Meet Our Instructors

Bikram Yoga San Jose Instructors are Certified by Bikram Choudhury at Bikram’s Yoga College of India, Los Angeles, CA

Michele Vennard, Bikram Yoga San Jose Owner and Director, Click here to read an interview given by Local Heath Magazine, Eucalyptus Magazine, 2009.

Anna Morey, Spring 2005

Andi Martin, Fall, 2008
“I believe that the Universe gave me a great gift in being able to live a fully normal and wonderfully happy life with Bikram yoga. Bikram yoga completely controls my chronic pain-a condition I was diagnosed with after a kidney surgery in 2002. Before I found this yoga, my left side hurt constantly, and I needed medication to control the pain. Even with the strongest medications, I didn’t move around very well at all, and felt nauseous almost all the time. Now, I feel great, all day, every day, without medication. Being a teacher is one of the best things that had ever happened in my life. It is an amazing honor and privilege to be able to help others progress on their yoga paths as I progress on mine. To work together with others as we collectively heal ourselves fills me with happiness and deep satisfaction. This is a community that I truly feel blessed to be a part of. Thank you!”

Carl Bruckner, Spring 2003

Chris Fiore, Fall, 2008
“I was pulled into a Bikram Yoga class by an old friend in Phoenix. His brother was one of the teachers and he thought I’d love it. The first class left me delirious. I went home and drank a gallon of water, more soda than I care to admit and passed out in the sun. At the time, I was a hard core bicyclist and luckily for me, I was studying in an associates program for massage therapy. While studying kynesiology, the science of movement of muscles, I broke down the actions I was rigorously committing my body to on my bike and really saw what I was doing to myself. Riding my bike, my best friend for 11 years, was destroying the integrity of my skeletal alignment. I then saw that the process of a Bikram Yoga class does everything and more to correct my spine. A few days after my first class, I came back to the studio and was able to give the owner a massage. He liked my work so he offered me trade, monthly massage for unlimited yoga. I’ve been blessed to have this yoga in my life ever since.”

Chris Gray, Fall 2006
“I started Bikram in 2002 as a New Year’s resolution and haven’t stopped. I thought that I’d get in shape, improve my posture and get a break from the gym routine. What I actually got was humility, self-acceptance, patience and compassion (as well as the health benefits!) I have not been blessed with natural flexibility and often times my practice feels like “slow-ga” rather than “yoga.” However, little by little my breathing improves, my focus sharpens, and I go deeper into the asanas. When I compare myself to the person next to me in class, I can get frustrated. When I compare myself to myself I am amazed.”

Christine Mendonca, Fall 2004
“I began my journey with Bikram Yoga in 1997 when a good friend took me to my very first class. I had never taken any kind a yoga class in my life; I was intimidated as well as intrigued. After my first class, I was hooked! After years of various activities such as running, biking, and other sports, I finally found my match. Since then I have continued to practice and then finally decided to get certified in winter 2004. I have taught at a variety of different studios such as: Grass Valley, Chico, San Francisco, Pacifica, and of course San Jose. My love for yoga continues to grow daily. Thanks to Bikram Yoga, I have acquired a better understanding of the meaning of practice and the important role it plays in our daily lives.”

Cynthia Wehr, Spring 2003
“Standing bow pulling pose is my favorite posture. While working at HQ, it took many “Cynthia do this and Cynthia do that” to understand the beauty and difficulty of this posture. I will never forget the day Bikram came over and locked my leg for me- and that was that. I was able to lock out pretty much every time after that experience. The level of intensity and concentration the pose demands from you is so superb, that there is nothing like it. It is as if the world has truly stopped for a moment and it gives you the space and breath to just dive into this amazing posture using all the strength and flexibility you can muster up in 60 seconds. I get so excited just thinking about it.”

Darla Safire, Spring 2007
“As a young person, I was seeking truth for myself. I noticed that I had a lot of ups and downs and I wanted to live a harmonious life. I turned to spirituality and yoga. I studied many styles of yoga and many different religions. I travelled around the U.S. and India learning about yoga and its philosophy. In 1998, I opened a yoga school in Las Vegas where I taught Ashtanga Yoga for seven years. Following a dramatic series of events, I closed the school and did not know what to do next. A friend gave me a free pass to a Bikram Yoga school. I went to class and found the community of people to be so inviting! Within a year and a half I was managing the studio and on my way to Teacher Training in Honolulu, Hawaii! When you start to walk the path of yoga you are mysteriously and miraculously provided for. Not only does the practice of Hatha Yoga give you radiant health, equanimity and poise, but it opens you up to yourself, increases your awareness and helps you to realize your full potential! I look forward to seeing you in class! Namaste!”

