The original hot yoga association (OHYA) is a small US trade body that approves teacher trainings in the 26&2 method. For UK students, its label means a studio met a 240-hour standard and accepts a later internship. It is not a UK, government or Yoga Alliance qualification. Check the school, the register and your own health first.
Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500, hears this question from applicants almost every week. So this guide to the Original Hot Yoga Association answers it for a UK reader. We cover what the label certifies, what it doesn’t, the health checks a 40°C room asks of you, and what a teacher training really costs in time and money.
What the Original Hot Yoga Association Label Really Certifies
OHYA publishes its standards, which is to its credit. We read them on its own website on 10 November 2026. A training can call itself “OHYA Approved” when four things are true:
- The host studio holds OHYA studio membership.
- The lead trainer is at Level 2 or higher in OHYA’s teacher directory.
- The course is 100% dedicated to the Original Hot 26&2 class.
- The programme has at least 240 contact hours: 150 of posture lab and teaching skills, 80 of practice and 10 of professional development.
The studio then applies by email and pays a one-off fee of 299 US dollars. In YogaFX‘s research report on the association, we found no published audit or site visit. As far as the public record shows, approval rests on the application, a signed statement and the payment. You can read the full findings in YogaFX‘s research report on the association.
That doesn’t make the standard bad. A 240-hour floor and a rule that the original dialogue stays intact are sensible. That means the Original Hot Yoga Association label tells you about the studio’s choices, not about an outside check.
Who stands behind the Original Hot Yoga Association
The original hot yoga association is a non-profit corporation based in California. The US tax authority lists it as a 501(c)(6), the category for trade associations. Yoga Alliance holds the same status, so the legal form isn’t a criticism.
So the association’s size is the more useful clue. Public tax returns show revenue of about 21,000 to 51,000 US dollars a year from 2019 to 2025, with one officer listed on every return. It is a group of studio owners setting a shared standard for their own method. That’s a fair description, but it is a modest one.
How the Original Hot Yoga Association Fits the UK Yoga Scene
The Original Hot Yoga Association is American at its core. When YogaFX counted OHYA’s own studio directory on 14 October 2026, it held 120 entries in 13 countries, and 105 of them were in the US. That leaves about 15 studios spread across the other 12 countries.
We saw the same pattern when we read the directory on 10 November 2026. On the first page, one of the 30 studios listed was in the UK. The list runs alphabetically and we didn’t open later pages, so treat that as a sample, not a count. Even so, don’t expect an OHYA studio on every UK high street.
The UK has its own yoga bodies. The British Wheel of Yoga describes itself as the National Governing Body for Yoga in England and Wales, a status it says it was awarded in 1995 by the Sports Council, now Sport England. It also says it accredits other yoga teacher training organisations. You can read that on its own about page.
Now compare that with the Original Hot Yoga Association. YogaFX‘s research found no recognition of the OHYA seal by Yoga Alliance, any government or any sports federation.
That doesn’t make the seal worthless inside the hot yoga community. Instead, it means you should ask the UK studio where you hope to teach which qualifications it accepts. Our guide to what Yoga Alliance certification means for UK hot yoga teachers explains the registry side.
Original hot yoga and Bikram: the name question
Many UK students ask whether “original hot yoga” is a different thing from Bikram yoga.
The sequence is the same, so the difference is the name: 26 postures and two breathing exercises, in a heated room, over 90 minutes. “Original” is the association’s own description of its position. We cover the naming history in our earlier article on what original hot yoga means and why UK studios use the name.
Questions for a UK studio that shows the Original Hot Yoga Association seal
Some UK studios may mention OHYA yoga training in their marketing. If one does, the questions below keep the conversation practical. For example, you can ask whether the OHYA teacher training it offers is the full 240 hours, or only part of it. You can also ask what the OHYA certification means for work in that studio’s own timetable.
- Does the studio hold current OHYA membership, and can it show you the directory entry?
- Is the lead trainer listed at Level 2 or Level 3, and for how long?
