Bikram yoga petaluma
Author: d | 2025-04-24
Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram
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Skip to content SportsBaseballBasketballFootballHockeyLacrosseSoccerSoftballVolleyballWrestlingTrainingCollege RecruitingGet Recruited TodayNutritionSports NewsMoreCategory DirectoryCamps & Event DirectoryWrite For UsAdvertise With Us Sports Baseball Basketball Football Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Wrestling VolleyballTrainingCollege Recruiting Get Recruited TodayNutritionSports NewsMore Category Directory Camps & Event Directory Write For Us Advertise With Us Is Bikram Yoga for You? 3 Pros and Cons for BeginnersChoudhury attempted to copyright the Bikram Yoga sequence from 2011, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2016, facing lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault, Choudhury fled to India, leaving Bikram Yoga, Inc. to be run by othersBikram yoga may not be as safe as yogis believe, a new study suggests. Yoga can be wonderful for your flexibility, balance and overall health. And recently, pro athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Andy Murray and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles have begun doing Bikram Yoga, an intense form of the practice in which the moves are performed in a hot, humid room.“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” is how Foles described Bikram Yoga in an ESPN interview. But he also credited the practice with helping him recover more quickly from the hits he takes during the NFL season.Named after its founder, Bikram Choudhury, and drawing from traditional yoga techniques, Bikram employs a series of 26 postures (see diagram below). The poses are always the same and always done in the same order in a room heated to approximately 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity. The classes last about 90 minutes. The general idea is that the heat increases blood flow and circulation to the muscles.Photo: Bikram Yoga NYC“By the end of a Bikram yoga class, you will have worked every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, internal organ and gland while systematically moving fresh, oxygenated blood to 100 percent of the body,” says Bikram instructor Tori Hicks. “Bikram yoga builds strength, balance and flexibility by gently stretching and massaging the spine, muscles, tendons, joints and all internal organs of the body. Lung capacity is expanded, leading to greater vitality.”In my first Bikram class, I was surprised by how many people were wearing minimal clothing—short spandex and sports bras, or even bathing suits. I was wearing pants, which I recognized as a terrible choice as soon as the sweat started streaming out of my body. Which happened quickly.I had done a fair amount of yoga before, mostly Vinyasa style, which takes you through a sequence of moves between downward facing dog poses. Bikram class begins with a breathing exercise unlike anything I had ever done before. I was told to hold my hands together at my chest, interlock my fingers with my elbows bent down and my feet and heels touching. I tried to follow along. The other yogis inhaled through their
Bikram Yoga Petaluma - Yoga Studio in Petaluma - YogaTrail
When you think of yoga, you might picture a blissed-out instructor calmly leading a quiet room of people relaxing and feeling the namaste, and who focuses on the spiritual world over the material one. That's not what Bikram Yoga is at all. This high-intensity hot yoga is not for the faint at heart, nor for those looking to relax when doing the ancient asanas.AdvertisementBikram Choudhury, the founder behind the practice, isn't your typical yogi. He moved from India to Hollywood in the 1970s and quickly secured A-list clientele. He claims Shirley MacLaine got him on Johnny Carson to get him his big break. Celebrity clientele for Bikram Yoga has also reportedly included Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Madonna, George Clooney, and Lady Gaga.Choudhury is known for making millions off his namesake yoga and is infamous for wearing a diamond-encrusted Rolex and driving Rolls-Royces, a far cry from yoga pants and chai tea. One writer even nicknamed him the "Walter White of yoga." Ouch.Choudhury, also called the "bad boy of yoga" for his personality, has been in legal hot water in recent years due to sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations. Here's a look at the most shocking things about him and Bikram Yoga.Advertisement The Bikram Yoga company is super-strict with their franchises Bikram Yoga, named after Bikram Choudhury, the man who came up with the idea in the early 1970s, is a very specific type of yoga. It is done in a room that is heated to at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. There are 26 yoga positions and two breathing exercises done in a specific sequence for 90 minutes.AdvertisementBikram Yoga has strict rules, not just on the exercises and temperature, but on the yoga studio's rooms themselves. The floor in the Bikram Yoga room must have a carpet on it, which is supposed to help ease joints better than hardwood floors would. Mirrors must be on the front wall. Instructors are supposed to use only the company-approved dialogue for the classes, speaking in headsets. The studios are not allowed to host any other type of yoga. The official rules also say that "No physical contact, hands on corrections or adjustments of students is permitted (with the exception of Bikram)." In addition, the instructors must be certified by Bikram Yoga as well.It is also not cheap to become a franchise. Entrepreneur magazine said: "Opening a Bikram franchise is expensive, starting with a $10,000 franchise fee. Studio owners are then required to pay a percentage of sales to Choudhury, including a royalty fee of 5 percent of gross revenues and an advertising fund fee that is 2 percent of gross revenues." That's a lot of lucre.Advertisement Choudhury became filthyBikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, CA - uslocalgyms.com