Fiona Bensen, Spring 2010
“After experiencing 5 consecutive years of either stress or actual fractures and reconstructive surgery on my right foot (following a series of running injuries), I was determined to give up running and find a more forgiving way to stay fit and active. I took up Bikram Yoga because I was attracted to the intensity which is part of the essential nature of any Bikram class. Bikram isn’t mellow yoga- its hardcore. I only took a couple of classes before I knew that I was hooked. I fell in love with how Bikram Yoga made me feel both physically and mentally. I could go into class tired, moody or mad at the world for whatever reason, and come out feeling energized and in love with everyone! Because of the extraordinary benefits I received through practicing the yoga, I was determined to share my commitment to it by training to teach.”

Francoise Vincent, Spring 2002

Gary Auten, Summer 2005
“The biggest improvement in my practice was in awkward pose. Before teacher training, I could not hold the last part of awkward for 15 seconds. After teacher training, I was able to hold the last part of awkward for over 2 minutes. Part of it had to do with the belief that I wasn’t good at this posture. When I was asked to hold it for longer during teacher training, I held it for longer than I ever imagined.”

Sports accomplishments:
I have done 3 Ironmans (check out the blog section to read my experience on running the Ironman in Coeur d’Alene)
I have done over 20 marathons (with a fastest time under 3 hours)
I have done over 20 half-Ironman races

I do Bikram to supplement my Ironman training and my lifestyle. Whether it is through the breathing or the intense focus required sometimes by the practice, Bikram brings me back to that calm space inside of myself that helps me to find my way through life’s little challenges (including the second half of the marathon in Ironman!). Bikram class, for me, is also like a multi-sport house cleaner: after a long week of training, practicing Bikram reduces the inflammation in my muscles and gets me ready for another week of training. When I walk out of class, it feels as if someone has squeezed all of the swelling from my muscles and left me a little more supple. Of course, it almost goes without saying that Bikram increases my flexibility and strengthens certain muscle groups to help limit the amount of time I spend on the injured reserve, which was the original reason I started practicing a while ago.

Holly Matthews, Spring 2005

Jackie Johnson, Spring 2010
“I took my first Bikram Yoga class when I was a sophomore in college at Cal Poly and fell in love instantly. I loved how the class made me feel and couldn’t wait to take my next class. Still, nine years later I feel the same way. I became a teacher so I could share my love of this yoga with others and because I think the world would be a much better place if everyone practiced yoga daily!”

Jason Rahlwes, Spring 2009
“I had developed carpal tunnel syndrome in 2004 from working long hours at a computer without any breaks. Surgery was the recommended corrective action, but I refused to accept surgery as my primary option. Instead, I look at holistic options and found Bikram Yoga by chance. I was at a favorite local restaurant and struck up a conversation with another guest, who, as it turns out, is a yoga instructor. I had never really given yoga a chance; I had dismissed yoga somehow, thinking it wasn’t for me for a multitude of reasons. As an athlete, I felt that it was not challenging enough. After taking my first class, I found out my assumptions were very wrong and my mind opened up to a whole new world of mental and physical challenges. What I simply could not deny was how good I felt afterwards. After going through this transformation, I found myself drawn towards talking about yoga’s benefits with friends and family – anyone who would listen. Eventually I realized I wanted to be a part of, play a role in, and witness transformation in others’ lives.”

Jennifer Saito, Fall 2008
“I came out of my first Bikram yoga class short of breath with my gym clothes weighing heavily on my body. This practice was no walk in the park! But from that day on, I went to practice every single day, knowing this was going to be part of my life forever. I would even find myself at work on the trading floor yet thinking about yoga. Reality was that I was tired with my work yet unable to leave it. The best blessing came to me in one year later when I received news of my layoff. What a shock; what a blessing. The most natural thing I knew to do was to go to yoga. I had little reason to mourn. I was now unleashed from the golden handcuffs and had the freedom to practice anytime I wanted. My body and mind had opened up so much in the span of a year. I couldn’t wait to have the ability to explore even further.

