Teacher Testimony - 200 Hr Mexico Immersion

by Juliana Lee, 4/18/2026

I came into this training with some assumptions. I was already RYT 200-hour certified through a 2017 vinyasa training at another studio, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I learned we'd be doing the in-town weekends alongside the vinyasa teachers in training. Different lineages, different methodologies. I was curious how it would all come together. It came together beautifully.

The lead trainers for the Mexico immersion (Claudia, Sarah, and Brooke) are exceptional, and each brought something distinct to the experience. Claudia trained directly with Bikram and has been teaching for decades. If you've ever taken her class, you already know she doesn't let you off the hook. In training, that same energy becomes one of your greatest assets. She's tough in the room and deeply encouraging in training. Sarah also trained under Bikram and flew in from Seattle. Her commitment to our cohort was total. She led us through yoga history and philosophy on our very first weekend, which set the tone for everything that followed. From that very first session, it was clear we weren't here just to learn the words. We were here to understand the practice from the inside out (and from the bones to the skin). Brooke is also the studio owner, and the way she leads says everything about the culture she's built here. She's deeply knowledgeable and equally quick to recognize where someone else can offer more than she can. That kind of leadership creates a training environment where ego stays at the door...for everyone, including the people at the front of the room.

During the in-town weekends, Missy was an equally vital presence. She led the vinyasa cohort and guided us through some of the most grounding sessions of the entire training. Her knowledge runs deep and her way of holding space is its own kind of teaching. Having her at the studio throughout the training, steady and available, was something I didn't take for granted.

And then there's the studio itself, which is its own kind of resource. Several of our Hot 26 instructors trained directly with Bikram and were always available to answer questions about posture intent, nuances in the dialogue, the "why" behind the sequencing. That's not something you find everywhere.

The training was structured thoughtfully and paced for real life. It technically started in late fall, and the in-town weekends run every other weekend over three weekends in late winter, with weekly study groups, required readings, and dialogue books distributed in advance. Then comes the week-long immersion in Mexico to bring it all together. Start to finish, roughly six months. Six months sounds like a long time (or rushed once you try learning the dialogue!) until you're in it, and then it feels exactly right. The timeline kept us accountable, but offered enough flexibility to live life outside the training.

The curriculum was genuinely comprehensive. Across the in-town weekends we covered yoga history and philosophy, anatomy, the energy body, Chakras, Mudras and Bandhas, Pranayama, Meditation, Yoga Nidra, Ayurveda, Yin, and the business and ethics of yoga. There was even a dedicated session called "Finding Your Voice," which, if you're someone who's quietly terrified of standing at the front of a room, is exactly as valuable as it sounds. This training prepares you for the reality of teaching, not just the practice of it.

The weekends moved at a pace that respected how much we were absorbing. We powered through sections without feeling steamrolled, and mental breaks were built in intentionally. When the studio space was needed for classes, we'd shift to nearby spaces. The Hot 26 and vinyasa groups split off for certain portions, which kept things focused and relevant.

One practical detail worth mentioning: a dialogue book sized to carry everywhere. Because you will carry it everywhere. And a PDF version to keep on your phone.

We were encouraged to take six classes per week throughout the training. That's a real commitment, and I won't pretend otherwise. But the studio's schedule makes it genuinely manageable, and there's a reason it's built in. As we learned each posture, our trainers would invite us to get up and teach during actual classes. Real students, real room, real heat. That hands-on experience is irreplaceable, because Hot 26 teaching isn't just memorizing dialogue. It's learning to watch the bodies, to read the room, adjust your pace, know when to push a cue and when to let silence do the work. You don't develop that instinct by practicing as a student alone.

Here's what I didn't fully appreciate before I started: the fixed sequence is the gift. In vinyasa, the variables are endless, which makes it harder to develop a deep, precise understanding of any single posture. In Hot 26, the repetition is the whole point. You do the same 26 postures, in the same order, every single time. At first you're managing the choreography. Then the dialogue becomes second nature and something shifts. You stop thinking about what comes next and you start truly seeing the people in front of you...how each posture works differently in different bodies, where someone needs encouragement and where they need space. That's a skill set that will sharpen your teaching across any style. 

Then came Mexico.

By the time we arrived, we were deep into the floor series, and the immersion week was where everything started to click. Two 90-minute classes a day. The ocean steps away, and there was always a group of us ready to sprint toward the water the moment class ended. Claudia, Sarah, and Brooke held space for our exhaustion and our breakthroughs equally. They helped us truly understand each posture: how to get students in, how to get them out, how to guide without interfering. They encouraged us when we were running on empty and gave us room to make mistakes without shame.

Our final test-out was teaching a full 90-minute class in small groups of three or four. Collaborative, not performative. It felt like exactly the right way to finish. There's something that happens when you go through something intense with people who are fully committed not just to their own growth, but to not letting anyone else in the group fall behind. You arrive as a group of practitioners and you leave as something closer to family.

I'll be honest: I didn't think I was ready to teach when I signed up. I'd been 200-hour certified in vinyasa for years and still chose not to teach, because I knew I had more to learn. It wasn't until the teachers at this studio encouraged me to do this training that I committed to it... and even then, I wasn't sure I'd be ready by the end.

But here's what they kept telling us, and what I now believe completely: we were already teachers. Every time we showed up to class during training, we were setting an example. That's why we took six classes a week. That's why we were at the front of the room. That's why we practiced together. Looking back, I don't think the training made us into teachers. I think it helped us see that we already were.

Upon passing, you'll earn your RYT 200-hour certification, which is just a formality. The training is worth so much more than that.

One more thing worth saying: you don't have to want to teach to get something profound out of this training. Every person in that room walked away with a deeper understanding of their own practice – their edges, where to push, where to soften, where to find a little grace for themselves. You'll learn things about your own body and breath that years of regular practice may not have shown you yet. That's all part of it too.

And if teaching is something you've been quietly considering... you don't have to feel ready. You just have to show up.