The Heat Is On

Owner of Bikram Hot Yoga, Suzanne Thompson, says that exercise changes lives, as she has experienced that transition first hand when she started taking Bikram yoga classes.

"I smoked two packs a day. I drank like a fish. When I finally quit smoking because I couldn't breathe, I gained weight. The first athletic thing I ever did was take a Bikram yoga class. That was five years ago," she said.

So how did she go from there to being a co-owner of Bikram Hot Yoga in Bayport?

She practiced bikram for three and a half years. Then decided to go to teacher training. In order to teach bikram yoga you have to study with the man who created it, Bikram Choudhury, at his training college in California. "For nine weeks he tortures you. I went last July then began teaching," Thompson said.

There are several different forms of yoga. Bikram yoga is also referred to as hot yoga because 26 different yoga poses are done inside a studio heated to 105 degrees. The heat is believed to help the body's flexibility, which makes it more receptive to the changes it gets from yoga. The heat also serves to remove even more toxins from the body than would be shed in a natural climate.

The Bayport yoga studio opened in March 2010. Thompson and her business partners, Pete and Trish Monsen of Setauket, split their time between this studio and their other one in East Setauket (764 Route 25A).

"Our other location is fairly new, but we opened our first yoga studio 12 years ago. It was the first bikram studio on Long Island. My husband, Peter, has been doing bikram for over 20 years," Monsen said.

The Bayport location was added to accommodate more students, as a lot of students from this area would come to the other studio every now and then. "By opening this studio, now they can come more regularly," said Monsen.

One student does not let distance deter him from traveling to a class. "Bikram yoga has increased my overall flexibility and strength, especially in my lower back and hamstrings. The teachers are extremely supportive and experienced, and the studio is beautiful!" said Chris Cascio, who lives in Massapequa, works in Bay Shore and drives to the Bayport studio.  

Thompson said she teaches bikram because of what it can do for someone aside from the obvious physical benefits. "We help change people's lives, like the way I changed mine," Thompson said.

Monsen concurred. "It's great to help people, to teach them something that is meaningful. We make tremendous changes in people's lives and their health and I didn't have to be a doctor to do it."

Another yogi said she has seen positive changes in her life from doing yoga. "I have been doing Bikram for almost two years. I have found that through Bikram I feel so grounded and in such a positive place. There is such a positive energy at the studio, I feel energized every time I take a class," said Amy Dionisio of South Setauket.

Bikram Hot Yoga is located at 889 Montauk Highway in Bayport. For more information please call 631-472-9642.