It was during this time that I realized that it wasn’t just the yoga that kept me coming back; it was the Bikram yoga family that I had come to love and cherish. This wonderful community of people never failed to encourage me and love me. From city to city and coast to coast, I knew I could find comfort in the ever-expanding Bikram community. Every single person involved had chosen to be a part of the family, and as such, the family was solid, concrete, one piece, unbroken…Having returned from Teacher Training as a newly minted graduate, I am both honored and humbled. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility in making sure that people realize that no matter what is going on in the world, we all have the power within ourselves to find peace, to be at peace, and to stay at peace. It may sound like a tall order, but with this yoga, I have no doubt we can achieve anything.”

Jill Rencher, Spring 2009
“I graduated from teacher training in Spring 2009, and I love teaching! I have come to love Bikram Yoga not only for the physical benefits, but also for the lessons applicable to the rest of life. I love that we all come to class at different places in our practice and lives, but all with the same intention: with each posture to try the right way giving our best for that day. I think in life that is what we can ask of ourselves wherever we are: set the intention to try our best for that time and then be aware of and grateful for our progression through the ebb and flow.”

John Ferreira, Fall 2004
“It took me years to touch my forehead to my knee and longer to get my hips on the floor in Fixed Firm. The best words of advice I can give is that everything works out in the yoga room. Just keep coming. The lessons of life are in the 90 minutes and once a breakthrough occurs it carries over to the other 22 1/2 hours outside the room.”

Kelly Gibson, Spring 2010
“Practicing Bikram Yoga has brought, health, strength, energy and vitality to my body and a connection to all things in my life in a deeper aspect than I had ever imagined possible. My view of beauty has expanded immensely. After decades of competitive sports and five knee surgeries my body was broken and I woke up feeling sore every morning. I could not walk down stairs and I had all sorts of aches and pains that I assumed was a natural part of growing old. After my first class, I felt a cleanness, I had never felt before in my life. After practicing Bikram yoga for only a few months, my aches and pains went away. My Ultimate Frisbee team members noticed my enhanced athletic performance and wanted to know what my secret was. Bikram yoga is no secret, it is like health juice for our minds and bodies. When I teach, I desire for every student to gain health and healing, and to feel tapped in to their powerful selves. Teaching Yoga has brought me so much joy. I am amazed and honored to see so many dedicated students and to be a part of this journey with the students and teachers at BYSJ.”

Larisa Loish, Spring 2009

Linda Turull, Fall 2006
“I was diagnosed with A.D.D. and depression and was put on medication for both. I went to therapy regularly and periodically some yoga classes. My husband and I moved from Boston to California in the Fall of 2005. Within one week, I found BYSJ. I was really looking for another way to stay grounded and focused rather than the medication. After one class of Bikram’s yoga, I knew this was the way to heal and see the truth. One year later, I am off the medication and I am also teaching! I’ve never felt more grounded. It has been quite a process and still is but I can now deal with the difficult times that life brings. My Bikram practice has helped me to be compassionate and confident. I love bringing this to all the students in the classes I teach”.

Lisa Chandley, Fall 2005
“I never imagined that I would fall deeply in love with this yoga 5 years ago. It heals my body inside and out and continues to do so. I was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago. I experience occasional flair ups, however, this yoga has made a huge impact in my well being which I strongly believe mind, body, and spirit. It cleans me out, clears my head, and keeps me positive. I feel so good and want to share that with our universe. Just keep coming back!”

Mariam Jazayeri, Fall 2011
“It’s never too late, it’s never too bad, and you are never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again” I was 51 when I started Bikram Yoga, in my younger days I played volleyball and went to the gym, ran, hiked and biked….I started having lower back problems and with life, one thing led to another and most of my activities stopped. I heard about hot yoga and wanting to try it, thinking it would be a good stretch for my back! Indeed the recent MRI shows that my back is in better shape that it was the last time they did a MRI…I took my first class, and was hooked. I kept going and going and going….and became a teacher! This practice transformed from an interest into a life style. It helps me physically and emotionally. My body is not as flexible as I would love it to be, YET. I told my family, my goal is to touch my face in “Hands to Feet pose” by the age of 80! The seed on mindfulness meditation was planted in me when I faced a hard time in my life and became very depress. This practice has been another stepping-stone toward my self-realization and one of my main coping method. I’ve learned that my choices in life make my character. I choose to practice yoga, be mindful, and have compassion for all being.
… and for those of you wondering, I’m not a crazy old women with pink hair, I dye my hair pink to honor breast cancer victims, support the survivors and spread the awareness and yes I’m a survivor.”