Your body may actually retain toxins.“By forcing your body to perspire through heat exposure or heavy exercise, you can cause your kidneys to save water and actually hang on to any toxins that may be circulating,” says Dr. Charles Smith of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.Further, sweat contains several important minerals, which, ironically, your body needs in order to detox properly—including potassium, sodium and other electrolytes.If you don’t drink plenty of water the night before your Bikram class, your body might not handle the significant loss of fluids as well as you hope.Pro: Your core body temperature may actually stay close to normal.Con: Working out in 100-degree heat still can be dangerous.A recent study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise and headed by Dr. John Porcari of the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse examined the effects of hot yoga and regular yoga on heart rate and core temperature for 20 average to fit volunteers ages 19 to 44. Porcari analyzed the results and found that body temperature and heart rate were at comparable levels for both hot yoga and regular yoga class, and in both cases, were barely elevated.Although the conditions Porcari examined were not as extreme as the temperatures in Bikram (the hot yoga class was 92 degrees, not 104), and the class lasted for an hour instead of 90 minutes, his study indicates that being in a hot room doesn’t necessarily raise your body’s core temperature.However, if you’ve ever watched the weather channel, you know about the “heat index,” which essentially translates to what it “feels like” outside. High humidity drives the index higher. A day with a heat index of 105 or 106 would most certainly come with warnings from doctors to take it easy in any outdoor activity. If you’re exercising in a room that hot, you should definitely use caution.Share This Story!RECOMMENDED FOR YOUMOST POPULARIs Bikram Yoga for You? 3 Pros and Cons for BeginnersChoudhury attempted to copyright the Bikram Yoga sequence from 2011, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2016, facing lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault, Choudhury fled to India, leaving Bikram Yoga, Inc. to be run by othersBikram yoga may not be as safe as yogis believe, a new study suggests. Yoga can be wonderful for your flexibility, balance and overall health. And recently, pro athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Andy Murray and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles have begun doing Bikram Yoga, an intense form of the practice in which the moves are performed in a hot, humid room.“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” is how Foles described Bikram Yoga in an ESPN interview. But he also credited the practice with. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for BikramBIKRAM YOGA PETALUMA Petaluma CA, - Company
Rich doing yoga What Choudhury did was unique in the yoga world. He took positions that were invented thousands of years ago, added some heat and specific rules, and started franchising his style. He also tried to copyright Bikram Yoga, so that nobody else could teach it without paying him. In addition, "hundreds of cease-and-desist letters were slapped on competing studio owners" by Choudhury, according to the Harvard Business School's website.AdvertisementUltimately, a federal court ruled in 2015 that you cannot copyright an idea like yoga sequences. "Because copyright protection is limited to the expression of ideas, and does not extend to the ideas themselves, the Bikram Yoga Sequence is not a proper subject of copyright protection," the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said.Due to that ruling, other yoga practitioners can now create their own hot yoga studios, and even use the same 26 positions, without having to credit Bikram Yoga. But in the meantime, this franchising made him a very rich man.And Choudhury doesn't exactly live frugally with that type of coin. Vanity Fair wrote about him tooling around Beverly Hills in one of his Rolls-Royces with the license plate "Bikram."AdvertisementHe also doesn't look like a typical yoga instructor. Vanity Fair also described him as directing "classes in his signature outfit of black Speedo, jewel-encrusted Rolex, and headset mike, his chest waxed, his thinning black hair pulled into a topknot, his baby-soft skin radiating a miasma of cologne." His out-of-class outfit usually consists of "a fedora, Zoot suit and white Gucci loafers," the Daily Telegraph said, which estimated him as earning $7 million a year at one point from his empire. They also reported that he owns over 40 classic cars. Bikram Yoga requires teachers to