Bikram Yoga

{{further|Bikram Choudhury}}

Bikram Choudhury was born in Calcutta in 1944. He began studying yoga in 1969.{{cite news |url=https://www.laweekly.com/body-work/ |title=Body Work |author=Schickel |first=Erica |date=September 25, 2003 |work=L.A. Weekly |access-date=21 November 2019 |publisher=LA Weekly}} He arrived in America in 1971, and soon began to teach yoga in health resorts in California.{{cite book |title=The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America |url=https://archive.org/details/subtlebodystoryo0000syma/page/268 |url-access=registration |year=2010 |first=Stefanie |last=Syman |publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |location=New York |isbn=978-0-374-23676-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/subtlebodystoryo0000syma/page/268 268-279] }} In 1974, two pupils, Shirley MacLaine and Anne Marie Bennstrom, helped him to open his own school at 9441 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. He attracted celebrity pupils including the Hollywood dancer Marge Champion and the actors Keir Dullea, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, and Raquel Welch. Yoga classes were initially free, with a donation box. Maclaine told Choudhury he could not run an American yoga school like one in India, and he began to charge $5 for classes; attendance started to grow at once.

Choudhury later devised the 26-posture sequence of Bikram Yoga, based on the teachings of B. C. Ghosh.{{cite AV media |last=Henderson |first=Julia L. |title=Bikram. 30for30, season 3, episodes 4&5 |publisher=ESPN |date=2018 |url=https://30for30podcasts.com/bikram/}}

{{further|Postures of Bikram Yoga}}

File:Bikram Yoga sequence of asanas.jpgFile:Dandayamana-Janushirasana.jpg include some such as Dandayamana-Janushirsasana not widely used in other styles.]]

Bikram Yoga Beginning Series classes run for 90 minutes and always consist of 26 postures, namely a fixed sequence of 24 asanas and two pranayama (breathing exercise). It starts with a standing pranayama, followed by a standing sequence of asanas, a first savasana, floor asanas, the last pranayama named Kapalabhati which is a shatkarma (a purification), and a final savasana that ends the sequence.{{cite journal |last1=Flehr |first1=Alison |last2=Barton |first2=Christopher |last3=Coles |first3=Jan |last4=Gibson |first4=Stephen J. |last5=Lambert |first5=Gavin W. |last6=Lambert |first6=Elisabeth A. |last7=Dhar |first7=Arup K. |last8=Dixon |first8=John B. |title=#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 |journal=BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine |date=29 August 2019 |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=Figure 1 |doi=10.1186/s12906-019-2642-1 |pmid=31464643 |pmc=6714085 |doi-access=free }}{{cite web |last1=Achanta |first1=Ramya |title=The 26 Bikram Yoga Poses – A Complete Step-By-Step Guide |url=https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/bikram-yoga-the-ultimate-guide-to-all-asanas-and-their-benefits/ |publisher=StyleCraze |date=13 August 2019}} The room is fitted with mirrors and carpets, and the yoga postures of students may be adjusted by the teacher, who can also adjust themselves using the mirrors.{{cite news |last1=Tripp |first1=Megan |title=Hot Yoga vs Bikram Yoga: What's The Difference? |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/health/2013/09/11/what-is-the-difference-between-hot-yoga-and-bikram-yoga/ |work=Boston Magazine |date=11 September 2013}}

The hot yoga style is practised in a room heated to {{convert|105|F|C}} with a humidity of 40%, intended to replicate the climate of India where it was created.{{cite web |url=https://www.bikramyogalondon.com/why-the-heat |title=Bikram Yoga Basic |date=2 March 2018 |publisher=bikramyogalondon.com}} Bikram Yoga trains its own teachers.{{cite web |url=http://www.bikramyoga.com/TeacherTraining/AboutTeacherTraining.php |title=Yoga teacher training programs |publisher=Bikramyoga.com |access-date=21 October 2013}} They are taught a standardized dialogue to run the class, but are encouraged to develop their own delivery style.

