Bikram Yoga are encouraged to develop their teaching skills the longer they teach. This results in varying deliveries and distinct teaching styles. Bikram Choudhury, founder of the Bikram Yoga system, is also the founder of the Yoga College of India. Born in Calcutta in 1944, Choudhury began practicing yoga at age four. He stated that he practiced yoga 4–6 hours every day. At the age of thirteen, he asserts that he won the National India Yoga Championship and was undefeated for the following three years and retired as the undisputed All-India National Yoga Champion. Choudhury later devised the 26 postures sequence and
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga classes in similar style, offering posture variations, and teaching Ashtanga in a much less linear style, with a greater emphasis on alignment and breathing. Sharath's "new generation" of young students have adopted Sharath's new rules, and teach in a linear style without variations. According to the Sharath generation, variations are not allowed, and practice must be in a strict Mysore environment under the guidance of a Sharath-approved teacher. How-to videos & workshops, detailed alignment instructions, and strength-building exercises are not part of the method, neither for the practitioner or the teacher. These types of instruction are not approved by Sharath,