pay for their own training Not only do the official Bikram Yoga franchises have to pay for the privilege of the name, and follow all of the rules, but they can only use teachers who have been certified by Bikram Yoga. And the teacher training is monumentally expensive. Those who want to be certified pay between $12,500 and $16,600 (including lodging for the training) to do so. And they have to get re-certified every three years, paying another $1200 or so.Advertisement The Bikram Yoga studio is a torture chamber A "torture chamber" is what Bikram Yoga founder Choudhury admittedly calls the type of yoga studio he created. He himself acknowledges that such intense heat can be unbearable. But he also claims the heat is critical to making the body malleable and pliant. However, according to Consumer Reports, the heat can make people overstretch their muscles, leading to injuries.Advertisement”Heat increases one's metabolic rate, and by warming you up, it allows you to stretch more,” sportsYOGA HELL by Bikram Yoga Petaluma - appadvice.com
"told not to talk about training with students" when she returned home.When she opened her studio three years ago, she had Bikram Yoga in the name but decided to change it after the copyright laws were reversed. In a letter to her students explaining the name change, she wrote, "I couldn't bear the thought of one person feeling uncomfortable about stepping inside this studio because of the allegations."AdvertisementYoga student Caileen Kehayas of Los Angeles, CA told me she has been practicing Bikram Yoga for about a year, and has noticed "that studios distance themselves from the name Bikram, calling the 26 asana classes hot yoga instead." Kehayas added that "another studio I visited in Boston received a phone call as I was getting ready for class. The call was criticizing the association with Bikram. The instructor calmly explained that their practice has nothing to do with the man and his misdoings, but rather the practice and well-being of the students."David Rachford, a yoga teacher in Santa Monica, CA, "used to practice at a Bikram studio," he told me, but "began to feel uneasy about the practice" as the allegations added up. "As the son of a rape survivor, and having known way too many women in my life that have survived sexual assault and harassment, I side with the survivors." he said. He told me he "could no longer associate with the name, or the practice" and "moved on to a power yoga studio." Choudhury's wife left him Shutterstock Bikram Choudhury no longer legally owns Bikram Yoga Minakshi "Micki" Jafa-Bodden, Choudhury's ex-attorney, became the first of his numerous female accusers to win against him in court. In February 2017, The Guardian reported that "a Los Angeles county jury awarded her a total of $6.8 million in damages for a range of charges including unlawful dismissal and sexual harassment."AdvertisementThe same article claims that Choudhury has fled the United States and went back to India. "In December, with Choudhury refusing to return to the US, the judge ordered that the income from his studio franchises and his intellectual property be handed over to Jafa-Bodden." Additionally, his fleet of 40+ exotic cars now appear to be missing in action, most of his studios are closed, and the name Bikram has been forever tarnished. He still faces more lawsuits, too.Now that Jafa-Bodden owns Bikram Yoga (although that is not immediately clear from the company website) it remains to be seen what will happen to the company's future. She spoke to The Daily Mail, saying, "Bikram is no longer the boss of Bikram Yoga. I am. I've been to hell and back, but the jury has spoken. Bikram has tried to conceal assets and hasBikram Yoga Petaluma - Petaluma, CA - The Real Yellow
Helping him recover more quickly from the hits he takes during the NFL season.Named after its founder, Bikram Choudhury, and drawing from traditional yoga techniques, Bikram employs a series of 26 postures (see diagram below). The poses are always the same and always done in the same order in a room heated to approximately 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity. The classes last about 90 minutes. The general idea is that the heat increases blood flow and circulation to the muscles.Photo: Bikram Yoga NYC“By the end of a Bikram yoga class, you will have worked every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, internal organ and gland while systematically moving fresh, oxygenated blood to 100 percent of the body,” says Bikram instructor Tori Hicks. “Bikram yoga builds strength, balance and flexibility by gently stretching and massaging the spine, muscles, tendons, joints and all internal organs of the body. Lung capacity is expanded, leading to greater vitality.”In my first Bikram class, I was surprised by how many people were wearing minimal clothing—short spandex and sports bras, or even bathing suits. I was wearing pants, which I recognized as a terrible choice as soon as the sweat started streaming out of my body. Which happened quickly.I had done a fair amount of yoga before, mostly Vinyasa style, which takes you through a sequence of moves between downward facing dog poses. Bikram class begins with a breathing exercise unlike anything I had ever done before. I was told to hold my hands together at my chest, interlock my fingers with my elbows bent down and my feet and heels touching. I