Mr. Ian Terry is the founder and lead Bikram yoga instructor at YogaFX in Bali. He holds an E-RYT 500, has taught 12,000+ hours, and trained for five years, from 2014 to 2019, directly with Bikram Choudhury, the founder of the Bikram Hot 26&2 method. Today he teaches in Seminyak and Canggu and trains new teachers.
That’s the short version. The rest of this page is for the person standing outside a hot room in Bali, wondering who is about to teach them for 90 minutes. You’ll see what his training actually was, what he does differently in class, and how to judge any Bikram yoga instructor before you hand over your time.
Mr. Ian Terry, Bikram Yoga Instructor: The Credentials at a Glance
Credentials only matter if you know what they mean. So here is the list a Bikram yoga instructor should be able to show you, followed by what each item tells you as a student.
- E-RYT 500. Yoga Alliance’s experienced-teacher designation at the 500-hour level. It means both advanced training and a long, logged teaching record.
- 12,000+ teaching hours. That’s a very long record of real classes, logged one hour at a time.
- Five years with the founder, 2014 to 2019. He trained directly with Bikram Choudhury at large training events in Los Angeles, Spain, India, Thailand and China.
- Master Trainer. In June 2026 he was appointed Master Trainer of the Republic of Indonesia Yogasana Sports Federation.
- Founder of YogaFX (2017). Since then, 1,500+ graduates from 80+ countries have trained with him.
None of this guarantees you’ll love his class. But it does tell you the teaching is built on depth, not on a single short course.
What “trained with the founder” really means
Plenty of studios say their teachers learned “the original method”. That phrase can mean anything, from a weekend workshop to a video course. So it’s fair to ask what it means here.
In Mr. Ian’s case, it means five years, 2014 to 2019, learning the sequence and the dialogue at the source. He studied how each line of the script is meant to land in a student’s body. Because he spent those years around very large groups, he also saw the same 26 postures on thousands of different bodies.
Five Years With the Founder: 2014 to 2019
Those five years shaped how he teaches today. They weren’t one long course in one room. Instead, the training happened at large events across several countries, and each setting taught something different.
| Setting | What it built | What you notice in his class today |
|---|---|---|
| Large training events in Los Angeles | Precision with the 26&2 dialogue, word by word | Clear, exact cues you can follow with your eyes closed |
| Events in Spain, India, Thailand and China | Teaching very mixed groups, many cultures and body types | Corrections that adapt to your body, not to a “perfect” model |
| Hot, humid climates such as Thailand and India | Reading how bodies respond to heat over 90 minutes | He paces the class so beginners survive and regulars still work |
| Five years of repetition, 2014 to 2019 | Deep familiarity with the sequence as a whole | Every posture is set up to prepare the next one |
Notice what’s missing from that table: dramatic stories. The value of those years is simple. He heard the dialogue delivered at the highest standard, again and again, until it became his own.
Why the dialogue matters so much
A Bikram class has no music and no demonstration. The instructor doesn’t do the poses with you. Instead, you follow a scripted dialogue, and the words do the teaching.
That puts a lot of weight on the person speaking. In fact, the dialogue is the main tool any Bikram yoga instructor has. One who rushes, mumbles or skips cues leaves you guessing. On the other hand, a teacher who knows why each line exists can slow down where you need it, for example in Standing Head to Knee, where balance and patience matter more than depth.
Independent today, rooted in that lineage
YogaFX runs as an independent school. Mr. Ian brings the method he learned during those five years, then adds what 12,000+ hours of his own teaching have shown him. That mix is why many students describe his classes as both traditional and personal.
What a Bikram Yoga Instructor Actually Does in Class
If you’ve never taken a hot class, the instructor’s job can look strange. They stand still, they talk the whole time, and they rarely demonstrate. So what are they actually doing?
Delivering the dialogue
The instructor talks you through 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises in a fixed order, from Pranayama deep breathing at the start to Kapalbhati breathing at the end. The script tells you where to put your feet, where to look and when to breathe. Good delivery sounds calm and steady, even when the room gets hard.
Watching every body in the room
While speaking, the instructor scans the room. They spot a locked knee, a held breath or a student who has gone pale. As a result, corrections are short and specific, such as “lift the chest” or “keep breathing”, rather than long lectures.
