About Yolande Small
YOLANDE LLOYD Small, founder of Bikram Yoga Jamaica, is Jamaica’s first trained Bikram yoga instructor, having spent nine weeks immersed in an indepth study of Bikram yoga with yoga masters Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury and their staff of senior teachers.
The course, leading to a certificate of completion, introduced her to the basic knowledge needed to begin teaching this powerful healing yoga. The course covered asana, anatomy, therapeutic applications and health benefits of yoga, nutrition, philosophy of yoga, Bikram’s posture clinic, and the Bikram yoga dialogue. Through dedicated practise and study of the 26 postures, she has expanded her knowledge of the Bikram method and prepared herself to teach it.
INTRODUCTION TO BIKRAM YOGA – YOLANDE’S STORY
In 2005, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then in 2006, both my parents were diagnosed with cancer. My
mother died in 2008 and my father died in 2010. Once you face your own mortality, combined with the loss of both parents, my journey began in earnest to find my passion. Though I am an attorney-at-law for more than 20 years, qualified in both Florida and Jamaica, my life felt unfulfilled. I yearned to find a way to do something that truly made a difference in both my life and the life of others. Fast-forward to August 2012, I went to London to observe the Olympics and while in London, I took my first Bikram yoga class. I fell in love immediately and I decided to change my life entirely.
For years, though I had enjoyed various forms of yoga, it was more recreational than a way of life. For me, exercise had to be physical and highintensity, otherwise, what was the point? As a marathon enthusiast, I finished five marathons over a decade, with intense cross-country cycling. But like most journeys, there comes a tipping point. Eventually, I required surgery on both knees. So I took up swimming, which was frustrating, as it failed to ignite the passion or the natural high that I was looking for. At the insistence of a friend I tried Bikram. Sceptical, I agreed to take a few classes. To my surprise, it was fulfilling. The sessions were challenging, but energising. By the end I felt calmer, without the agitation that I experienced from swimming, or the exhaustion from running.
Having experienced this lifetransforming system and the immediate benefits to my health issues, I realised that I could use Bikram yoga as a vehicle to cure myself and help others with similar concerns, particularly in Jamaica where there are no Bikram practitioners or studios available.
COMPLETE 360
After doing all the research about Bikram yoga, I decided that I needed to become a Bikram teacher to open a studio in Jamaica. In 2013, I went to training in Los Angeles, California, for nine weeks. Upon the completion of training, I then taught in New Haven, Atlanta and Miami for over a period of six months. In May 2014, I opened the first and only studio in Kingston, Jamaica.