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.
Profile facts
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
Recovery resources
- The Dream (podcast) — Jane Marie's investigative podcast on MLM cults.
- Anti-MLM Coalition — Ex-distributor advocacy community focused on MLM exit and financial recovery.
- Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) — Consumer-protection watchdog tracking MLM income-claim and product-safety issues.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
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
Evidence by BITE axis
- Multiple sexual-assault civil judgments against founder
- Personality cult during teacher trainings
- Demanding nine-week residential teacher trainings
- Choudhury as guru-patriarch
- Founder fled jurisdiction to evade civil enforcement
- Trademark litigation aggressively pursued against ex-affiliates
- 26-posture sequence in 105°F heat
- Trademark protection of method
- group is now the smaller post-Choudhury Bikram Yoga community
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
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- Netflix 'Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator' (2019) search ↗
- ESPN '30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner ... and Bikram Choudhury' search ↗
- Multiple California court judgments search ↗
- #MindinBody - feasibility of vigorous exercise (Bikram yoga versus high intensity interval training) to improve persistent pain in women with a history of trauma: a pilot randomized control trial — BM — https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12906-019-2642-1 open ↗
- Bend it like Bikram — https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/jun/11/healthandwellbeing.features1 open ↗
- 2013PLoSO...875515C — https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013PLoSO...875515C open ↗
- Adverse Events Associated with Yoga: A Systematic Review of Published Case Reports and Case Series — PLoS ONE (2013) — https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0075515 open ↗
- A Court Has Ruled That Bikram Choudhury Can't Copyright His Yoga Poses — https://time.com/4067618/bikram-choudhury-yoga-copyright/ open ↗
- Yoga Reconsiders the Role of the Guru in the Age of #MeToo — https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/yoga-reconsiders-the-role-of-the-guru-in-the-age-of-metoo open ↗
- Why Bikram Yoga's founder is in hot water in a new Netflix documentary — https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/11/22/bikram-yoga-founder-under-fire-new-netflix-documentary-heres-why/4250553002/ open ↗
- He got away with it': how the founder of Bikram yoga built an empire on abuse — https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/20/bikram-choudhury-yoga-founder-abuse-netflix-documentary open ↗
- Corporate registration for "Bikram Choudhury Yoga, Inc." Number: C2288343 — http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2288343 open ↗
- #MindinBody - feasibility of vigorous exercise (Bikram yoga versus high intensity interval training) to improve persistent pain in women with a history of trauma: a pilot randomized control trial — BM — https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12906-019-2642-1 open ↗
- He made a fortune from his trademarked Bikram yoga, but now his empire is in tatters — https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/03/he-made-a-fortune-from-his-trademarked-bikram-yoga-but-now-his-empire-is-in-tatters open ↗
- He said he could do what he wanted': the Scandal that Rocked Bikram Yoga — https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/18/bikram-hot-yoga-scandal-choudhury-what-he-wanted open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2013/03/22/le-yogi-qui-fait-suer-le-monde_1851852_4497319.html open ↗
- Bikram Choudhury Yoga Inc files for bankruptcy in wake of sexual harassment claims — https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/11/bikram-choudhury-yoga-inc-files-bankruptcy-wake-sexual-harassment/ open ↗
- After sex scandal, a Bikram yogi asks whether it’s wise to put so much faith in a guru_ Benjamin Shalva — https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/04/09/after-sex-scandal-a-bikram-yogi-asks-whether-its-wise-to-put-so-much-faith-in-a-guru/ open ↗
- Yogins and Yoga — Oxford Scholarship Online (2017) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780198805687.003.0003 open ↗
- Court: Yoga Guru Bikram Choudhury Stretched Copyright Law Too Far — https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/10/08/yoga-guru-stretched-copyright-law-too-far-appeals-court-rules/ open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Wellness / MLM.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: court records. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
- Start herePick the reading path that matches your situation.
- PatternsDocumented control patterns with linked profiles.
- Financial controlCommon pattern in wellness, MLM, and coaching contexts.
- Online groupsMany wellness and coaching groups operate online-first.
- FamiliesHow families and close friends can engage with high-control members.
- RecoveryIf you have left or are preparing to leave.
You may also want to explore
Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Bikram Yoga a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Bikram Yoga scores 24 out of 40 — "High Control", at high confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Bikram Yoga's CLCI score?
Bikram Yoga scores 24 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "High" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 7, Information 5, Thought 6, Emotional 6 — plus a signed modifier of +0 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Bikram Yoga score 24 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Multiple sexual-assault civil judgments against founder; Founder fled jurisdiction to evade civil enforcement; Personality cult during teacher trainings; Trademark litigation aggressively pursued against ex-affiliates. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +0 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Bikram Yoga rating?
This profile is rated High confidence. High confidence means the score is backed by court records, academic work, and/or sustained investigative journalism. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Bikram Yoga?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Bikram Yoga, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.