Our Team

Kristyn Baribeau

Studio Owner / Teacher

I started my Classic Hot Yoga (our Bend 90 class, aka Bikram Yoga) practice in late 2007. I did not think of myself as a yoga person (what does that really mean?!?) and only went because I was suffering severe and chronic knee pain from running and a friend of a friend said she’d experienced similar pain from running and this thing called Bikram Yoga healed her knees. I was training for the Boston Marathon at the time and was willing to try anything to be able to continue running, so I signed up for the intro at what was then Bikram Yoga Bozeman and on a wintery December Sunday afternoon I walked into a class that would forever change the course of my life. It was nothing like any yoga class I’d ever taken, I WAS this kind of “yoga person!” The heat, the sweat, the intensity, the discipline, I loved it all! I finished my intro, and immediately signed up for a 60-day challenge. Practicing six days a week while continuing to train for the Boston Marathon, I not only started to heal my knees, but also set a PR at Boston, and, of course, got completely hooked on the yoga! Over the coming months and years, this amazing practice healed my body from dis-ease and imbalances I hadn’t even realized were there. I sat down in a kneel down position for the first time in over 10 years and healed several lower back injuries through my practice. And the physical benefits were just the beginning. My practice settled a very over-active mind, improved my self-confidence and body image, and made me a happier and kinder person. It changed my life by allowing the person I’d always been to shine through.

Very early on I knew that I would go to teacher training someday so that I could guide others on this journey to feeling your best inside the hot room and out there in life! In 2009, I graduated from my first yoga teacher training, and when I got back from TT the then studio owner asked me how often I’d like to teach, I told him I wanted to spend all day every day sharing this incredible practice. In 2013, I got my wish when I purchased the studio and changed the name to Bend Beyond. Over the years, I’ve completed several other yoga teacher trainings and have expanded our offerings at BB to include a whole system of effective and therapeutic yoga classes.

A year into studio ownership and still logging lots of miles on the trails and the road I suffered my worst back injury yet, a bulged disc at L4/L5. Once again, with time and patience, the yoga practice healed my spine…mostly. I wasn’t able to return to many of the activities I used to enjoy because if I wasn’t very careful, I’d end up in pain. This continued until I found my second life changing practice: Inferno Hot Pilates! IHP increased my core strength and allowed me move more freely through the world without fear of reinjury. It gave me the strength to carry my son 9 months with NO back pain. And, just like the yoga practice, it benefitted my mind as well. I had missed the heart pounding cardio high of running, and now I could get that same high with low impact, sustainable exercises. I attended IHP teacher training in 2017, and it has been a major part of our studio offerings ever since.

The combination of Classic Hot Yoga and Inferno Hot Pilates is nothing short of magical. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing hundreds of students transform their body, mind, and spirit in the hot room. Whether you have a knee injury, just had shoulder surgery, endure chronic lower back pain, suffer from depression or anxiety, or are stressed out and exhausted, both of these practices meet you where you are at and start you on a journey of self-healing and total wellness. It is my passion to support you on this journey to feeling amazing and living your absolute best life!

Many people ask why “bend beyond.” Bend Beyond is about transcending the false limitations we set for ourselves so that we realize our maximum potential. It’s about letting the best version of yourself take the driver’s seat in your life. It’s about transforming you into YOU!

When I’m not at Bend Beyond, you can find me baking cookies for my awesome husband Phill, snuggling with our son Bran, or hiking with our dog Tater. Or you might find all of us together hanging out in the hot tub, relaxing on a sunny beach, or camping in the mountains.

Laura Frazier

Teacher

Prior to Inferno Hot Pilates (IHP), I was missing something from my workouts. I grew up playing competitive team sports – this included playing soccer all the way through college. I loved the joy that working with, and for, a team gave me. Once my career of competitive team sports ended, I turned to running as a way to stay in shape. As effective of a cardiovascular exercise as running is, it didn’t pull out of me the drive and excitement that “playing” with a team once did. And then, in 2014, I walked into my first IHP class and all of those feelings came rushing back. Suddenly I was high-fiving my teammates once again and cheering for someone, across the room, to just keep moving – it was invigorating! It wasn’t long after my first ever IHP class that I went to Teacher Training – I wanted to share this feeling!

Throughout my 6 years of practicing IHP, I have experienced two major injuries: a torn ACL and a triple-fractured ankle (is that even a thing?!?!). Both injuries required surgery and both required a whole lot of recovery time. Like many of you, I don’t like to “sit tight” and not workout for months on end. Fortunately, I didn’t have to thanks to my Inferno practice. The beautiful thing about IHP is that it is low impact – meaning safe for the joints and great for injury recovery. I returned to doing a majority of the exercises we do in class within only a few short weeks after each surgery. IHP gave me the hope I didn’t know I needed during recovery from each of these injuries. 

Long story short, I originally became an Inferno Hot Pilates instructor because I wanted to share my love of the practice. That has evolved in so. many. ways. I have a passion for fitness and a passion to help others use fitness to positively impact their lives. My mission is to use my competitive nature to push students to do their best, my team sport background to foster encouragement, and my personal experiences to guide a safe and effective practice. 

darald libby haines

Teacher

My introduction to Original Hot Yoga began in 2007, when a family member gave me an intro package for a small studio in New Hampshire. I had never thought of yoga as a form of exercise, and stretching was something I would do only begrudgingly in response to excessive tension. On a lark, I decided to give it a try.

I went into my first class with no expectations, but it still managed to surprise me. The heat seemed to alternate between soothing and brutal. The cardiovascular element reminded me of everything I had read about interval training. Many of the movements seemed reminiscent of the Charles Atlas course I’d been doing, but with a more anatomically sound emphasis on alignment. About halfway through class, with sweat pouring down my face, I conceded that this “Hot Yoga” thing was indeed exercise. Moreover, it was an exceedingly well designed regimen.

