FACULTY

Bikram Choudhury Founder and President
Born in Kolkata, India, Bikram first practiced hatha yoga at the age of three. At age five, he began to study under his guru, Bishnu Charan Ghosh.

Bishnu Ghosh was among the 20th Century's most celebrated physical culturists. Convinced that human energy centers around the body's greatest nerve mass, the spine, Ghosh prescribed spinal fitness for health and happiness. His desire to improve humanity ran in the family. Ghosh's brother, Yogananda Paramahansa, promoted spiritual health and happiness with his most famous yoga book, Autobiography of a Yogi, and by founding the Self-Realization Fellowship based in Los Angeles.

Bikram practiced at Ghosh's College of Physical Education for up to six hours a day. At age 11, Bikram became the youngest ever to win the National India Yoga Championships. He won again at ages 12 and 13, prompting Swami Sivananda to declare him Yogi Raj (King of Yogis). At age 18, Bikram suffered a weightlifting accident. Defying pessimistic doctors who diagnosed a permanently crippled knee, Bikram returned to his guru's care and was walking again in six months.

Inspired by his injury and rehabilitation, Bikram decided to teach yoga full time and came into his own. After teaching the ancient way - one student at a time - he wondered how he could teach the same poses to an entire class of people regardless of their individual problems. He started to develop an original sequence of 26 yoga postures and two breathing exercises, a choreography accessible to beginners and beneficial for all. At Ghosh's direction he opened studios in India and Japan before moving to the U.S. in 1973. He quickly became the foremost yoga teacher in the West as celebrities, athletes and other aspirants flocked to his studios in Beverly Hills and San Francisco.

His instructional book Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class was first published in 1978 and has since been translated into several languages; the second edition was published in 2000. Bikram's second book, Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment, was published in 2007. His intensive Bikram Yoga Teacher Training course was first offered in 1994 and has since graduated over 3000 Certified Bikram Method Instructors. Today, with hundreds of licensed studios offering authentic Bikram Yoga classes, Bikram now dedicates his energy towards fulfilling his guru's wish and bringing yoga's powers of health and beauty across the globe.

Rajashree Choudhury, R.M.P. - Executive Vice President
Rajashree began practicing yoga at the age of three with her teacher Dr. P.S. Das and continues to study with him. Rajashree Choudhury is a Registered Medical Practitioner in Alternative Medicine with a degree in Hatha Yoga Therapy. After studying at Mahila Yoga Byam Kendra and Ghosh's College of Physical Education, she received certification in the application of hatha yoga therapy for chronic diseases and disorders. She is the unbeaten five-time winner of the All India Yoga Championship Competition, she won 1st place at the National Yoga Byayam Championships, and was Mrs. India in 1985. After teaching yoga throughout the world and the United States, she now teaches with her husband Bikram at International Headquarters in Los Angeles and conducts seminars worldwide. Rajashree encouraged Bikram to start his intensive teacher training course to better share the therapeutic benefits of Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class with the greatest number of people around the globe.

In the teacher training, Rajashree teaches the therapeutic applications of the Bikram Yoga postures and shares her knowledge from a lifetime practice and over 20 years of teaching experience in Los Angeles. Rajashree specializes in yoga therapy for persons with chronic diseases and disorders and shares her expertise with expecting mothers by way of her video Rajashree's Pregnancy Yoga. She has appeared on many national television programs in the United States and abroad.

Emmy Cleaves - Principal Teacher
Born in Latvia sometime before 1960, Emmy Cleaves is Bikram's most senior teacher. She began studying under Bikram in July of 1973, and currently teaches Bikram's Advanced Class to senior instructors at the International Headquarters. As a practicing yogini for over 40 years, Emmy brings a priceless combination of knowledge, experience and expertise to her classes. Widely traveled and internationally recognized, she holds a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Bonn in Germany.

Shelly Kompel - Teacher Training Registrar
Shelly Kompel has been working for Bikram since 1997 when she was the sole staff member. She is happy to have signed up 25 teacher trainings to date. Teacher Training Registrar is more than just a job to Shelly-it is a vocation. She performs her duties with passion and in the spirit of loving service. As Shelly says, "It starts out as a thought, then they end up in teacher training, and finally their entire life is rearranged." It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of this yoga family.

