The Original Hot Yoga Association (OHYA) is a small US trade association, launched in 2016, that approves teacher trainings for the Original Hot 26&2 method. Its history is short and easy to check. It runs from a Bikram studio in 1998 and a court ruling in 2015 to the association in 2016, an IRS ruling in 2019 and a public directory today.
That timeline matters if you're weighing a teacher training, because a label is only as strong as the record behind it. Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500 and founder of YogaFX, trained for five years, from 2014 to 2019, with the founder of the Bikram Hot 26&2 method. So this article reads the association's record from inside that lineage.
Every figure below comes from public records retrieved on 12 to 14 October 2026. These include IRS filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, the association's own website and directory, and the Yoga Alliance register. "Not found" means we searched and did not find it.
Original Hot Yoga Association timeline: 1998 to 2026
Eight dates tell the story. The table gives each one with what the record shows and where it comes from.
| Year | What the record shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The association's founder opens a Pasadena studio under the Bikram name and, by her own account, completes the sixth Bikram teacher training that spring. | Founder's own website |
| 2015 | The US Ninth Circuit rules in Bikram's Yoga College of India v. Evolation Yoga that the sequence is not protected by copyright. | Court ruling |
| 2016 | The association's web domain is registered on 2 February. OHYA says it formed this year with former Bikram-certified studio owners. | Public domain record; OHYA |
| 2018 | OHYA says it became a non-profit. | OHYA |
| 2019 | The IRS recognises it as a 501(c)(6) business league. The first tax filing shows revenue of 30,844 dollars. | IRS; ProPublica |
| 2024 | OHYA's calendar starts listing approved trainings: 26 listings from 20 providers by October 2026. | OHYA events calendar |
| 2025 | Revenue reaches 50,802 dollars, with net assets of 18,589 dollars. | IRS Form 990-EZ via ProPublica |
| 2026 | The directory shows 120 studio entries in 13 countries and 284 named teachers on 14 October. | OHYA directory, our count |
Before the association: the Bikram lineage up to 2015
Bikram Choudhury built the method that OHYA now calls Original Hot Yoga. It is 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises, taught in a heated room over 90 minutes. Studios worldwide taught it long before the Original Hot Yoga Association existed, under the Bikram name, and teachers qualified through the founder's own trainings.
Everyone who leads a training in the OHYA-linked group first qualified as a Bikram teacher, between 1998 and the early 2010s. OHYA's directory lists the year. So the lineage is shared, even where the later labels differ.
Then the legal ground shifted. In 2015 the Ninth Circuit decided Bikram's Yoga College of India v. Evolation Yoga, and the sequence could no longer be owned through copyright. Our guide to Bikram yoga history, copyright and trademarks covers the case in detail.
The brand names went the same way. In the US trademark register, every Bikram yoga mark we read (BIKRAM, BIKRAM'S, BIKRAM YOGA and BIKRAM HOT YOGA) is abandoned or cancelled. We found no standalone "Original Hot Yoga" mark.
OHYA's founder states the reason for the association in these words: "our Original Hot Yoga community needed a positive path forward for our studios and teachers away from Bikram." Three needs follow from that:
- A name. Studios needed a label for a method that still had a fixed sequence.
- A standard. With no single owner, nobody set a minimum for teacher training.
- A community. Owners who had left the old structure wanted to stay connected.
2016 to 2019: how the Original Hot Yoga Association took shape
How the Original Hot Yoga Association formed
OHYA says it formed in 2016 "with former Bikram Yoga Certified Teacher studio owners." The domain record fits that account. Its website, ohyassociation.com, was registered on 2 February 2016. The non-profit followed in 2018, by the account of the Original Hot Yoga Association.
The name itself is a US service mark in class 35. The trademark register lists a private individual, the founder, as owner rather than the non-profit corporation, and we saw no assignment recorded. That is a small point, but it shows, for example, how young and informal the structure is.
The 2019 IRS ruling and what it means
In 2019 the IRS recognised the association as a 501(c)(6). That is the category for business leagues and trade associations, and the IRS describes it on its page for other nonprofits. Yoga Alliance has the same legal form, so the form is not a criticism. It does tell you what OHYA is: a private trade body, not a regulator.
The first filing shows revenue of 30,844 dollars and a single unpaid officer working about 5 hours a week. Later returns keep the same shape, so nothing changes much: one officer, no salaries, and contributions as the only income line.
