About a decade ago, I was single and looking to get into better shape. I hated running and never could stick to a gym routine. Living in Los Angeles, you basically could not walk 10 feet without passing a yoga studio. And I had heard people say that yoga can change your life.
As it turned out, the studio closest to my apartment specialized in a practice called “Bikram Yoga.” For those of you who are scratching your heads, Bikram Yoga is essentially just like regular yoga, except the class follows a strict set of postures and is conducted in a boiling hot room. Like hot as a sauna. If you’re gonna try Bikram, bring a few towels and a gallon of water because you will sweat out roughly a bathtub’s worth of perspiration. That also makes it especially effective at removing a hangover!
Considering the fact that we are talking about the “peace and love” world of yoga, you might assume (like I did) that Bikram was an ancient Eastern practice that has been handed down by generations of Indian yogis for a thousand years. You might also assume (like I did) that the ideas behind Bikram were free to all, like transcendental meditation, Starbucks bathrooms, and Fight Club. Well, I hate to disturb your chakra levels, but I have some very crazy news: Bikram Yoga was actually a multi-million dollar, copyrighted franchise empire controlled by one person who invented it all just a few decades ago. This is the story of the rise and fall of Bikram Choudhury.
Bikram Choudhury in 2000 (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
Yoga Prodigy
Bikram Choudhury was born in Calcutta, India, on February 10, 1946. He began practicing all forms of yoga starting at a very young age. When he was just three years old, he was proficient at several poses. At the age of five, Choudhury studied under Bishnu Ghosh, one of the most famous yogi/gurus in India. At 13, he won three straight National India Yoga Championships.
When Bikram was 20, he suffered a horrible weightlifting accident. Doctors told him he might never walk again. As you can imagine, it was a terrifying diagnosis for such a physically active person. According to Bikram, he slowly began to rebuild his strength and recuperate his injuries by following a new method of yoga that he had developed just before the accident. The method involved performing 26 very specific yoga poses in a strict sequential order for 90 minutes. And since he was in India at the time, where daytime temperatures frequently topped 100 degrees, his method was always performed in a very hot room that made you sweat.
To the utter amazement of his doctors, instead of never being able to walk again, Bikram made a full recovery within six months.
California Dreamin’
In 1970, at the age of 24, Bikram made the move to Los Angeles. As you can imagine, with his supernatural sensibilities and fanciful promises of revolutionary health, Bikram was a great fit for Hollywood pretty much instantly. In 1974, two of his students, one of whom was actress Shirley MacLaine, helped Bikram open his own studio at 9441 Wilshire Boulevard, right in the heart of Beverly Hills. Classes were free at first. Shirley MacLaine reminded Bikram he was in America and people don’t trust things that are “free.” So, he began charging $5 a class.
Celebrities were soon flocking to this bizarre but fun new yoga practice. If you took a class, you might find yourself sweating next to Martin Sheen, Raquel Welch, Susan Sarandon, George Harrison, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Bikram Choudhury made guest appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and was the subject of a 60 Minutes segment. He was invited to The White House, where he instructed President Nixon. He even gave Elvis a free session at Graceland. Business was booming. Then Bikram Choudhury performed his most brilliant yoga move yet.
A Brilliant Yoga Move
At some point in the early 1970s, Bikram made the very wise decision to copyright his eponymous 26-move, 90-minute, 105-degree yoga practice. From that point on, anyone who wanted to teach those 26 sequential moves would owe Bikram a royalty. The same as if he had copyrighted a song that someone wanted to use in a movie.
Bikram’s popularity did not wane over the ensuing years. In 1978, he released a book that helped spread the practice out of elite coastal enclaves like Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco. Pretty soon, Bikram yoga studios began popping up all over the country.
And though Bikram did not own the new locations that bore his name, every one of them had to pay him a royalty. Even if the studio did not use the word “Bikram” in any way, if they practiced his 26-pose method without paying a royalty, they would be in violation of United States Copyright law.
By the early 1980s, this boy from Calcutta was a very rich man. He bought a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, fancy cars, and lots of jewelry. To this day, Bikram is rarely seen without his diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch. His mansion in the Hollywood Hills held a veritable collection of Rolls Royces and various other supercars.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
How Much Money Are We Talking About?
Today, there are over 350 Bikram Yoga studios in the United States and over 600 worldwide. In California alone, there are an estimated 85 Bikram studios. Each one pays the man an annual royalty to use his copyright and trademarks. When it’s all added up, these royalty payments amount to $7-10 million EVERY YEAR.
Yoga to the People
In 2006, a former Bikram student named Greg Gumucio opened a studio called Yoga to the People. He started with a single tiny studio in NYC’s East Village. At first, the studio had a “pay what you can” mode. Donations were deposited into tissue boxes from student to student like a church collection plate. Instructors were forbidden from counting the money. Keep this point in mind for a minute.