- Would the studio hire you after the course, or does the certificate only open doors elsewhere?
A good studio answers these without fuss. Because the label is a trade seal, the answers matter more than the badge.
Five Checks a UK Student Can Run Before Paying
A label is a starting point. The table below sets each OHYA requirement beside the question you can ask a school. It works for any hot yoga teacher training, because the questions don’t depend on the seal.
| Check | What the OHYA standard says | What a UK student should ask |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | At least 240 contact hours | How many of those hours are live with a trainer, and how many are self-study? |
| Internship | 75 classes, within 6 months to 2 years, before Level 1 | Is the internship in the fee, and can I complete it from the UK? |
| Seal cost | 299 US dollars one-off approval fee for the school | Who pays the directory fee, the school or me? |
| Outside recognition | None found by YogaFX‘s research | Which registers does the school hold, and can I look them up myself? |
| Method | 100% Original Hot 26&2 dialogue | Can I watch a trainee teach a full class before I enrol? |
The internship row matters most for time off work.
OHYA says internships are not part of training. A graduate therefore holds a studio certificate on the last day, and the Original Hot Yoga Association’s Level 1 seal only after 75 further classes. The classroom part usually lasts 4 to 9 weeks. The six to nine months some people quote comes from the internship that follows, because the clock only starts after graduation.
Health Checks Before You Train in a 40°C Room
This is the part no label covers. Hot 26&2 is practised in a room close to 40°C for about 90 minutes. Two sport scientists, Ash Willmott of Anglia Ruskin University and Jessica Mee of the University of Worcester, describe the load in a 2023 article from Anglia Ruskin University. They report core body temperatures of 38°C to 40°C and sweat losses of up to 1.5 litres in one session.
Who should speak to a doctor first
A 2014 University of Wisconsin study (Porcari et al.) also measured the effort, and reported about 80% of maximum heart rate over a 90-minute class. That’s real cardiovascular work, so it is not a gentle stretch. As a result, a medical check matters before you commit to a training.
- Heart disease or high blood pressure. The ARU authors say people with these conditions may need to take care or speak to their doctor first.
- Pregnancy. Both the ARU article and the Cleveland Clinic guide to hot yoga advise caution. Cleveland Clinic says hot yoga is not suggested for those who are pregnant or have a heart condition.
- Asthma. Cleveland Clinic notes that the heat can aggravate asthma, so ask your GP or specialist.
- Dehydration. The ARU article flags this as a risk for first-timers who start a class under-hydrated.
None of this is medical advice. If any of the points above applies to you, speak to your GP before you book a training. Our UK-focused article on the risks and side effects of hot yoga goes through the warning signs in more detail.
~40°C
The room
Hot 26&2 classes run in a room close to 40°C.
90 min
The class
A fixed series of 26 postures, practised in one sitting.
38-40°C
Core temperature
Reported range inside the body during a hot class.
1.5 L
Sweat loss
Up to this much fluid lost in a single session.
UK Costs and Time Off: The Label Versus the Real Price
UK students usually weigh a local course against a trip abroad. Our guides on hot yoga teacher training costs in the UK and on training in Bali versus the UK cover the full comparison. So here is the short version for an applicant who is deciding because of a label.
The OHYA path in time
An OHYA-style path has two time blocks: a classroom course of roughly 4 to 9 weeks, then an internship of at least six months. You pay for the first, and then you arrange the second yourself. A graduate holds the association’s Level 1 seal only after both.
The YogaFX route in time and money
YogaFX‘s Bikram Hot 26&2 Yoga Teacher Training MasterClass is built the other way round. It is a hybrid format: online preparation first, then a six-day intensive in Bali. The next batch checks in on Sunday 24 January 2027 and checks out on Friday 29 January 2027, so it needs about five days off work. The venue for that batch is Soham Wellness Center in Seminyak.
The price is from US$1,899 on the Early Bird rate, against a normal price of US$1,999. Payments can start from US$250 a month, interest-free. Prices are in US dollars, so check your bank’s rate for the pound amount on the day you pay.
