram Yoga?
I moved back from Germany at the end of a contract and was out of work and needing to keep in shape and keep my spirits up for auditions. I practiced regularly and fell in love with the post-class feeling.
Sushi & curry! - (we are hoping not together!)
Super Power - What would you choose?
Reading minds, so I could catch my students attention as they drift off into their heads during yoga practice!
Most embracing moment while Teaching?
My very first class back from training. I'd flown back from the states and turned up early to the studio to prepare. I wasn't feeling well and everyone thought it was nerves. It turns out I actually had food poisoning and began the class, but had to make a quick exit after Eagle, handing the microphone over to another teacher to finish!
Whats your guiltiest pleasure?
Fish and chips... I'm still a northern lass at heart!
Bikram to kick-start the day, followed by a brunch of eggs on toast. A saunter around the market, coffee & fresh air. Perhaps a walk in the park. I love the movies in the afternoon, ending the day with a dinner either out or at home with my husband and friends.
What did you do before you worked at BYC?
Professional dancer. I'm still going and combining it with my Bikram teaching. Right now I'm working on the new Disney film at pinewood studios "Cinderella", directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Andy:
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Helen Currie.
How did you come to Bikram Yoga?
I was going through a very difficult and challenging time in my life and I needed a place to escape. I found that two minutes down the road from where I lived was a place that would give me that and a whole lot more! I've never really thanked BYC enough but the studio very literally, saved my sanity and changed my life. To this day my main focus for being on the mat has remained the same: my mind. Flexibility is dandy, but having 90 minutes to clear my head is much more important to me. As teachers we ask a lot about our student's injuries and physical challenges but we rarely know what's going on inside somebody's head; what's happening in their life that's maybe brought them through the door. I always try and remember that.
Favourite Food?
Nandos. It's all I can think about sometimes when I am teaching, practising, listening to people talk about what the latest superfood on their 5/2 diet is. I frickin' love that peri peri chicken. And lychee martinis if you're buying a round, thanks!
Best Bikram moment?
Personal: Practising next to my dad in class was something amazing that I never thought would happen.
Professional: Finally doing the musical class to celebrate BYC's 10th birthday was so much fun.
Most embarrassing moment while Teaching?
Oh, there are SO many. "Like you're sh*#%ing into a chair" in awkward pose. Asking a lady if she was pregnant when she wasn't (she was doing the pregnancy series! I worded it really badly). I routinely get red faced and mortified if gentlemen come to class wearing shorts without an inner-short (seriously, always have a supportive inner short because you have NO idea how obscene your bow pose looks from behind). But really, to this day, no matter how many times it happens, I have never mastered the art of not giggling if somebody farts in a pose. Yes, I don't care, I'm 32 years old and I find farting funny!
Whats your guiltiest pleasure?
"I couuuuld go to class this morning or I could just stay here with a cup of tea, read my book and watch the Real Housewives of Wherever."
Laura:
As a Child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Ambitions of becoming a ballerina were thwarted early at Miss Law's school of Dance, when I was made to do the teddy bear's picnic dance for 2 years running because I was small for my age. I have always loved performing and feel quite comfortable on the podium because of that.
Whats your favourite/ least favourite Bikram Posture?
My favourite is definitely Standing Head to Knee. This posture to me represents mental determination, willpower and strength, plus I can hold it while singing the national anthem. I know this because fellow teacher Fran once asked me to do it!
The least favourite changes all the time. I try not to dislike any too much, because I know that it is going to change.
Describe yourself in 3 words?
Loyal, determined, loving.
Favourite Food?
My mum's nut roast and Yorkshire puddings.
Best Bikram moment to date -personal or professional
At teacher training everybody has to stand up on stage in front of Bikram and deliver the dialogue for Half Moon. I got a huge buzz out of delivering my dialogue to cheers from my fellow trainees and Bikram's comment "that's yoga power".
Professionally there are wonderful moments all the time, and that is what makes this job so fantastic, like the person who wants to get up and leave the room, but you convince them to stay and they end up having a second wind and enjoying the class or the person who has been struggling for ages with a posture and all of a sudden they have a breakthrough. These magic moments are happening all the time.
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One Sweaty Year BYCer Jat shares what his 1st year at BYC has meant to him.
I recently completed my first birthday as a student of the hot art of Bikram yoga and I'm glad to have celebrated it at the one and only BYC studio!
In that time I have managed to complete a total of 264 hours practice and I live to tell the tale, well, in fact, I feel more alive than ever. 264 hours... that's like 11 whole days and 11 whole nights of backbends, profuse sweating, half-conscious savasanas and all that other good Bikram stuff. I would honestly much rather spend such quality time in the studio than say 98 days of the year in front of the TV or a day and a half's worth of listening to my mum talk about people I don't even know! (sorry mum).
I have already learnt so much at BYC and it's all far too numerous to list but here are some choice ones.
- We are far too quick to say that we cannot change for whatever reason but Bikram yoga shows us that the body and mind can be revitalised and made stronger than ever before and we can change our bodies and minds in whatever way we choose.
- Bikram yoga is addictive! I have this theory that they put some sort of magic dust in the vents that keeps you coming back for more, but joking aside it's really to do with the overall amazing offering of the BYC experience and also the lifestyle that yoga gives us (but seriously I still have my suspicions about the magic dust).
- The teachers (bless them) say some really bizarre and occasionally thought provoking things, my personal favourite being "to feel weird is normal because to be normal you have to be weird". That really works for me!
So dear fellow BYC'ers, please raise your coconut waters and join me in a toast to the next 365 days! Chaars!
We would love to hear from you. If you would like to share your Bikram journey with is please email us at bikramyogachiswick@me.com.
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Welcome-Home and See-You-Soons.
At BYC we are so lucky to have some truly amazing members of staff, as well as amazing students.
One such wonderful member of staff, is the very lovely Kate, who is off on maternity leave.
Congratulations and lots of love, Kate.
We can't wait to meet your new little yogi!
This November, we will be welcoming home Peggy-Rose from Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. Keep an eye out for her name on your BYC schedule very soon! Well done Peggy Rose, you are amazing! |
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We look forward to seeing you in class soon.
and the entire Team at BYC
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