Marialena Roussere, Summer 2004
“Before doing yoga, I used to work out on treadmills and stair masters, which left me burnt out and continually feeling like moving my body was a dreaded chore. Most often now, when coming out of balancing stick and my heart is pumping and my mind thinks that it is hard, I offer a quick prayer of gratitude, recognizing that being in the yoga room is more creative, fun and life giving for me than 20 minutes on a stair master.”

Meaghan Barisone, Spring 2011
“I was 16 years old when I was first exposed to Bikram yoga. Having never done yoga before I did not know what to expect. However, after that first class I was hooked! I felt better then I ever had before and knew at that point yoga was going to positively change and become a very big part of my life. I became a Bikram Yoga instructor in Spring 2011 and have never looked back! I love teaching and hope to spread this amazing yoga to as many people as I can!”

Michele Vennard, Fall 2001
“When I took my first Bikram yoga class, I could not believe that all 50 or more of us were going to stay in this hot sweaty room for 90 minutes! It was almost comical. By the end, I knew it was the very thing I needed in my life. I really saw how it helped any and all in its own unique way. That compelled me to not only do the practice but to teach it too.”

Nicole Chetaud, Spring 2005
“I started practicing Bikram Yoga after a friend of mine recommended it to me (he was on his way to training.) After starting it, I noticed how much better I felt after the practice. I also began to lose weight. I became very disciplined about it when I was going through an especially difficult time in my life. A daily practice during this time helped improve my emotional well-being, as well as my physical health. Bikram yoga is holistic: it fulfills a spiritual, therapeutic, and fitness need in my life.”

Nicole Duke, Spring 2009

Nina Wang, November 2005
“I’ve been hooked to Bikram Yoga ever since my first class. I didn’t know at the time what drove me back to class day after day — I just kept going. I’d eagerly show up to the studio yet by half moon pose (sometimes even during pranayama deep breathing) be baffled by what I was possibly thinking voluntarily going back into the hot room. Before long, all these incredible changes began manifesting in my body-mind and I knew Bikram Yoga would be a lifetime practice. I’m inspired to teach and share this incredible vehicle of change.”

Patrick McInerney, Spring 2009

Paul Knisely, Spring 2007

Patricia Antoni, Spring 2011
“My becoming a Bikram instructor was a spiritual experience for me. I knew God was the director and it was time. I had practiced yoga off and on for most of my adult life. I never seemed to stick to it even though I knew my body needed it. I had always had a weak lower back. It wasn’t until I had been practicing Bikram yoga awhile that I thought I would try the 101 day challenge that BY Instructor and Owner of Global Yoga, Mary Jarvis, talks about. I did it and more. This was the start of an amazing journey.I had visited teacher training to support a couple of students here at BYSJ who are now teachers and always knew in the back of my mind one day if God willed maybe I could do it too. Yoga had transformed me in body, mind and spirit and I wanted everyone to have it. Long story short after many enlightening moments I went in the spring of 2011. It was one of the hardest things I ever did and I would do it all over again. I love this yoga and I am forever grateful I can teach and share this with the world. Namaste”

Puja Bichel, Summer 2007
“When I was 16, I began feeling an unexplained pain in my hip and right leg. It became difficult to walk or sit up. After an initial misdiagnosis, I was told I had a bulging disc and began physical therapy. I healed, then 3 months later I sneezed and found myself on the floor in excruciating pain, unable to move. This episode ended with me in the ER and a shot of morphine to release the muscle spasms. This scenario repeated itself several times until at 19 an MRI revealed my disc between L3 and L4 had burst into my spinal canal and taken up 70% of the space where my nerves reside. I could no longer move my right toes as my nerves discontinued to respond. I had back surgery within a week. A year later I had knee surgery on my right knee from a torn ACL and a complete reconstruction of my medial meniscus. I was 190 lbs. from 4 years of inactivity. Something needed to change. I was 20 years old and never having been physically active, I threw myself into physical therapy and through this path, I found Bikram Yoga. Our bodies are the temples of our mind and spirit. My experience taught me never to take for granted the health of our bodies. To cultivate the mind, body and spirit in 90 minutes, everyday, opens my heart to appreciate every precious moment we are given and have earned.”