tried to follow along. The other yogis inhaled through their noses and lifted their elbows up next to their heads, then exhaled out of their mouths while using their knuckles to push their chins backwards. Each inhale and exhale is supposed to last 6 seconds, but I was having a hard time getting anywhere near that. I felt dizzy after three breaths.I managed to pull it together and make it through the class. From that experience and some research, here are three pros and cons I discovered about Bikram.Bikram Yoga Pros and ConsPro: You’ll “feel” like you’re torching calories.Con: You aren’t really.By the time we finished our first balancing pose, in the third pose overall (Utkatasana, which translates as “Awkward pose”), I was sweating my face off, as expected.Some Bikram proponents claim you can burn up to 1,000 calories in one session. However, Brian Tracy, a professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University, studied the fitness effects of Bikram yoga and did not find high calorie burn to be prevalent.Tracy measured bodily responses—tracking heart rate, body temperature and energyBikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, CA - (707) - Profile
Tom and Jonalyn Henle began practicing Bikram Yoga in July 2008. Both have been certified to teach Bikram Yoga by Bikram Choudhury at his nine-week Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in Southern California. They have raised their two sons in Tracy, and own a construction company here as well. Tom and Jonalyn love living in Tracy and bringing this practice to their community is a dream come true.Jonalyn knew after her first class that she wanted to teach this yoga: never had she experienced such mental peace and clarity. She embraced this practice wholeheartedly and continues to be amazed at the positive changes it makes in her life. Tom was reluctant to try yoga at first, sweating and stretching in a hot room just didn’t sound like fun at all. It didn't take long for him to experience the benefits of Bikram Yoga, mainly the healing of injuries, old and new. After years of working in construction and his weekend hobbies of extreme sports, Tom's body: mainly his back was feeling the effects and decided he couldn't quit just because it was hard. After a few years of regular practice, his back is completely pain free. Tom and Jonalyn (Tomalyn as their students refer to them) love to travel, scuba dive, ride their Harley, and recently have started outdoor rock climbing. They attribute their vibrant health and strong marriage to this yoga practice. Come in soon and begin your own journey!. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram
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Fled America, but justice will be done."Advertisement What does Bikram Yoga's future hold? Ironically, a name that was once so popular, and meant so much, has become a liability. So, what will happen to the Bikram Yoga name?One lawyer has a solution: calling the franchise "Jafa-Bodden Hot Yoga." Kevin Hughey writes about his idea: "Tongue-and-cheek? Yes. However, not only does she now own Bikram's yoga college, but more important she had the strength of character to stick to the truth and see the matter through." Good thinking.AdvertisementI asked Rohit Deshpande, a Harvard University professor who has taught a class called "Branding Yoga" which talked about Bikram Choudhury, for his thoughts on the future of the Bikram Yoga brand. He said the following: "I think of a brand as much more than a trademark; it's a Trustmark. You can defend a trademark in court. But trust is arbitrated in customer relationships. It takes a long time to build and even longer to rebuild."Mapstr - School Bikram Yoga Petaluma
Hot yoga galway Schedule Videos Pricing About Contact Login Register Register Hot Yoga Galway Booking 17 - 23 March 2025 This week Monday, 17 March 6:30 PM Tracy BIKRAM 75 Cancelled Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Tuesday, 18 March 10:00 AM Tracy BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy 6:30 PM CONOR Fierce Grace Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Wednesday, 19 March 6:30 PM Tracy BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Thursday, 20 March 6:30 PM CONOR BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Friday, 21 March 10:00 AM Tracy BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Saturday, 22 March 10:00 AM Tracy BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy Sunday, 23 March 11:00 AM CONOR BIKRAM 75 Share this class Email Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Share link Copy 17 - 23 March 2025 This week. Find Bikram Yoga Petaluma - hours, locations, photos, descriptions and reviews of Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma, California. Get directions, address, contacts and information for Bikram Yoga Petaluma in Petaluma.Bikram Yoga Petaluma CA, – Manta.com
