The Director - Sharon Michalson
In 1985, Sharon began her Bikram yoga practice in Ashland at the Bridge Street studio, one of the first Bikram studios in the USA! Her teachers, Margaret Iris, and Kevin Cooke, were two of a handful of people teaching Bikram yoga at that time. The practice grounded Sharon, and she fell in love with it. Sharon’s other love is theatre, and throughout her professional career as a theatre artist and educator, she maintained a steady Bikram Yoga practice. She has experienced many good teachers with unique energy and style and learns from each class. In the fall of 2010, Sharon took a leap of faith, quit her job, took the Bikram yoga teacher training, and achieve a long-time goal of becoming a Bikram yoga teacher. Once graduated she began teaching, and in 2011 achieved another long-time goal of becoming a Bikram yoga studio owner. Sharon is happy and honored, humbled and a little shocked that this dream she had dared to dream came true!
     Bikram yoga is a foundation from which the rest of her life grows. She believes strongly in the power of yoga to help maintain physical, psychological, and spiritual health. She is delighted to share Bikram yoga with others as a practitioner, teacher, and studio owner. Sharon is available to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding beginning or enhancing your Bikram yoga practice.

The Instructors
     All of the teachers at Bikram Yoga of Ashland are Bikram-certified instructors.
This means each of our teachers maintains a committed yoga practice, and has immense respect for the Bikram series.
     Though the dialogue and instruction is the same, you can expect a unique yoga experience with different teachers. We strongly encourage you to practice with each of us, and learn something new every time.

Aimee Davis
As a nervous, insecure fifteen year old, Aimee Takaya Davis entered the hot room at Bikram Yoga Of Ashland, tried the first three postures and laid down in savasana for the remainder of class. Four years later she returned with the determination to practice at least three classes a week, indefinitely. This time she tried everything, stiff and wobbly. Gradually, everything began to improve, not just in the room but in every aspect of her life. Aimee believes in the healing power of yoga, not only on the physical level, but an emotional level as well. If you can keep your cool in the hot room, you can keep your cool anywhere.
     Returning from the spring 2011 teacher training, Aimee is proud and happy to be part of the team at BYOA. As a teacher Aimee's goal is to encourage students to learn to know and love themselves more, to move through the uncomfortable and receive all of the gifts this practice has to offer. She hopes you will feel her passion and empathy and leave each class a new person.

Alex Newport-Berra
In teaching and taking Bikram Yoga I find it has an amazing power to help one make decisions. After 90 minutes in the room, with no distractions, and the inward focus on breath, intention of movement, and stillness, what is important in life becomes clear. Health, positivity, and a balance of strength and flexibility, both physically and mentally, create a solid foundation for navigating all of life. Within a year of beginning my Bikram Yoga practice I made the decision, and necessary changes, to attend teacher training in fall of 2007.
     After graduating I taught my first class in Hawai'i, returned to Oregon to teach in Corvallis, then on to teach in Missoula, Montana, and guest teach in New York, California, Las Vegas, and Singapore, until finally landing here in Ashland and the beautiful Rogue Valley.
      Being a part of the Ashland Bikram family is a gift, the community here at the studio is part of what keeps me excited as a teacher and student. I enjoy making a connection with students, learning about their life and motivations for being in the room, to help serve them in getting the most benefit from the practice. As a student I enjoy the yoga for its ability to continually provide my body, mind, and spirit, with exactly what I need to grow and live happily. As well as keeping me healthy and injury free so I can enjoy spending time outside enjoying the natural beauty of the Rogue Valley through cycling, running, hiking, or skiing and energetic for my work with teaching middle school math.
      All of life is yoga, the mind and body you bring into the room is the same outside the room, any lesson, wisdom, or insight you gain immediately enriches your daily life. As a teacher, my goal is to create a safe environment where students have a positive experience in their physical body. I aim to teach students about the postures and the body, to empower their practice with knowledge and insight they can use to create, maintain, and enjoy the dialogue of intuitive wisdom between mind and body.

Anna Antic
     Anna stumbled upon a yoga practice literally by accident: one too many skateboard and bicycle crashes left her with far more aches and pains than ever expected. After a few years of experimenting with different styles of yoga, she wandered into a Bikram class... and swore to never try it again. Fast forward two more years, and a job change has her relocating to Ashland with a new home just up the street from Bikram Yoga of Ashland. Perhaps it was the cross-country move, or the time zone change, but Anna has this idea that she should try another Bikram class. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
     After two years of a consistent and dedicated practice, Anna attended Bikram teacher training in Fall of 2007. Anna credits Bikram Yoga with eliminating chronic discomfort from past injuries, promoting a more balanced life and teaching patience. She firmly believes Bikram Yoga has the power to change people’s lives for the better, and is humbled by the warmth, openness and generosity of the Ashland Bikram Yoga community. Her classes focus on proper alignment and form in the postures, but with space for levity and self-awareness.
     Anna hopes you will feel welcomed and encouraged when you visit the studio, and (speaking from experience) definitely suggests you give this practice at least two tries.

Angie Todd
Bio coming soon.

Cynthia LoRe
With her professional history as a certified massage therapist, Reiki teacher, clinical hypnotherapist and her personal passion for shamanic studies, Hatha yoga, hiking and ecstatic dance, Cynthia brings over 15 years of intense training and exploration of the body as a temple for the mind and spirit. She has seen hundreds of clients for a myriad of issues relating to the human condition; fear of change, self sabotage, phobias, weight loss, poor physical health, to name but a few and is on a quest to explore and share the path to expanded energy and consciousness - the hero's journey.
     A friend introduced Cynthia to Bikram yoga in 2009. The practice challenged her in new and exciting ways. She had to harness a level of inner strength and consciousness required to move through the hot and sweaty 90-minute class that resulted in deeper personal growth.
     The study of Bikram yoga went so well with her passions that she knew she had found an important facet to her quest to bring something transformational into the second half of her life for greater flexibility, strength and well being on all levels--something she could share with others for their hero’s journey.
     She took the Bikram teacher training in spring of 2010, and moved to Ashland after graduating to teach at this sweet studio. Teaching Bikram yoga, guest teaching at other Bikram studios and her own yoga practice teaches Cynthia a lot about life and herself.
     Cynthia’s intention as she leads each class is to create a safe and held container in which students can challenge themselves and access that place of wholeness within. They leave feeling recharged, strengthened, acknowledged for their commitment to self, to experience tangible results of their Bikram yoga practice in all aspects of their lives.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO LEARN FROM A CERTIFIED BIKRAM YOGA INSTRUCTOR?
     Bikram Yoga is a specialized form of yoga, requiring appropriate training and knowledge to teach it safely and effectively.
     Bikram Choudhury, the creator of Bikram Yoga, personally trains and certifies his instructors to ensure that his methods and philosophy are preserved and properly taught. To be certified as a Bikram Yoga instructor, one must complete an intensive nine-week training session requiring over 500 hours of study. A studio guided by a Certified Instructor provides the best possible instruction in the Bikram Method. Certified Instructors have a continuing connection to Bikram Choudhury and his training staff, allowing the Certified Studio to draw from all of the resources Bikram's training center has to offer. This includes special seminars, posture clinics, guest instructors, and answers to questions which may arise in a particular practitioner's Bikram Yoga practice.

     All of our instructors also maintain current recertification qualifications. Every certified instructor must meet recertification standards every three years by returning to study with Bikram himself. This ensures that our students receive the highest quality of instruction available today. Along with our regular teaching staff, we often have visiting guest teachers who teach at Bikram Yoga of Ashland. You can be assured that all of our visiting instructors are also currently certified Bikram Yoga instructors.