You're Never Too Old, It's Never Too Late

“It is never too late, you are never too sick and you are never too old to start from scratch once again. And if you want to feel younger, look younger and find peace, then there is no other way to go than through the heat,” says Jefferson Parker, the owner of Bikram Yoga Studio in San Rafael, quoting the words of Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram yoga.

These words have proven to be true and have served as a lifeline for Parker. A series of unfortunate events led him to a dark place physically and emotionally. Parker grew up in Terra Linda and in the early ’80s he sustained painful neck injuries playing football at Terra Linda High School. In the mid-’90s, he hit rock bottom physically after suffering two more major mishaps. In 1996, Parker was hit by a drunken driver and left with injuries to his legs and back. Then, in 1997, he was the victim of a violent home invasion. These incidents left him depressed, and he began to close himself off from friends and family. He gained almost 100 pounds and sank deeper into depression.

For Parker, yoga was first a lifesaver and then a lifestyle. It is how he turned his life around and met his wife Arjay, a fellow Bikram yoga instructor. They fell in love and married in February 2007.

Bikram yoga, developed by Bikram (“Yogi to the Stars”) Choudhury, is also called “hot” yoga. Parker heard about this technique from a concerned relative who pitched the idea during his low period. Bikram is a form of yoga in which the room is heated to approximately 100-105 degrees, with 40 percent humidity. Classes are guided by “dialogue,” through which teachers demonstrate postures and breathing exercises. Classes last about 90 minutes and include people of all levels, as it’s a beginning yoga class. The goal is to restore the body to its best, original state.

Parker decided to give it a try. At first, he hated the heat, but felt a lot of physical and emotional relief. The second class he attended was a Bikram yoga seminar in San Francisco, where Choudhury actually taught. Inspired, Parker took a Bikram class every day for about seven months. Pleased with the results, he decided to become an instructor.

He attended two classes a day at a weight of 285 pounds. “I was forced to teach, talk and memorize,” Parker said. Along the way, he lost 30 pounds, and began to feel much better about his life.

In 2002, Parker taught 20 classes a week and slimmed down to 220 pounds. He went to Reno with his sister and opened a Bikram yoga school, which he said was “very exciting” to accomplish. He then opened his second school in 2003, and then two more in 2004. However, he became ill later that year with liver disease and decided to return home.

Parker purchased the local Bikram yoga studio in San Rafael in 2004. When he bought it, Parker said, “There were only 30 students a day and now it is one of the busiest studios, with 900 clients a week … all kinds of people ranging anywhere from age 12 to age 77.”

When asked why Bikram is so helpful in making people feel better about themselves and their lives, Parker explained that the “postures were picked for the Western world” and help people with many problems, including “bad backs, bad hips, poor digestion, tennis elbow, tendinitis, bad knees, bad feet” and other ailments.

As well as helping a range of injuries, Bikram also benefits the lungs and skin. It helps a person focus on breathing, and the heat causes one to sweat and to drink a lot of water.

Bikram, the founder, is 62 years old and from Calcutta. Bikram yoga was first used in Japan in the late ’60s. Bikram came to San Francisco in 1972 and the first Bikram yoga school was opened in the Marina.

The postures are 5,000 years old and are meant as medicine. Bikram yoga is the most popular yoga in the United States and there are almost 3,000 schools worldwide. Parker said, “Bikram yoga is a series of 26 postures, same order — the only thing that changes is the person.”

Asked what he would most like the public to know about Bikram yoga, Parker says he wishes more younger people could find the peace he’s found through it.

“Bikram yoga has changed my life,” he said. And looking at a man who has developed a successful business, married his soul mate and found his passion, one can’t help but believe him.

Micaela Sicroff
News Pointer

Jefferson Parker’s Bikram Yoga Studio is located at 1295 Second St., San Rafael. Call 453-9642 for more information.
 
Contact Micaela Sicroff at mvh@marinscope.com