Medicine expert Dr. Robert Gotlin said in an interview with the New York Times. ”But once you stretch a muscle beyond 20 or 25 percent of its resting length, you begin to damage a muscle.”And Dr. Cedric Bryant of the American Council on Exercise told Reuters that when it comes to Bikram Yoga's heat, "the benefits are largely perceptual" for it and other hot yoga classes. "People think the degree of sweat is the quality of the workout, but that's not reality," he said. "It doesn't correlate to burning more calories." The claim that Bikram yoga removes toxins is bogus Another thing that Bikram Choudhury has claimed is that the heat removes toxins. But the idea that all the sweating people do in Bikram Yoga class will sweat out toxins makes no sense. Our liver and kidneys take out the toxins when we use the restroom. Also too much heat and sweating can literally make you sick. Some people have reportedly suffered heat stroke and infections from Bikram Yoga in that heat.AdvertisementCarol Ewing Garber, a professor in kinesiology, told the New York Times that "if you're sweating profusely, it's very difficult to replenish that fluid" and noted that people don't often recognize "the early signs of heat illness," which include things like nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and headaches, as well as the sweating and the feeling of thirst. And the American Council on Medicine found that participants' core temperatures can go up to over 103 degrees in Bikram Yoga classes. Too hot to handle for many people. Multiple women working with Choudhury have accused him of sexual harassment and assault Not only did those women who wanted to teach Bikram yoga have to pay through the nose to be trained, but some of them also claim they were sexually harassed or even sexually assaulted by Choudhury. The first lawsuit came in 2013. Sarah Baughn (in the video above) took teacher classes with him and claimed he repeatedly pushed his body against her, among other things. She also claimed that she lost a yoga competition she should have won and was "prevented from teaching seminars or advanced classes because of her past and continuing refusal to have sex with her guru."AdvertisementOther women then filed lawsuits, saying that Choudhury pushed himself on them in varying degrees of sexual assault. But Choudhury claimed that women pushed themselves onto him, saying to Nightline in 2012: "The hardest problem in my life... is to stay away from women. Women like me, and I have to run, city after city, country after country, all my life to stay away from the women." Oh, please. As the lawsuits mount, Choudhury faces legal consequences After Baughn's lawsuit, the floodgatesComments
Skip to content SportsBaseballBasketballFootballHockeyLacrosseSoccerSoftballVolleyballWrestlingTrainingCollege RecruitingGet Recruited TodayNutritionSports NewsMoreCategory DirectoryCamps & Event DirectoryWrite For UsAdvertise With Us Sports Baseball Basketball Football Hockey Lacrosse Soccer Softball Wrestling VolleyballTrainingCollege Recruiting Get Recruited TodayNutritionSports NewsMore Category Directory Camps & Event Directory Write For Us Advertise With Us Is Bikram Yoga for You? 3 Pros and Cons for BeginnersChoudhury attempted to copyright the Bikram Yoga sequence from 2011, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2016, facing lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault, Choudhury fled to India, leaving Bikram Yoga, Inc. to be run by othersBikram yoga may not be as safe as yogis believe, a new study suggests. Yoga can be wonderful for your flexibility, balance and overall health. And recently, pro athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Andy Murray and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles have begun doing Bikram Yoga, an intense form of the practice in which the moves are performed in a hot, humid room.“One of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” is how Foles described Bikram Yoga in an ESPN interview. But he also credited the practice with helping him recover more quickly from the hits he takes during the NFL season.Named after its founder, Bikram Choudhury, and drawing from traditional yoga techniques, Bikram employs a series of 26 postures (see diagram below). The poses are always the same and always done in the same order in a room heated to approximately 105 degrees with 40 percent humidity. The classes last about 90 minutes. The general idea is that the heat increases blood flow and circulation to the muscles.Photo: Bikram Yoga NYC“By the end of a Bikram yoga class, you will have worked every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, internal organ and gland while systematically moving fresh, oxygenated blood to 100 percent of the body,” says Bikram instructor Tori Hicks. “Bikram yoga builds strength, balance and flexibility by gently stretching and massaging the spine, muscles, tendons, joints and all internal organs of the body. Lung capacity is expanded, leading to greater vitality.”In my first Bikram class, I was surprised by how many people were wearing minimal clothing—short spandex and sports bras, or even bathing suits. I was wearing pants, which I recognized as a terrible choice as soon as the sweat started streaming out of my body. Which happened quickly.I had done a fair amount of yoga before, mostly Vinyasa style, which takes you through a sequence of moves between downward facing dog poses. Bikram class begins with a breathing exercise unlike anything I had ever done before. I was told to hold my hands together at my chest, interlock my fingers with my elbows bent down and my feet and heels touching. I tried to follow along. The other yogis inhaled through their
