 A hiker, runner and lover of challenges, Terri Villavaso says when she began practicing Bikram Yoga she was surprised by its intensity. Her three and a half years of practice lead to an internal calling to become an instructor - a goal she realized in July 2006.
Terri was introduced to Bikram Yoga by her husband, Guy. "I was so surprised that all these sweaty people were staying in this room and doing beautiful postures," she exclaims. "It got the best of me! "
After practicing for about 2 years, Terri realized she wanted to teach. "I was very private about it for quite some time, expecting it to go away or something," she adds. But after attending the Craig Villiani Seminar at Bikram Yoga Paradise Valley, she was hooked.
"I just could not get the whole teaching thing out of my mind; I was even waking up nights and pondering the whole situation," she says. Then three things happened: her son turned 16, got his own driver's license, and an instructor, Roy, told her: "You should go to training in Hawaii, you will be great."
Anyone who's taken Terri's class knows that her dialogue has a soft drawl to it. That's because she was born in Perryton, a small town in the Texas Panhandle. She grew up in a rural farming and ranching community and left for Austin, where she met Guy, after high school. "I would never in a million years give up being a city girl," she says now.
Terri's favorite postures change from time to time. Her current favorite is a tie between Cobra Pose and Half Moon Pose. "I love the way Cobra makes me feel, a huge stretch all over the body," She says. "Half Moon seems to be the one I most want to achieve, I am aching to have a Half Moon that is completely over to the side - and I am far from it!"
Terri and her husband are restaurateurs, owning restaurants in Austin and Phoenix (Wildfish, Eddie V's, and The Roaring Fork). She has a background in travel, having worked for Southwest Airlines and as a travel agent for many years.
Having begun her career as a Bikram Yoga instructor at the Paradise Valley studio. In July 2008, she hopes to experience teaching at the Laguna or Costa Mesa studios in California.
"I love the way Bikram Yoga makes me feel inside and out," she says, adding, "I still hike and run, but I know what is truly best for my body is yoga. It makes me a better, more patient person!"
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