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| Mr. Bikram Choudhury, who lost his lawsuit and has to pay $6.5 million, seen creeping around in sweaty Speedos in a packed Bikram Yoga class (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times). |
Bikram yoga founder to pay over $7million in damages following sexual assault trial
Bikram Choudhury, the egotistical business-founder of “Bikram Yoga, Inc.” has been ordered to pay more than $7 million in damages by a Los Angeles, California court for the sexual assault of a former employee.
Bikram was sued by his former legal advisor, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, who told the court that the 69-year-old sexually assaulted her while she was still his employee.
Jafa-Bodden, who worked for Bikram at his Los Angeles yoga school between 2011 and 2013, also said her boss fired her after she refused to cover up an investigation she had launched into allegations that he had raped a yoga student. Bikram denied all claims.
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| Bikram kicks ass, like Trump yells. |
Bikram, who first taught yoga for money to Pres. Nixon, now owns a mansion in Beverly Hills and a fleet of over 40 cars. [What other Indian gurus does that sound like, Maha Mahesh Yogi, Guru Shri Rajneesh, Osho?]
Bikram refused to tell the court how much he was worth, saying the lawyers would have to ask his accountant about the state of his finances, the Los Angeles Times reported.
He explained, however, that due to the accusations, his yoga business had suffered financially and that he was nearly bankrupt.
"I have to borrow money from my family and friends," he told jurors. "I have no money."
The jury did not believe the India-born guru, however, and on Tuesday [Jan. 2016] ordered him to pay Jafa-Bodden almost $6.5 million in punitive damages in addition to the nearly $1 million the jury had awarded her on Monday in compensation.
"I feel vindicated, I’m elated," Jafa-Bodden told the LA Times, describing Bikram Choudhury as "a dangerous, dangerous predator."
Six other women have lodged similar lawsuits accusing Bikram of sexual assault. His lawyers have branded all the claims as "false."
Choudhury allegedly "created" "Bikram Yoga" in India before moving to the U.S. in the 1970s. The Bikram practice consists of 26 poses performed over a 90-minute session in a room which is heated to 105F (40C). Source
If we could testify against Bikram
Wisdom Quarterly (OPINION)
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| Here Bikram Choudhoury (right) "handles" a model on stage while using headband to conceal his balding scalp, normally covered by a ridiculous fedora (@frau.loft/Instagram). |
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The story goes that Bikram took 26 poses in the public domain from a centuries-old collective yoga tradition.
He then patented the sequence and heat in the room and used his lawyers to intimidate and sue any yoga studio that dared to advertise "heat," hot yoga, or any part of the sequence he appropriated.
This was his plan to build an empire, well, this and charging exorbitant sums to teach the sequence before anyone can work in a Bikram studio, those studios being franchises with ongoing licensing fees and new trainings to send their employees to, and leading a lavish lifestyle while sexually harassing and ridiculing students and anyone attending his classes in LA at a studio he calls the "Yoga College of India."
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| Creep do the creep as they sing "The Creep" then go over to Bikram's. Good times. |
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| Creepy Bikram Choudhury standing on a woman's pelvis in class (yogajournal.com). |
He is the opposite of what one expects in a yogi. He is the Donald Trump of yoga, a meat eater (which is quite against the sattvic way of yoga), a vulgar sexist, an extravagant materialist who violently disagrees with using yoga to meditate or bliss out.
Instead, he promotes competition in yoga as in business, even trying to remake yoga as an Olympic sport.
All of this, far from alienating crowds, drew Westerners like a magnet. Stay as you are AND follow an "Eastern" path, or at least one watered down enough for you to not notice it's hardly different from how you're already living.
Western students in go-go (imbalanced pita dosha) Los Angeles couldn't get enough of it, couldn't get enough of his bravado and derring-do.
We made him rich, with his cuckold Indian wife in tow, as he openly courted sexual relationships but conducted them in secret. We at Wisdom Quarterly saw it ourselves.
This Bikram scam is a lot like that guy/guru John Friend and his Vinyasa Yoga scam like they, angry Mara and Co., practice over at Mission Yoga in South Pasadena.
SO YOU GUYS LIKE IT?
We do. Bikram Yoga is fun, BUT it is not yoga. It's a perversion of so many yogic principles, so much of what Patajali and other great yogis taught. It's like Tang when you're thirsty for orange juice. If sexual harassment or rape are wanted, try Bikram Yoga. If healing is desired, try Hatha Yoga. Want a cult like atmosphere? Try Kundalini Yoga. If looking for a workout, try Flow Yoga (K. Patabhi Jois' new ashtanga style). Real yoga is called Yoga Philosophy or "Royal," Raja Yoga (originally called Ashtanga or Eight-limb Yoga); it is much more than poses (asanas) and breath-control (pranayama). The real goal of yoga is to facilitate meditation and making the body supple and strong (sthirasuka) to sit with ease.
SO YOU GUYS LIKE IT?
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