"My name is Midhat Serbagi. I'm 86 years old. I was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 37 years and am now director and performer with Friends of Classical Music in Carmel, New York.

You know when you get older you begin to slow down, things become more difficult to do. Your mind and your body do not work the way they did when you were 25 or so. However, I refused to accept that old-age stuff. I decided that perhaps Bikram yoga would help to slow down the physical and mental recession.

Shazam!!! It works!!! True, I don't feel like I'm 25, but my body and mind are working. I play golf, I walk and sometimes carry my clubs. I move better, I think better, I play better and it have been to only eight sessions. True, Bikram yoga is hard work and I become impatient with it, but it does the job. The teachers here know what they are doing. Try it. You'll see."

− Midhat Serbagi

"Let's face it ...Bikram yoga is hot ...very hot... But there will come a day when the heat becomes a wonderfully protective cocoon..you will be floating in a feeling of openness & inner peace... and you will discover a sea of serene faces...your beautiful fellow yogis... They will be there for you...We sweat together... we struggle together... and we build our inner spirits together... I have learned to love myself and others through this practice...to suspend my own personal judgments...my willful and sometimes self-destructive ego.... all within an hour and a half of hot yoga... Sounds strange ...but it is true ...and it must be experienced directly because there is no way to put the experience into concrete words...As my 60-year-old dear friend from Croatia always says to me after every class, "It is good right!!"... And I always say in response, "Yes it is!!" "

− Deborah Kopple

"There are not enough things I could say about Bikram Yoga that could fully describe all of what it has done for me. I first came to Bikram Yoga at a time in my life when I was looking for stability and to work things out mentally that I could otherwise not get a hold of. I have been a sufferer of anxiety and poor body image my whole life. I was also never great at expressing my feelings. Bikram Yoga gave me a chance to do just this- it allowed me an alternative way to let out my feelings and a chance to look at myself when other things were not going the way I wanted them to. It gave me a sense of peace.

Bikram Yoga continues to do that for me, as well as so many other things. Physically, it makes my body feel amazing. I still leave feeling mentally and physically renewed and rejuvenated. It awakens parts of my mind and body that I forgot were there.

The effects are truly amazing. Old or young, Bikram Yoga has so much to offer the whole human body, mind, and spirit. I will forever be grateful for Bikram Yoga! "

− Lindsay March

"I walked into Danbury Bikram Yoga 4 years ago out of curiosity & in the hopes I will find "something" new to add to my physical routine (which was in a rut). Before my first class a few girls gave me the heads up..."Its really really hot in there...26 postures....just try to stay in the room". I was about to get back in my car & jump on my treadmill, the usual 3 mile jog. But...I decided to stay to see what the buzz was about.

I remember driving home after class (I made it through 90 minutes!) & calling my girlfriend in NYC to tell her that I did Bikram & I loved it!

Now I can't see my life without Bikram & its become a priority. It has helped all my ailments (sciatica, herniated disc & a lot of stress). Most importantly, its 90 minutes of me time meditation & a feeling of euphoria after class. Not to mention the cardio kick I need!

Thank you Alina & Xavier & the Danbury Bikram Yoga family for introducing this wonderful practice into my life!!

Namaste."

− Claudette Robertson

"When I first came to Bikram I wanted the original owner Joy to take a photo because in 30 days - OK, maybe 6 months - I was going to be transformed. It's now five (how many?) years later and I'm not transformed the way I thought I was going to be, but transformed I am. I am not a pretzel body - there are plenty in the studio - but I have not rusted into place either. I healed a year-long pain in my tail bone and got rid of the cushion I had to use while driving. I am healthy and much more flexible than I would be if I didn't practice. I call the process "unpacking myself." Sometimes, it's sheer flexibility, sometimes it's my breathing that is strengthened, or my circulation, sometimes it's my will (and won't) power, sometimes it's my mood and spirits. Every time I practice, the postures tell me something new about my body, about my mind and, yes, about my spirit. There is always something that gets unpacked and improved. Always.

I had been away from the practice for a while and when I came back Alina had taken over the studio from Joy. She has continued to make it a joyful, accepting place with a cheerful smile and acknowledgement for all who come through the door - first timers or veterans. The studio is a welcoming place. And in that atmosphere I have watched so many people thrive and improve their health and happiness. Today I have a community of friends I look forward to practicing with. It is a place where I can bring any stress and glumness and have it dissipate in the heat. Or bring a great mood and share it with one of my Bikram buddies. It is a place where I do something very important to protect all aspects of my health. So, I keep coming back."

− Sara Weir, 50-plus and getting younger all the time.