Graduates leave with two certificates: a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 once they register, and a Bikram Hot 26&2 200-Hour International Yoga Certification. YogaFX has been a Yoga Alliance registered school since February 2018. If you’d like to talk through flights or time off work, message the team on WhatsApp.
What Students Say About Choosing a Training
Reviews can’t replace the checks above, and they say nothing about the original hot yoga association itself. They do show what former trainees valued, for example the teaching and the group, once the label stopped mattering. These three come from YogaFX‘s YouTube review videos.
“I do a lot of research first I look at the teacher.”
Jennifer, YouTube review, 2024
“I’m so grateful I love being a student.”
Fiona, YouTube review, 2025
“Feeling like we’ve grown together as a family.”
Chris, YouTube review, 2025
Chris’s video is below. Notice what he and his group talk about: each other, and the teaching, not a badge.
How to Check Any Hot Yoga Teacher Training Before You Pay
Whatever seal a school carries, including the Original Hot Yoga Association seal, the same short routine protects your money. Do these in order and keep the answers in writing.
- Search the Yoga Alliance directory for the school and for the lead trainer by name. Only registered schools appear.
- Look for reviews written about the teacher, not only about the studio.
- Ask for the real timetable, including how many hours are live and how many are online.
- Ask exactly what the final certificate says, and who issues it.
- Ask what happens after day one of graduation: an internship, a register or a job route.
Our explainer on what you actually get from a Bikram yoga certification helps with the fourth question. If you work through the list and the school answers every point clearly, that tells you far more than any logo.
Where YogaFX Fits Next to the Label
YogaFX is independent of the Original Hot Yoga Association. Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500, has more than 12,000 teaching hours. He trained for five years, from 2014 to 2019, with the founder of the Bikram Hot 26&2 method, and he leads the YogaFX programme. More than 1,500 trainees from over 80 countries have graduated.
So the question isn’t “which label is better”. It’s whether the school can show you its register entry, its teacher’s reviews and its timetable. YogaFX publishes all three. So spend ten minutes comparing them with any other option on your list, and then decide.
FAQ
What is the Original Hot Yoga Association?
The Original Hot Yoga Association is a small US non-profit trade association for studios that teach the 26-posture hot sequence. It approves teacher trainings that meet a 240-hour standard, lists member studios and teachers, and runs a graduate internship. It reports annual revenue of roughly 21,000 to 51,000 US dollars in public tax returns.
Is Original Hot Yoga Association certification recognised in the UK?
YogaFX‘s research found no recognition of the OHYA seal by Yoga Alliance, any government or any sports federation. Inside the hot yoga community it still shows a studio followed the association’s standard. Whether a UK studio or insurer accepts it is their decision, so ask them before you pay.
How long does Original Hot Yoga Association certification take?
The classroom part usually lasts 4 to 9 weeks. The six to nine months people quote comes from the internship afterwards: 75 classes within a window of six months to two years. OHYA says internships are not part of training, so a graduate gets the Level 1 seal only after finishing them.
Who should not do hot yoga?
People with heart disease, high blood pressure or asthma, and anyone who is pregnant, should speak to a doctor first. Anglia Ruskin University and Cleveland Clinic both advise caution, and Cleveland Clinic says hot yoga is not suggested for pregnancy or heart conditions. Dehydration is a risk, so arrive hydrated.
Is the Bali MasterClass an official Bikram Choudhury teacher training?
No. The MasterClass is independent training, not official Bikram Choudhury Teacher Training. Mr. Ian Terry, E-RYT 500, trained for five years, 2014 to 2019, with the founder of the method. Graduates receive a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 once they register and a Bikram Hot 26&2 200-Hour International Yoga Certification.
Still have questions? Message Mr. Ian and the YogaFX team on WhatsApp and we will answer them personally, whether you ask about health checks, flights or time off work. This article is general information, not medical advice. Please consult a healthcare professional about your own health.
