Bikram Yoga (Bikram Choudhury)
'Hot yoga' system created by Bikram Choudhury in the 1970s. Multiple women won civil sexual-assault judgments against him in the 2010s. Choudhury fled to Mexico to evade enforcement; the surviving Bikram Yoga community has fragmented. ESPN '30 for 30' and Netflix's 'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' (2019) are major documentaries.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — founder convicted in absentia of multiple sexual-assault civil cases; group is now the smaller post-Choudhury Bikram Yoga community.
In context
Bikram Yoga's 26-posture sequence in 105°F heat became a global phenomenon in the 1990s–2000s. Choudhury's nine-week teacher-training intensives in California developed an intense personality cult around him. Multiple women came forward in the 2010s with civil sexual-assault claims; Choudhury lost multiple judgments and fled to Mexico to evade them. The Netflix documentary documents the trajectory.
Key control doctrines
- 26-posture sequence in 105°F heat
- Choudhury as guru-patriarch
- Trademark protection of method
Notable public ex-members
- Multiple plaintiffs documented in Netflix film
Legal cases & controversies
- Multiple US sexual-assault civil judgments (2013–17)
- Trademark litigation against ex-affiliates
Timeline
- 1972Bikram opens his first US studio in Beverly Hills
- 2013–17Multiple sexual-assault civil suits filed and won
- 2017Choudhury flees to Mexico to evade enforcement
- 2019Netflix documentary releases
Sources
- Netflix 'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' (2019)
- ESPN '30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner ... and Bikram Choudhury'
- Multiple California court judgments
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.