2025-04-08When you think of yoga, you might picture a blissed-out instructor calmly leading a quiet room of people relaxing and feeling the namaste, and who focuses on the spiritual world over the material one. That's not what Bikram Yoga is at all. This high-intensity hot yoga is not for the faint at heart, nor for those looking to relax when doing the ancient asanas.AdvertisementBikram Choudhury, the founder behind the practice, isn't your typical yogi. He moved from India to Hollywood in the 1970s and quickly secured A-list clientele. He claims Shirley MacLaine got him on Johnny Carson to get him his big break. Celebrity clientele for Bikram Yoga has also reportedly included Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Madonna, George Clooney, and Lady Gaga.Choudhury is known for making millions off his namesake yoga and is infamous for wearing a diamond-encrusted Rolex and driving Rolls-Royces, a far cry from yoga pants and chai tea. One writer even nicknamed him the "Walter White of yoga." Ouch.Choudhury, also called the "bad boy of yoga" for his personality, has been in legal hot water in recent years due to sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations. Here's a look at the most shocking things about him and Bikram Yoga.Advertisement The Bikram Yoga company is super-strict with their franchises Bikram Yoga, named after Bikram Choudhury, the man who came up with the idea in the early 1970s, is a very specific type of yoga. It is done in a room that is heated to at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. There are 26 yoga positions and two breathing exercises done in a specific sequence for 90 minutes.AdvertisementBikram Yoga has strict rules, not just on the exercises and temperature, but on the yoga studio's rooms themselves. The floor in the Bikram Yoga room must have a carpet on it, which is supposed to help ease joints better than hardwood floors would. Mirrors must be on the front wall. Instructors are supposed to use only the company-approved dialogue for the classes, speaking in headsets. The studios are not allowed to host any other type of yoga. The official rules also say that "No physical contact, hands on corrections or adjustments of students is permitted (with the exception of Bikram)." In addition, the instructors must be certified by Bikram Yoga as well.It is also not cheap to become a franchise. Entrepreneur magazine said: "Opening a Bikram franchise is expensive, starting with a $10,000 franchise fee. Studio owners are then required to pay a percentage of sales to Choudhury, including a royalty fee of 5 percent of gross revenues and an advertising fund fee that is 2 percent of gross revenues." That's a lot of lucre.Advertisement Choudhury became filthy
2025-04-07Rich doing yoga What Choudhury did was unique in the yoga world. He took positions that were invented thousands of years ago, added some heat and specific rules, and started franchising his style. He also tried to copyright Bikram Yoga, so that nobody else could teach it without paying him. In addition, "hundreds of cease-and-desist letters were slapped on competing studio owners" by Choudhury, according to the Harvard Business School's website.AdvertisementUltimately, a federal court ruled in 2015 that you cannot copyright an idea like yoga sequences. "Because copyright protection is limited to the expression of ideas, and does not extend to the ideas themselves, the Bikram Yoga Sequence is not a proper subject of copyright protection," the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said.Due to that ruling, other yoga practitioners can now create their own hot yoga studios, and even use the same 26 positions, without having to credit Bikram Yoga. But in the meantime, this franchising made him a very rich man.And Choudhury doesn't exactly live frugally with that type of coin. Vanity Fair wrote about him tooling around Beverly Hills in one of his Rolls-Royces with the license plate "Bikram."AdvertisementHe also doesn't look like a typical yoga instructor. Vanity Fair also described him as directing "classes in his signature outfit of black Speedo, jewel-encrusted Rolex, and headset mike, his chest waxed, his thinning black hair pulled into a topknot, his baby-soft skin radiating a miasma of cologne." His out-of-class outfit usually consists of "a fedora, Zoot suit and white Gucci loafers," the Daily Telegraph said, which estimated him as earning $7 million a year at one point from his empire. They also reported that he owns over 40 classic cars. Bikram Yoga requires teachers to pay for their own training Not only do the official Bikram Yoga franchises have to pay for the privilege of the name, and follow all of the rules, but they can only use teachers who have been certified by Bikram Yoga. And the teacher training is monumentally expensive. Those who want to be certified pay between $12,500 and $16,600 (including lodging for the training) to do so. And they have to get re-certified every three years, paying another $1200 or so.Advertisement The Bikram Yoga studio is a torture chamber A "torture chamber" is what Bikram Yoga founder Choudhury admittedly calls the type of yoga studio he created. He himself acknowledges that such intense heat can be unbearable. But he also claims the heat is critical to making the body malleable and pliant. However, according to Consumer Reports, the heat can make people overstretch their muscles, leading to injuries.Advertisement”Heat increases one's metabolic rate, and by warming you up, it allows you to stretch more,” sports
2025-04-21