One detail stays open. The founder's studio dropped the Bikram name at some point. The date is given three ways: after the 2013 allegations, in 2017, and "about ten years ago." We could not reconcile them, so we do not give one.
We also searched for a lawsuit, cease-and-desist letter or public split between OHYA and the Bikram organisation. We found none, although our searches did not cover every court docket.
What members pay for
Membership is where the money comes from, so it helps to see what members get.
Studios pay 289 dollars, then 50 dollars a year, for a directory listing, a partner seal, owner forums and retreats. Teachers pay 149 dollars for three years to use the seal. In practice that means the association sells a badge and a community. It doesn't sell insurance or outside recognition, and we found no independent testimony from a member about why they joined.
2024 to 2026: what the Original Hot Yoga Association record shows today
The standard OHYA publishes
OHYA publishes its standard, and it is clear. A training becomes "OHYA Approved" when four things hold: the host is an OHYA studio member, the lead trainer is Level 2 or higher, the content is 100% Original Hot 26&2, and the course has at least 240 contact hours. The studio applies by email and pays a one-off fee of 299 dollars.
Original Hot Yoga Association claims against counts
The counts are where the record gets interesting. OHYA's About page claims more than 120 studios, 950 teachers and over 40 approved trainings. Its own public pages show something smaller:
- Studios. 120 entries in 13 countries, including one studio that closed on 30 June 2026.
- Teachers. 284 named teachers, against the 950 claimed. The 950 looks like a cumulative count rather than active members.
- Trainings. 26 listings from 20 providers since February 2024, with 6 current or upcoming on 14 October 2026.
None of this makes the Original Hot Yoga Association illegitimate. It sets a 240-hour floor, keeps the dialogue original and runs an annual in-person intensive for continuing education. The 2026 edition ran on 14 to 17 October. What we did not find, however, is outside recognition. As far as public records show, no accrediting body, US agency or yoga sports federation recognises the seal. That includes Yoga Alliance, USA Yoga, the International Yoga Sports Federation and the World Yogasana Sports Federation.
The levels and the internship
The levels follow the same logic.
Graduates join the directory as interns. Level 1 comes after an internship of 75 recorded classes over at least 6 months, and OHYA allows up to 2 years. It also says internships are not part of the training. That means a graduate holds a studio certificate on the last day, and the association's Level 1 only later.
Level 2 needs 5 years and 1,000 classes. Level 3 needs 10 years and 2,000 classes. Both are self-reported and judged against six teaching standards. So the levels measure seniority inside the association, not a qualification outside it.
Recognition outside the association
The United States does not license yoga teachers, and Yoga Alliance is itself a private registry. So the practical question about the Original Hot Yoga Association, or any seal, is not whether a label sounds official. It is what the label has been checked against. For more, our full 2026 report on the association and its trainings goes through the board, the finances and the 19 linked trainings in full.
What the Original Hot Yoga Association timeline does not show
A timeline of the Original Hot Yoga Association only records what happened in public. Several things a student would want to know are missing from this one, and we'd rather say so than guess.
- No audit. We found no published site visit or audit behind an approval. It appears to rest on an application, a signed statement and payment.
- No completion data. No linked training publishes how many trainees start, finish or leave, so no dropout rate can be calculated.
- No online academy. The association runs none of its own, and it doesn't certify one.
- No outside testimony. Reviews of the association itself are almost absent. The ratings you see online belong to member studios, not to the association.
Absence of evidence isn't proof of a problem. It does mean the claims can't be checked from outside, which is why we separate what OHYA says from what its records show. Read this way, the record also shows how much of the method's story is told by the people who sell it.
What research says: the sequence, not the label
Health research tests the method, not any association's seal. A 2023 trial from Massachusetts General Hospital, by Nyer and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, ran for 8 weeks. In the heated hatha yoga group, 59% of participants had a drop of 50% or more in depression symptoms, against 6.3% on the waitlist.
A 2025 systematic review by Willmott and colleagues pooled 43 studies and 942 participants. It points to benefits from Bikram yoga for flexibility, bone density and well-being. Search both titles on PubMed to read the methods and limits yourself.
Neither study asked which seal a teacher held. What they study is the sequence, delivered the same way each time. That is why consistent training matters, and why we think any lineage training should show its method, not just its label.
This is general information, not medical advice. Hot yoga may not suit everyone, so consult a healthcare professional first if you have heart, blood pressure or pregnancy concerns.