Riva Huang, Spring, 2009
“I started practicing Bikram yoga in 2005. At first, I was just interested in the yoga postures and enjoying the great feelings after each class. I thought I was going to get bored because the postures are the same for each class, but I didn’t. Even though the postures are the same, each class is different and is always challenging in some ways. Practicing Bikram yoga helps me stay healthy physically and mentally. I feel honored to teach this yoga and be a part of the students’ practice, which is the process that often leads to amazing transformations and miracles. I truly believe that everyone needs this yoga and this yoga is for everyone.”

Shawn Taylor, Spring 2009
“Bikram Yoga is the fountain of youth. I came to this practice with a broken body from years of competitive snowboarding. After the first class, I felt the benefits right away. I had bad shoulders, hips, wrists, knees and ankles. I was basically a mess. Many postures were extremely uncomfortable even painful but I felt a connection to something more powerful than I could ever imagine. I started with one class a week, then two, three, four until I finally dedicated myself to an almost daily practice. My body began to change and heal rapidly; I was losing weight, gaining flexibility, strength, concentration, determination and focus. I believe the Yoga room is parallel universe to our daily lives. There are countless lessons to be learned in there about ourselves that we carry over into our lives. It is a place of healing, a source of strength, compassion, community and self realization. I teach an energetic class mixed with fun, humor and awareness of our bodies in the tradition passed on to me by my teacher and Guru, Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury. I graduated in spring 2009. I was selected for the graduation demonstration team and received the award for the Best Male Yogi. When I”m not practicing or teaching I enjoy surfing, snowboarding, camping and adventure. See ya in the hot room!”

Tara Forest, Fall 2005
“I want to show others that the key to peace lies in connecting the mind with the body. We can all get to that place of peace. We just need to practice regularly to be connected to our higher calling.”

Theresa Binnings, Spring 2009

Vicki Rounds, Spring 2002

Wendy Mosgrove, Fall 2009

Yuka Sugiura, Fall, 2010
“The impetus for me to start Bikram yoga was pretty simple — a co-worker and I saw a studio in the neighborhood and were curious. We went to our first class and things were going pretty smoothly until I blacked out after the first set of Standing Bow. The room started going dark and somehow I found the floor. Fortunately I had a wonderful teacher tend to me, I cooled down, took a break, rejoined the class, finished… and I was hooked. I loved the intensity and focus of class and felt so light and energetic afterward, that I knew this was something I’d do again. I practiced for about a year, then after taking an 8-year hiatus from the hot room, I felt a pull to go back in. Little did I know that that I was starting a path to become a teacher. I do feel that somehow this yoga finds us as much or more than the other way around, and I’m grateful that it found me again and that I’m now part of a wonderful yoga community. I’ve found that the commitment, openness and joy you bring to this yoga is returned right back to you, and teaching gives me the amazing opportunity to be part of that exchange.”

Yulia Sytenkova, Fall 2004
“I truly believe that Bikram Yoga transforms your life. 6 years ago I found myself in a pretty difficult situation. I was getting divorce from my then-husband who was fighting his own demons of alcohol and domestic violence. I was a foreigner with 14 year old son and did not have a profession which could support and provide for us in the US. I did not have close friends to help me. I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety disorder. A stranger gave me a brochure about Bikram Yoga in Walnut Creek, CA. I took my first class and it was like a miracle. Where did all this energy come from? How come I felt so great for no obvious reason except for this sweaty and smelly room filled with half-naked bodies? Very rapidly things started changing and they keep changing! I live in Silicon Valley now surrounded with wonderful family and friends. Bikram Yoga is my profession now and I love it! I love to see changes in people’s lives because of this Yoga. And it is so great to be a little piece of this amazing process. The strongest sense of community makes me feel grateful every time I enter our wonderful studio.”

Yi-Ting Chuang, Summer 2007