Hello my name is Brieanna but all my friends call me Brie. I was raised in the South Suburbs of Chicago by two of the most amazing people on the planet….my parents. I worked in the financial industry since 1997 and the time spent there was catching up with me. Tired, stressed, frustrated….you name it. A colleague of mine told me about this intense yoga class above Walgreen’s that would challenge me beyond anything that I had ever done before. Challenge? How can yoga be challenging? My curiosity led me to my first Bikram class taught by Conrad Jr. July of 2005. No one ever forgets there first Bikram class….EVER!!!! After class I signed up for the auto pay. From the beginning I knew that it was something that I would stick with, even though I hadn’t even scratched the surface.

I practiced maybe 2-3 times a week for the first couple of months. Learning how to breathe and remain still was a challenge for me. I have to admit there was a love/hate relationship with the yoga. Not realizing that it wasn’t the yoga that brought on the frustration it was me. November of 2006 if I wasn’t in the room I was thinking about the room. I stepped it up and practiced 6 days a week. I could see all the health benefits after all of my hard work but the mental change was the most astounding.

BYN became my second home. I made so many amazing friends. A couple of girls left for teacher training that spring of 2006 and I felt left behind. I remember one night after class I chatted with Chief about training. I will never forget what he said, “When you’re ready everything will fall into place.”
He was right January 2007 I was tired of my job. I appreciated all of my experiences but I was ready to move on. I wanted to teach Bikram Yoga and it was either now or never. I quit my job in March and never looked back. I graduated from Teacher Training June 2007 in Honolulu. The experience has changed my life forever. Teaching has been such an honor and a blessing.

In class as a student, I am forced to look at myself and face where I am today-honestly.
Fear has been replaced with acceptance.
Frustration has been replaced with patience.
I’ve learned to trust myself, to get right back in when I fall out, and to push beyond my limits.

Blessings Overflow, my friends.