What YogaFX graduates say about lineage training
YogaFX has 150 Google reviews, 50 on Yoga Alliance and 357 video testimonials on YouTube. Three Google reviewers describe the training in their own words. We use first names only.
"Gorgeous and very challenging teacher training experience. The team is highly qualified, kind and disciplined. Come to Bali to change your mindset and your life!"
Annabel, Google review, 2026
Rita, in a Google review from 2025, called the training truly life changing: intense, hard work and "pure therapy." Oles, in a 2022 Google review, wrote that it helped build calm, awareness and discipline.
Where YogaFX and Mr. Ian Terry sit in the lineage
Independent lineage training next to the Original Hot Yoga Association
YogaFX is independent of OHYA, with no relationship to its personnel or studios. Mr. Ian Terry holds E-RYT 500, has taught more than 12,000 hours and has graduated 1,500+ students from 80+ countries. He trained for five years, 2014 to 2019, with the founder of the method. You can read more on our teachers page.
He is also Master Trainer for the Republic of Indonesia Yogasana Sports Federation. In June 2026 at the World Yogasana Sports Federation Championships in Ahmedabad, Indonesia won 7 medals, and YogaFX graduates were among them. The full results are in our championship report.
The YogaFX MasterClass
The YogaFX MasterClass is a 6-day hybrid course: pre-course online work, then an intensive in Bali. Graduates earn a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 and a Bikram Hot 26&2 200-Hour International Yoga Certification. The next batch checks in on Sunday 24 January 2027 and checks out on Friday 29 January 2027 at Soham Wellness Center in Seminyak.
If you are comparing trainings, start with three questions:
- Who has checked it? Look the school and the teacher up in the Yoga Alliance directory.
- What do reviews say about the teacher? Reviews of a studio are not reviews of a trainer.
- What happens after the course? Ask for the full path, including any internship and its length.
Our guides on how to evaluate a Bikram yoga teacher training program and on original hot yoga teacher training hours and internships go deeper on each question.
How to use the Original Hot Yoga Association history when you choose a training
History is only useful if it changes a decision. Here's how we'd use it.
First, treat every seal as a claim and ask what it was checked against. Second, separate the school from the teacher, since a studio's five-star rating isn't a rating of its trainer. Third, compare the path, not just the course, because a short classroom block can be followed by a long internship.
Fourth, check the lineage directly. Ask who trained the teacher, in which years and under whom. Mr. Ian Terry answers that question openly: five years, 2014 to 2019, with the founder of the method. A teacher who can't answer it plainly may still teach well, but you should know before you pay.
FAQ: Original Hot Yoga Association
What is the Original Hot Yoga Association (OHYA)?
The Original Hot Yoga Association is a US trade association, formed in 2016 and recognised as a 501(c)(6) non-profit in 2019. It approves teacher trainings and lists studios and teachers for the Original Hot 26&2 method. It is a private body, and we found no recognition for it from outside organisations.
Did Bikram invent hot yoga?
Bikram Choudhury taught and popularised the fixed 26-posture, 2-breathing-exercise sequence in a heated room that this lineage uses. He built worldwide teacher trainings around it. Heated yoga has other roots, so the careful claim is about this specific sequence, not about every hot class.
Is the Original Hot Yoga Association recognised by Yoga Alliance?
We found no recognition of OHYA by Yoga Alliance, any accrediting body or any US agency. Both are private trade associations with no government authority. Yoga Alliance keeps its own register of schools and teachers, so check each training in that directory instead of assuming the OHYA seal covers it.
When was the Original Hot Yoga Association founded?
OHYA says it formed in 2016 with former Bikram-certified studio owners and became a non-profit in 2018. Its website domain was registered on 2 February 2016, which fits that account. The IRS recognised it as a 501(c)(6) business league in 2019.
Are you part of the Original Hot Yoga Association?
No. YogaFX is independent of OHYA and has no relationship with its personnel or studios. It is also independent training, not official Bikram Choudhury teacher training. Mr. Ian Terry trained with the founder of the method from 2014 to 2019, and graduates earn Yoga Alliance RYT 200 plus a Bikram Hot 26&2 certificate.
Still have questions? Message Mr. Ian and the YogaFX team on WhatsApp and we will answer them personally, whether you are comparing trainings, checking a certificate or weighing the Original Hot Yoga Association against other routes. We reply to every message, and we can also help you plan for the January 2027 intake.