When I moved to Bozeman in 2008, I looked up our local Hot Yoga studio right away. Over the years, I’ve tried doing yoga frequently, sporadically, occasionally, and not at all. It turns out, frequently is the best option. With a regular practice, I have more energy, better sleep, and less tension. Most importantly, I’ve become more present in my daily life as I’ve (gradually) learned to embrace the meditative aspects of this yoga.

During a posture clinic a few years ago, I caught a glimpse of how deep the rabbit hole goes. I learned how a seemingly minor adjustment can transform your whole practice, activating muscles you haven’t used and opening up areas of tension you didn’t know you had. 

A few months later, an opportunity for teacher training arose, and I decided to jump in with both feet!

It’s a new kind of thrill to guide a room full of students through the same process that brought me more strength, flexibility, ease, and presence. The more you practice, the more you find yourself opening up to the ever-increasing challenges and rewards that Original Hot Yoga has to offer!

Try it on a lark. You’ll be glad you did!

Malia Ludin

Teacher

I first stumbled across Hot Yoga when I was 16 years old — at Bend Beyond of all places. Knowing nothing about what I was walking into my only hope was that it would benefit my rigorous ballet training. I was dealing with chronic body aches from dance and the mental and emotional fatigue that comes with being a teenager, but I knew after spending my first 90 minutes in the hot room that this could be something very special for me. Being a perfectionist, I was drawn to the fact that I was nowhere near “perfect” in this class, and yet, I felt like I was enough because I was simply there on my mat, breathing and moving my body. I was able to discover this new sense of meditation that comes with taking a class, and learned the balance of a healthy personal challenge. As I grew older and moved out of state to different cities, my yoga practice was something I could always rely on — regardless of where I was or what was going on in the world.

Fast-forward several more years and I found myself back in Bozeman. I wanted to revisit Bend Beyond, and once again, I was welcomed with open arms. This time a new class on the schedule caught my eye: Inferno Hot Pilates. Adding IHP into my practice really felt like the missing puzzle piece, and suddenly the following year, I had the opportunity to attend teacher training. As scary as this new adventure was, I knew in my gut it was the right decision. Now looking back, it wasn’t only the right decision, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

With each new student I meet, my passion for helping them discover what the hot room can give back only increases. Knowing firsthand the positive impact Bend Beyond has had on my life, I am grateful to now be in a position where I not only get to assist someone create healthy change in their life, but I’m also there to witness them achieve their goals and cheer them on along the way. I’m constantly inspired by this amazing community we have — it has truly been the greatest reward.

JOY NOE

Teacher

A dear friend invited me to my first Original Hot Yoga class in Los Angeles in 2004 after I confided I had been having a serious struggle with depression for years. After that first class I felt like I had done a marathon. I was blown away! That class sparked my yoga journey. I went on to practice many different modalities while living in Los Angeles, but have always felt most at home in the hot room with the Original Hot Yoga series.

I moved to Bozeman in 2013 and found my yoga family at Bend Beyond. What a phenomenal yoga community! We have a stellar group of instructors, an amazing practice space and a community of students that is “beyond” any I’ve ever known. I was so inspired by the teachers and students here that I decided to become a teacher myself. In 2019, Bend Beyond studio owner Kristyn Baribeau created an opportunity to do teacher training here in Montana. I signed up and in June of 2020, I graduated from teacher training. It was a dream come true!

I love Original Hot Yoga and am so grateful for the opportunity to guide others in this journey of healing, transformation and self-love. My struggle with depression is no longer a struggle as I have opened to my own self-love and compassion towards myself through yoga.  The benefits continue to manifest for me (physical, mental, spiritual, etc.) This practice brings out in me my very ‘best’ self, my authentic self. Because of that, I am 100% committed to helping each student discover their authentic self through a healing, disciplined, sustainable and FUN practice.  Come join me at Bend Beyond, let’s sweat and heal together! 

Heidi Thompson

Teacher

I first discovered Bend Beyond in the Spring of 2017. I had always been active in group fitness and crossfit classes with our local gyms. After having my second son I realized that having a higher impact, heavier lifting workout was no longer the best option for my body. I was desperate to find a workout that still challenged me in the same ways yet was less jarring on my body. A friend asked me to join in on an Inferno Hot Pilates class and I have not looked back since. It was exactly what I was needing! I instantly fell in love with the high intensity, low impact FULL body workout. Extra bonus is the amazing cardio benefit!!! Soon after my first Inferno class I decided to attend a Bikram yoga (Bend 90) class. I had never been much of a yogi- my uneducated opinion was that it wasn't intense enough to really see results. Boy was I wrong! The combination of the Inferno and Bikram classes have challenged me to my core and pushed me to my limits. Or at least what I thought was my limit! One of the greatest benefits I have received from these practices is the increased self-awareness and incredible drive to push my body harder! I have never felt better- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. This practice has changed my life.

It was soon after my first Inferno class that I started to feel the nudge to become an instructor. Just over a year later I did something entirely out of my comfort zone and went to teacher training. It was a fantastic experience! I love teaching as much as I love practicing and I feel so welcomed by the entire Bend Beyond community! I love witnessing students gain confidence, strength and full body wellness through this practice. We are all capable of so much more than we may believe. I see students push themselves to their limits and then keep on pushing! This is what inspires me to continue to teach Inferno. Watching students transform their lives for the better is the ultimate reward!

Tater

Studio Cockapoo

I’ve been hanging around Bend Beyond since 2016. I love pets, cuddles, and any attention you want to give me! Most of all, though, I love seeing you come out of the hot room covered in sweat (be careful I might steal a kiss) and glowing from the inside out!