KATA HOT YOGA STUDIO OWNER & TEACHER TRAINING FOUNDER
LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Owner of Kata Hot Yoga, and Certified Bikram Yoga Teacher since 2007, Govert has built a thriving hot yoga community in Kata Beach since 2009. Prior to that, Govert has lived and worked in Holland, California, Greece and Germany. He was the owner and director of a highly successful contracting business which earned him a lot of money but did not make him happy and ultimately left him with an overworked and stressed body. Govert eventually made a radical change to his life. It took courage to give up everything he once had and was doing. With the help of stillness by living in the forest and hot yoga, he healed his body and created a new way of living. Govert’s personal inner journey was the driving force to travel in Thailand and find his place in Kata Beach. He is a passionate teacher and he teaches and practices nearly every day of the last decade that his studio has been in business. Govert’s goal in creating the teacher training is to stay true to the original hot yoga practice and principles while being the highest quality hot yoga teacher training in the world.

TEACHER TRAINING LECTURER
BODY ORIENTED PSYCHOTHERAPY & GROUP BINDING

A renowned psychotherapist in Holland, with a PhD in Psychology, Kes has a practice in Amsterdam and extensive experience in mind-body integration. Kes believes in the healing benefits of the 26 & 2 classes at Kata Hot Yoga and often travels to Kata Beach with her clients to work with Govert for short periods of time. Kes works with clients to bring long time problems and deep rooted issues to the surface in order to look deeper into one’s psyche and take a psychological approach to one’s physical existence. Kes has found that once problems are opened up, or brought to awareness, great insights can be found; instead of suffering, there is clarity and one can better understand who they really are at a soul level. At this year’s Kata Hot Yoga Teacher Training, Kes will be practicing hot yoga with trainees and teaching mind-body integration through her series of lectures. Kes will discuss how practicing hot yoga not only works on a physical body but also opens up deep structures and layers in the emotional body.

TEACHER TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
ASANA THEORY

Certified Bikram Yoga Teacher and yoga competitor, Erik graduated from Bikram Choudhury’s Teacher Training in Fall of 2009 and was named "Best Yogi" out of the 300 trainees. Erik has since worked all over the world, including spending time on staff at Bikram's TT, and he has also competed many times in the World Championship of Yoga Sports, winning multiple awards including: World Champion of Yoga Sports 2020, 3rd in the World (2015) European Champion (2015) and Swedish Champion (2014 and 2016) to name a few. Erik is currently based in Sweden, with his wife and daughter, teaching regularly and maintaining his daily yoga practice. Even though Erik's personal yoga practice consists of much more than 26 & 2, he still holds that class with the highest regards and loves teaching that series, practicing it on daily basis, and hosting 26 & 2 beginners workshops worldwide. Erik will be teaching classes and offering in depth explanations and demonstrations of postures at the Kata Hot Yoga Teacher Training.

TEACHER TRAINING DIRECTOR AND INSTRUCTOR
YOGA BUSINESS & CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Certified Bikram Yoga Teacher, Grace began practicing yoga in Boulder, Colorado, while studying Journalism and French at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Because of several physical injuries from sports and a spine condition, Grace found her passion for mind-body connection, healing modalities, and personal development. Since leaving her former career, working for L.A. based entertainment companies, Grace committed to a daily yoga practice and experienced an awakening of her creative and intuitive channels. Along with teaching the original hot yoga at studios around the world, including working directly with her teacher Bikram Choudhury, Grace is a medium and energy healer. Grace believes 26 & 2 is 100% responsible for the joy and health she enjoys today. Kata Hot Yoga is Grace’s favorite studio in the world!

TEACHER TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
SPECIAL LECTURES

Elsa started 26 + 2 hot yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at London South Bank University and graduated. Her studies gave her a good knowledge of anatomy and an in depth understanding of health and healing. She left to LA to become a certified Bikram Yoga teacher in spring 2013. Ever since then she has been a full time teacher. She participated in numerous national and international yoga sport championships. Successfully she placed top ten in the world. Since then she has also been coaching competitors. She is a committed teacher and practitioner who experienced herself, as well as witnessed in her students, the true power healing force that is the original hot 26+2 yoga sequence so for her it's important to keep the original practice and principles intact.

TEACHER TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
YOGA HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY

Balwan grew up in Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Rishikesh is known as the yoga capital of the world and yoga has always been a part of his life. Balwan has been has been involved in training yoga teachers internationally for past 12 years. His engineering background offers a structured and scientific approach to yoga postures and philosophy. He delivers lectures and sophisticated tools to make ancient yoga wisdom accessible to a modern audience and teaches the eight limbs of yoga, the framework for laying out the path for success. Balwan’s enthusiastic joy is infectious. He loves helping yoga teachers to grow, uplift and inspire through his sense of humor and powerful techniques. Presently he is working full time in IT as a Data Architect and living with his family in Los Angeles. He is the founder of YogaTalk and YogaTalk Events and annually leads yoga adventure groups as they travel to India.

TEACHER TRAINING INSTRUCTOR
PRESENTATION & POSTURE CLINICS

Certified Original 26+2 Hot Yoga Teacher, Raksita is a Thai native and dedicated hot yoga enthusiast. She has a unique approach to instructing. She delivers posture, voice, and presentation feedback to create poised and confident teachers. Her style is original, fresh, and undiluted. Her feedback comes from a completely different angle than all other instructors. Raksita is an integral part of the Kata Hot Yoga training experience.

TEACHER TRAINING LECTURER
PHYSIOTHERAPY & ANATOMY

Certified Bikram Yoga Teacher and University of Lund physiotherapy student, Hanna completed a 200h teacher training in hatha yoga, and in 2015 she did Bikram's teacher training in Khao Lak. She has been practicing this class daily ever since and has taught all over the world. The benefits, mental and physical, of the 26+2 class makes the class a top priority and kept Hanna strong through two pregnancies.

Hanna did her first yoga competition 2015 and was the Swedish and Nordic champion in 2018, 2019 and 2020. She has been coaching Swedish yoga athletes since 2018.