Rose Malmberg [the owner]

On Christmas eve 1994, I was rear-ended while driving home from college to spend Christmas with my family. The accident herniated a disc in my low back (L5/S1) and exposed a pre-existing neck problem (os odontoideum). The pain in my low back lasted for 6 months, even though I attended physical therapy regularly and had a few rounds of cortisone shots.

In April of 1996, I had surgery on my neck to fuse the top two vertebrae together, as the doctors said that I was a trauma risk in the event of another accident. This led to all sorts of other problems. I was in a neck brace for 6 months which caused me to lose most of my upper body strength. Ultimately, I was disabled for 18 months, doing rehab and waiting to find out if the bones had healed together.

In July of 1998, I reinjured my back doing sit-ups with a water polo team I was coaching. I did more physical therapy and had more cortisone shots. Again, it was to no avail. A friend of mine encouraged me, for months, to try Bikram yoga to relieve the pain in my back. From my perspective, I couldn’t see how sitting around saying “ohm” would help my back, so I endured another seven months of pain before I gave it a shot.

In February 1999, I had my first Bikram Yoga class on a Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning when I woke up, I had no pain in my back. It was miraculous. I absolutely hated the heat and I couldn’t breathe, but my back didn’t hurt, so I kept going. I knew it was good for me, even if I couldn’t stand it. The pain in my back came back to a small degree, but then worked itself out completely within six months.

In the spring of 2003 (after four years of practice), I went through Bikram yoga teacher training. A year later, I purchased Bikram Yoga, La Canada.

Throughout my first pregnancy, I maintained a regular Bikram Yoga practice of 5 days/week. Previously, I had been told by more than one physician that with my back problems, I would be bedridden for the last trimester of my pregnancy. That never happened. In fact, I took my last yoga class at 4pm on Thursday and gave birth to my first child on Friday morning, with less than 8 hours of labor and no pain medications. I maintained a regular practice through my second pregnancy as well.