Bikram Choudhury Bikram Choudhury Bikram Choudhury (born February 10, 1944) is an Indian yoga teacher and the founder of Bikram Yoga, a form of hot yoga performed in a series of 26 hatha yoga postures done in a hot environment of . After several lawsuits were filed against him alleging sexual assault and various forms of discrimination against racial and sexual minorities, courts in 2017 awarded ownership of Bikram Yoga to former employee Minakshi “Micki” Jafa-Bodden after Choudhury fled from the United States to India. Born in Calcutta, India, Bikram Choudhury began learning Hatha Yoga poses at the age of three. At
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,