The Mission of the Original Hot Yoga Association

(OHYA just say “OH YEAH!”)

The Mission of the Original Hot Yoga Association is to preserve and promote the therapeutic practice of Original Hot Yoga, by creating and upholding standards and resources for studios, teachers, classes, and Teacher Trainings.

OHYA is dedicated to moving the Original Hot Yoga community into the future. Our association of studios and teachers is the largest resource for Original Hot Yoga Studios and teachers around the world.

OHYA is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization.  OHYA wants to ensure that both Original Hot Yoga enthusiasts, and those new to discovering the transformation and life changing benefits can discover the real Original Hot Yoga with highly-trained instructors and traditional, therapeutic, 90-minute 26 & 2 classes.

We are not affiliated in any way with Bikram Choudhury or any of his events, seminars, nor teacher trainings.  OHYA has created our own distinct standards to approve Teacher Trainings in order to create effective and compassionate teachers for our community, and to ensure our lineage continues for years to come.  

OHYA Studio Directory

Central to OHYA’s mission is the Studio Directory where over a 150 OHYA studios are listed. All studios on the OHYA Studio Directory are owned by either Certified Bikram Yoga Teacher or graduates of OHYA approved trainings with at least 10% of their classes dedicated to 90-minute Original Hot Yoga. Look for the OHYA “Studio Partner” seal when searching for studios to find those that offer the Original Hot Yoga.

OHYA Teacher Directory

The OHYA Teacher Directory ensures that our community of highly-trained and experienced teachers have a professional association to protect and promote their certification. To join the OHYA Teacher Directory, all teachers must have graduated from Bikram Yoga Teacher Training or an OHYA-approved Teacher Training and complete a six-month internship before earning their Level 1 seal as an Original Hot Yoga Teacher (OHYT).

Continuing Education

To maintain their seals in the OHYA Teacher Directory, teachers commit to a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education taught by OHYA-approved Continuing Education teachers every three years. OHYA offers a listing of Continuing Education for teachers to find all options to fulfill their continuing education requirements. This ensures that all OHYA-certified teachers continue to grow their understanding of the lineage, posture mechanics, and teaching methodologies from the most experienced teachers in the field.

OHYA-approved Teacher Training

OHYA created Approved Teacher Trainings so our studios could identify teachers that met our exacting standards. OHYA-approved Teacher Trainings are for students who want to pursue a career in teaching the Original Hot Yoga.  More and more studios are hiring graduates of OHYA Approved trainings in addition to CBYT(Certified Bikram Yoga Teachers).