New Trier Grads Open Bikram Yoga Studio in Glenview

“It’s not just any kind of yoga. It’s Bikram Yoga,” Holly Holzkamper explained at Bikram Yoga North Shore, the yoga studio that she opened with her sister, Heidi, in September at 1926 Waukegan Rd. 

“I tried other types of yoga, but they weren’t as intense. Bikrim is guaranteed a good use of your time,” Holly said. It's one of a few excercise methods a person can do and improve at even as they age.

What seperates Bikram specifically, the Glenview business co-owner maintains, is a yoga session that goes from complete exertion to complete relaxation every time. 

Holly first tried and, in her words fell in love with, Bikram in New York City in 2006. Back then, she was working 60-hour weeks as an account executive in an advertising agency.

After she started doing Bikram yoga, Holly says she not only felt better, but her colleague also noticed a difference. Holzkamper believes yoga made it easier for her to focus on tasks and control her emotions in high stress situations. 

Even while Holly was on the east coast, she realized there was very little Bikram yoga facilities on the North Shore — the sisters grew up in Northfield and attended New Trier High School.

In 2009, the Holzkamper sisters became certified Bikram yoga instructors. To this day, the Glenview studio offers Bikram yoga exclusively. 

“You can do it every day. We urge one to try it three days a week,” Holly said.

There was another thing that the sisters discovered when they opened their business. The Glenview community welcomed them with open arms.

“Everyone has been so inviting, the Chamber of Commerce, the residents, telling their neighbors about us,”  Holly said. 

Bikram Yoga North Shore is open 7 days a week. Classes start at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.