Managing heat and safety
Our studios run at about 40°C with around 40% humidity, using Bali’s natural tropical heat rather than electric heaters. That means the instructor has to read the room constantly. For example, Mr. Ian will tell a first-timer to sit down, drink water and rejoin later. That’s not failure; it’s good teaching.
Keeping the class on time
A full class runs 90 minutes. Timing affects how long you hold each posture and how much rest you get. A steady instructor keeps that rhythm, so your body learns what to expect.
5 Lessons From 12,000+ Hours of Teaching
Ask Mr. Ian what all those hours taught him as a Bikram yoga instructor and he won’t talk about himself much. He’ll talk about students. These five lessons come up again and again in his classes and in teacher training.
- The heat is a tool, not a test. You don’t win a hot class by suffering more. You use the warmth to move safely and breathe well.
- Beginners need permission to rest. Sitting down in a posture is part of learning, so he says it out loud in every beginner class.
- The words must be exact. A vague cue makes students guess. A precise one lets them stop thinking and start feeling.
- Consistency beats intensity. Three steady classes a week usually do more than one heroic session followed by a week off.
- Every body is different. The sequence stays the same, but the teacher’s eye adjusts to the person in front of them.
What students say about learning from him
Reviews tell you more than any credential. In our Google reviews, one graduate wrote that Mr. Ian helped him find his own voice for the dialogue, rather than copying someone else’s. Another described him as more than a Bikram teacher, closer to a coach for life outside the studio.
Several beginners mention arriving nervous and leaving certified and confident. And more than one practitioner with a decade of experience says the training still sharpened their practice. These are paraphrases, but the themes repeat across our 150 Google reviews, 50 Yoga Alliance reviews and 357 video testimonials on YouTube.
The Science He Teaches From
Mr. Ian teaches the practice plainly and avoids big health promises. When students ask what the research says, he points to a few studies, and he’s careful about what they do and don’t show.
- Calories and heart rate. A 2014 study led by Porcari measured about 333 kcal for women and 460 kcal for men in a 90-minute Bikram class, at around 80% of maximum heart rate (Porcari et al., 2014).
- Strength and flexibility. An eight-week study by Tracy and Hart found better flexibility and stronger back-of-body muscles (Tracy & Hart, 2013).
- Mood. A Massachusetts General Hospital trial of heated yoga found that 59% of participants cut their depression symptoms by half or more over eight weeks, compared with 6% on the waitlist (Nyer et al., 2023).
These results are encouraging, but they come from small groups. So treat them as a reason to try the practice, not as a medical treatment. If you have a heart condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, consult a healthcare professional before your first hot class.
What the research does not show
You’ll still read online that hot yoga “flushes toxins”. It doesn’t. Sweat is mostly water and salt, and your liver and kidneys handle waste. A responsible Bikram yoga instructor will tell you to drink water and replace salts, not to “sweat it out”.
What to expect in your first class with him
Most first-timers worry about the same three things: the heat, the length and looking silly. So here is what actually happens.
- Before class, he asks who is new and whether anyone has an injury. Tell him honestly, because it changes his cues.
- During class, you’ll hear your name if you need a small correction. You won’t be singled out to perform.
- If you need to stop, he’ll ask you to sit or lie down and keep breathing. Then you rejoin when you’re ready.
- After class, there’s usually time to ask questions, so it’s a good moment to ask about frequency or soreness.
That routine sounds simple. Yet it’s exactly what separates a calm, safe Bikram yoga instructor from one who just runs the script.
How to Judge Any Bikram Yoga Instructor in Bali
Bali has hundreds of yoga classes and only a few true hot 26&2 rooms. Whoever you choose, it’s worth five minutes of checking. Our guide on how to verify a yoga teacher in Bali goes deeper, but here is the short version.
- Ask where they trained, and for how long. A real answer names a programme, a period and a method.
- Check the registry. Yoga Alliance credentials can be looked up online by name.
- Listen to the first five minutes. A good Bikram yoga instructor sets clear safety rules before the first breathing exercise.
- Notice the heat source. Natural tropical heat feels very different from a box heater in a closed room.