The author Brigid Delaney described seeing Choudhury in his first yoga studio in Australia, and was "shocked" by the environment and by Choudhury's bragging and abrasive manner; she noted also the docility of his students and the "fawning" atmosphere, writing:

{{blockquote|What the hell was this practice? The yoga took place in a room heated to around 41C. It was packed and it stunk. There were mirrors everywhere and the room was carpeted, which absorbed the stench and the sweat."{{cite news |last1=Delaney |first1=Brigid |title=He made a fortune from his trademarked Bikram yoga, but now his empire is in tatters |url=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 |work=The Guardian |date=2 December 2019}}}}

File:Bikram.jpg

Choudhury was extremely charismatic and persuasive, and this contributed to his success according to principal Bikram teacher Emmy Cleaves. He also had a philosophy of making pupils work through pain, and a "highly entertaining in-class patter," being happy to tell pupils "I am a butcher and I try to kill you ... but don't worry, yoga is the best death."{{cite web |last=Cleaves |first=Emmy |title=About {{!}} Teacher Training |url=http://www.bikramyogatt.com/about/ |publisher=Bikram Yoga Teacher Training |access-date=23 November 2019 |quote=Bikram Choudhury - Founder and CEO {{!}} Rajashree Choudhury |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419065628/http://www.bikramyogatt.com/about/ |archive-date=19 April 2016}} By 1984, classes were priced at $20 (about $50 in 2019 terms).{{cite web |title=U.S. Inflation Rate, $20 in 1984 to 2019 |url=https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1984?amount=20 |website=CPI Inflation Calculator |access-date=23 November 2019}} That year, sports journalist Jack McCallum watched a class respond to Choudhury's verbal abuse "like eager cadets." Practice was so intense that it demanded "an entire identity" based on commitment to hard work, a regular yoga schedule, and verbal castigation. In short, "a complete religion of bodily purification" rewarded by "a feeling of pure energy." The franchise grew rapidly and spread to other countries. By 2006, there were 1,650 Bikram Yoga studios around the world.{{cite news |title=Bend it like Bikram |last=Shakespeare |first=Jocasta |date=10 June 2006 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/jun/11/healthandwellbeing.features1}} The franchise then declined somewhat, and by 2012, there were 330 studios in the United States and 600 worldwide.{{cite news |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-07-18/news/the-hot-yoga-war/2/ |title=The Hot Yoga War |last=Moss |first=Rebecca |date=8 July 2012 |newspaper=The Village Voice}} In Africa, there were studios in Morocco and South Africa; in America, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, 39 U.S. states, and Canada; in Asia, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the UAE; in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom; and Australia and New Zealand.{{cite web |title=Bikram Yoga affiliated Studios |url=http://www.bikramyoga.com/studioListing.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117174920/http://www.bikramyoga.com/studioListing.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-01-17 |publisher=Bikram Yoga |access-date=23 November 2019 |date=17 January 2017}}

{{further|Yoga as therapy}}

A 2013 review of 76 yoga-related adverse events included 3 in Bikram Yoga. The three case reports consisted of one case of rosacea, one psychotic episode, and one of hyponatremia (low salt level).{{cite journal |last1=Cramer |first1=H. |last2=Krucoff |first2=C. |last3=Dobos |first3=G. |title=Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review of published case reports and case series |journal= PLOS ONE |date=16 October 2013 |volume=8 |issue=10 |pages=e75515 |pmid=24146758 |pmc=3797727 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0075515|bibcode=2013PLoSO...875515C |doi-access=free }}

A systematic review in 2015 found that Bikram Yoga improved lower body strength, range of joint motion in both upper and lower body, and balance. It noted that unsystematic trials (without randomized controls) had found possible improvements in glucose tolerance, bone density, blood lipids, artery stiffness, mindfulness, and "perceived stress". It recommended that future research should follow guidelines to provide reliable results.{{cite journal |last1=Hewett |first1=Zoe L. |last2=Cheema |first2=Birinder S. |last3=Pumpa |first3=Kate L. |last4=Smith |first4=Caroline A. |title=The Effects of Bikram Yoga on Health: Critical Review and Clinical Trial Recommendations |journal=Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine |volume=2015 |year=2015 |pages=1–13 |issn=1741-427X |doi=10.1155/2015/428427|pmid=26504475 |pmc=4609431 |doi-access=free }}