Academic Instructors

Dr. Anne Marie Benstrom
Owner and director of "The Ashram" in Calabasas CA for over 25 years, Dr. Benstrom's achievements include invention of what is today called "Aerobics", the Thigh-master and the Body Ball. Licensed in Chiropractic and Naturopathy between 1955 and 1960, Dr. Benstrom was director of the Golden Door Health and Beauty Resort in Escondido, CA, and Owner/Director of Sanctuary Health Clubs in Los Angeles. She has appeared on major talk shows as well as conventions and schools involved with exercise, yoga, and inspirational seminars.

Dr. P.S. Das
Dr. Das holds a double Masters Degree from Calcutta University and is a registered Medical Practitioner in Allopathy and Alternative Medicine. Holding a Ph.D. in Yoga Therapy, he is the Principal of Yoga Medical College and the Castle Corner Yoga Center in Calcutta, and is Chief Consultant to Ghosh's College of Physical Education founded by Bishnu Ghosh. Dr. Das helped to publish Paramahansa Yogananda's famous Autobiography, and has been guest speaker at several conferences for Cardio-Pulmonary Health.

Dr. Frank Trapani - Anatomy & Physiology Instructor
Dr. Trapani, a Doctor of Chiropractic, graduated from the D.C. Chiropractic Institute of New York in 1961, Cum Laude. President of the Hawaii Chiropractic Association (1970), and the Washington Chiropractic Association (1987-88), Dr. Trapani also served as Assistant Professor at Western States Chiropractic College, Portland, Oregon. He is the Founder of: Eco Foods, the Aquarian School of Yoga (Hui Olo Kino Chapter), the National Health Federation, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Body Technology Systems, Inc. in Walla Walla, WA. Dr. Trapani has published several papers on health and wellness and the books "Contraception Naturally" in 1984 & "Our Food Dilemma" in 2005.

Dr. Tushar Ray
Dr. Tushar Ray holds a Ph.D. from the University of Calcutta, India in Biochemistry. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology at Arizona State University and owns his own yoga center in Tempe, Arizona where he offers lectures, yoga and meditation classes. He recently submitted a grant proposal entitled "Hatha Yoga and Immunity" to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland for possible funding.

Dr. Mani Bhaumik
Dr. Bhaumik is a laser physicist who announced the invention of the world's first excimer laser at the Denver, Colorado meeting of the American Optical Society in May 1972. During his 25-year career in laser research, he has published over 50 papers in professional scientific journals and is a holder of a dozen U.S. patents in the field of lasers. Dr. Bhaumik has lectured worldwide, including some television appearances. Recently, Dr. Bhaumik received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 23rd Annual North American Bengali Conference in Long Beach, California. In 2005, Dr. Bhaumik has received the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award from The Indian American Heritage Foundation for his outstanding contributions to science and humanity and in celebration of his bestselling book "Code Name God".

Dr. Lillian Glass
Dr. Lillian Glass is one of the world's most well respected and foremost authorities in the fields of psychology and communication. She holds two PhD's - one in Counseling Psychology and the other in Communication Disorders. The author of over a dozen books, including the best-sellers Toxic People - 10 Ways of Dealing with People Who Make Your Life Miserable; He Says She Says; Talk to Win, Say It... Right, and her current book, I Know What You're Thinking has gone into its third printing after only being out for two months! Dr. Glass has had private practices in Beverly Hills, California and New York City, where her clients have included celebrities, politicians, and world leaders. She has lectured worldwide.

Jon Burras
A certified Yoga Therapist, the creator of a unique blend of bodywork called Intuitive Connective Tissue Bodywork. Jon studied with the Bodymind Institute of Los Angeles and a graduate of Esalen Institute's massage therapy program. His lecture series at BYCOI since 1998 is about connective tissue and how it relates to yoga and stretching. Jon provides an array of visual aids and props that make his classes fun and effective.

Leigh Willyard
Leigh graduated from Kansas University Medical Center with a Bachleor of Science degree in Nursing. She specializes in Critical Care and has been working as a Registered nurse in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit for 10 years. Leigh became a certified Bikram Yoga instructor in Spring, 2002. She has been teaching the CPR class for Teacher Training since 2003. She managed the Berkeley studio for Funky Door Yoga in 2004. She currently teaches in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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