- Read reviews for themes. Look for words like “clear”, “safe” and “patient”, not just “hard”.
| Check | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Training history | Named programme, years and method | “Trained in the original style”, with no detail |
| Class opening | Safety briefing, invitation to rest | Straight into postures with no guidance |
| Corrections | Short, specific, by name | Shouting or no corrections at all |
| Heat | Steady, humid, natural | Dry, very hot, no airflow |
Why Bali, and Why Natural Heat
Mr. Ian chose Bali for a practical reason. The Bikram sequence was designed for a hot, humid room. Bali already is one, all year round, so the studios don’t need electric heaters to create it.
That natural warmth feels softer to many visitors. It’s humid rather than harsh, so the body warms up gradually. That’s also why a Bikram yoga instructor in Bali has to read humidity, not just temperature.
YogaFX now runs two studios, in Seminyak and Canggu, open from 06:00 to 22:00 every day. Both follow the same sequence and the same standard of instruction. So you can practise near your villa or switch between them during your stay.
Students, Graduates and Champions
The clearest sign of a Bikram yoga instructor’s depth is what their students go on to do. Since 2017, more than 1,500 people from 80+ countries have completed YogaFX teacher training.
Some of them now compete at the highest level. YogaFX graduates have won 12 medals in total: 5 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze. At the World Yogasana Sports Federation Championships in Ahmedabad in June 2026, Indonesia took 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze.
- Ivara Candra Kartika (graduate, 2023) won gold and bronze in Ahmedabad.
- Arkan Fauzan Riyanto (graduate, 2022) won 2 silver and 3 bronze in Ahmedabad.
- Slamet Ariyanto (graduate, 2024) now chairs PPYNI and manages Indonesia’s Yogasana team.
You can read the full story of our Seminyak teacher becoming a world Yogasana champion. You can also meet the rest of the YogaFX teaching team, all trained in the same method.
Practise or Train With Mr. Ian at YogaFX
There are two ways to learn from him. Most visitors start with a class. Some come back to train as teachers.
Take a class first
The easiest step is a single 90-minute class in Seminyak or Canggu, taught by the same Bikram yoga instructor you’ve just read about, or by a teacher he trained. First-time visitors can claim a Free Guest Pass and try the room before committing to anything. Bring water, a towel and an open mind.
Train as a teacher
If you want to teach, the Bikram Hot 26&2 Yoga Teacher Training MasterClass is a six-day hybrid course. You study online first, then join an intensive in Bali. Graduates earn Yoga Alliance RYT 200 plus a Bikram Hot 26&2 200-hour International Yoga Certification.
The next intake checks in on Sunday 24 January 2027 and checks out on Friday 29 January 2027, at Soham Wellness Center in Seminyak with hotel Djabu Seminyak. Early Bird is US$1,899, and interest-free instalments start from US$250 per month. You can see the full programme on the YogaFX teacher training site.
FAQ
How do you become a Bikram yoga instructor?
You complete a teacher training in the Bikram Hot 26&2 method, learn the dialogue by heart and practise teaching under supervision. At YogaFX, the six-day hybrid MasterClass leads to Yoga Alliance RYT 200 and a Bikram Hot 26&2 200-hour certification. After that, regular teaching builds your skill and hours.
Did Mr. Ian Terry train with Bikram himself?
Yes. Mr. Ian trained for five years, from 2014 to 2019, directly with Bikram Choudhury, the founder of the Bikram Hot 26&2 method, at large events in several countries. YogaFX is an independent training, not the official Bikram Choudhury Teacher Training, built on what he learned and taught since.
Is Bikram yoga good for beginners?
Yes, if you pace yourself. The sequence stays the same every class, so beginners learn it quickly. Drink water beforehand, rest whenever you need to and tell the instructor it’s your first class. If you have a health condition or are pregnant, check with your doctor first.
What makes Bikram yoga different from other hot yoga?
Bikram uses one fixed sequence of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises, taught through a scripted dialogue. There’s no music and no demonstration. Other hot yoga classes often change the flow every time. At YogaFX, the heat comes from Bali’s natural climate rather than electric heaters.
How much is Bikram yoga teacher training in Bali?
The Early Bird price for the YogaFX MasterClass is US$1,899, against a standard price of US$1,999. Interest-free instalments start from US$250 per month, and the deposit to hold your place is very low. Message the team for current dates and the accommodation options for your intake.
Still have questions? Message Mr. Ian and the YogaFX team on WhatsApp and we’ll answer you personally, or claim your Free Guest Pass and meet him in class.