{{main|Copyright claims on Bikram Yoga}}

Choudhury claimed, starting in 2011, that Bikram Yoga was under copyright and that it could not be taught or presented by anyone whom he had not authorized. In that year, Choudhury started a lawsuit against Yoga to the People, a competing yoga studio founded by a former student of Choudhury's and with a location near one of the Bikram Yoga studios in New York, and later started another against the Florida-based Evolation Yoga. Choudhury lost at first instance in both cases and appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal ultimately dismissed his copyright claim over yoga poses in Bikram Yoga.{{Cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-yoga-poses-ruling-20151008-story.html |title=Downward dog duplication? Relax, yoga poses can't be copyrighted, court rules |work=Los Angeles Times |last=Dolan |first=Maura |date=9 October 2015 |access-date=2018-10-11}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4067618/bikram-choudhury-yoga-copyright/|title=Court Says Bikram Choudhury Can't Copyright His Yoga Poses|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=2018-10-11}}

As a result of that lawsuit, the United States Copyright Office issued a clarification that yoga postures (asanas) could not be copyrighted in the way claimed by Choudhury, and that Yoga to the People and others could continue to freely teach these exercises.{{Cite book |url=https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ52.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ52.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Copyright Registration of Choreography and Pantomime (Circular 52) |publisher=United States Copyright Office |date=September 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=Jennifer D'Angelo |title=What the Bikram Copyright Rejection Means for Yoga |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/rejection-bikram-copyright-upheld-means-future-yoga |publisher=Yoga Journal |date=5 April 2017 |orig-year=16 October 2015}}

{{main|Bikram Choudhury#Sexual abuse}}

Choudhury has faced multiple lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, assault, racism and homophobia. In 2016 he fled to India, where he continued to teach yoga. His former lawyer, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, took over the running of Bikram, Inc. in America, after she successfully sued Choudhury for $7M in damages and he fled the country to avoid payment.{{cite news |last1=Godwin |first1=Richard |title='He said he could do what he wanted': the Scandal that Rocked Bikram Yoga |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/18/bikram-hot-yoga-scandal-choudhury-what-he-wanted |work=The Guardian |date=18 February 2017}}{{cite magazine |title=Yoga Reconsiders the Role of the Guru in the Age of #MeToo |last=Griswold |first=Eliza |magazine=The New Yorker |date=23 July 2019 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/yoga-reconsiders-the-role-of-the-guru-in-the-age-of-metoo}}

The accusations against Choudhury were the subject of a 2019 Netflix true crime documentary, Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator. The documentary also gave an exploration of Choudhury's early life in India, mostly told by Choudhury himself, in juxtaposition with the allegations and testimonies of various women who claim to have been assaulted and bullied by him. They argue that Choudhury was a charismatic but abusive and rude narcissist who took pleasure in mocking the physical appearances of his students, while holding financial and emotional power over many of them. Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator has since been challenged by Choudhury's lawyer.{{cite web |last1=Mallenbaum |first1=Carley |title=Why Bikram Yoga's founder is in hot water in a new Netflix documentary |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/11/22/bikram-yoga-founder-under-fire-new-netflix-documentary-heres-why/4250553002/ |website=www.usatoday.com |publisher=USA Today |access-date=21 December 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Horton |first1=Adrian |title='He got away with it': how the founder of Bikram yoga built an empire on abuse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/20/bikram-choudhury-yoga-founder-abuse-netflix-documentary |website=The Guardian |date=20 November 2019 |access-date=21 December 2021}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{cite web|access-date=20 November 2019 |date=20 December 2019 |language=en-US |last=OYTTC |title=Online Yoga Teacher Training Virabhadrasana |url=https://www.oceanicyoga.com/100-hours-yoga-teacher-training-goa/ |website=Online Yoga Teacher Training}}

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