Just like Bikrahm in its early days, Yoga to the People became extremely trendy to an A-list flock of Manhattan practitioners. Its instructors became stars. One popular early instructor was Boston-born Hillary Thomas. Hillary taught at Yoga to the People until 2010, when she opened her own studio. Today, you may know her better as “Hilaria” Baldwin thanks to her 2012 marriage to actor Alec Baldwin. Alec, who is from Long Island, and Hilaria, who, as a reminder, is from BOSTON, have seven children. Those children are named:
- Carmen
- Rafael
- Leonardo
- Romeo Alejandro David
- Eduardo Pau Lucas
- Lucia
- Ilaria Catalina Irena
But I digress.
Another popular Yoga to the People instructor was Swedish-born Sofia Kristina. Sofia and Gumucio actually dated for a while and were seen as a superstar yoga power couple. They eventually broke up, and in yet another strange twist, in 2015, Sofia married Prince Carl Philip, the only son of Swedish King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia. So today, Sofia is known formally as, Princess Sofia, Duchess of Varmland.
Yoga to the People soon began offering a teacher training program that cost $3,000. Dozens of aspiring teachers a year took the class.
As it turned out, Greg Gumucio and his Yoga to the People instructors had been conducting the 26-pose Bikram method since 2006 without paying his former guru any royalties. In 2011, Bikram sued.
The lawsuit, which involved both copyright and trademark infringement, was initially decided in Bikram’s favor. But that wasn’t the end of the case…
Photo via tiarescott/flickr creative commons
In December 2012, a Federal judge overturned Bikram’s long-standing 26-pose copyright. In reaction to several Bikram lawsuits (including the one against Greg Gumucio), the U.S. Copyright Office ruled: “While choreography can be copyrighted, that might not be the case for choreography that purports to have medical benefits.“
During the lawsuit, Greg Gumucio testified:
“It’s kind of like if Arnold Schwarzenegger said I’m going to do five bench presses, six curls, seven squats, call it ‘Arnold’s Work Out,’ and nobody can show that or teach that without my permission. That’s crazy to me.“
Bikram lost the ability to sue studios that taught his exact sequence. But he still maintains many other valuable trademarks and copyrights that generate millions in annual royalties. Anytime you see a yoga studio bearing the “Bikram” name Mr. Choudhury is earning a royalty.
Yoga to the Prison
Yoga to the People closed in 2020. At its peak, the business operated 20 locations around the US. It also had locations in Spain and Israel. The official (and understandable) reason given was COVID-19. As you may recall, COVID-19 absolutely decimated New York City. A hot, sweaty yoga practice in a tiny room was pretty much the last thing anyone wanted to do. However.
In 2020, whispers swirled that a group of former students and employees were not happy with Yoga to the People or its Greg Gumicio. Those whispers turned into an avalanche of complaints, including using racial slurs, discriminating against employees of color, encouraging teachers to conceal their income, and, obviously, sexual misconduct. Prosecutors would later claim that Gumucio “targeted and groomed typically young women and others” into becoming owners of new studios in name only. These new owners allegedly assumed all financial risk for a branch even though Gumucio controlled its business decisions and took a cut of its proceeds. Prosecutors alleged that Gumucio manipulated his employees into working for free to maximize his income by requiring them to clean the yoga studios, teach classes for free, and HELP HIM COUNT HIS MONEY.
“The defendants perpetrated their scheme in various ways, including paying employees in cash and off the books, refusing to provide employees with tax documentation, not maintaining books and records, paying personal expenses from business accounts, and using nominees to disguise their connection to various entities… At least two of the defendants even submitted fabricated tax returns to third parties when seeking a loan or an apartment, despite not filing any tax returns with the I.R.S.” – Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Remember how we said earlier that Yoga to the People instructors were forbidden from counting the money collected in tissue boxes during classes? Prosecutors would later allege that all cash was brought to Greg Gumucio’s home, where bills were neatly counted and stacked in what he called “stacking parties.”
How Much Money Are We Talking About?
Between prosecutors would allege that between 2012 and 2020, Yoga to the People gernerated $20 million in revenue. That must have really pissed Bikram Choudhury off. During those eight years, Greg Gumucio received $3.5 million in income BUT DID NOT FILE INDIVIDUAL OR BUSINESS TAXES.
Furthermore, he used Yoga to the People’s cash to pay for lavish vacations, NFL season tickets, expensive meals, and clothing. Bank records showed he spent:
- $270,000 on flights
- $75,000 on hotels
- $39,000 at restaurants
- $30,000 at country clubs and event tickets
Gumucio and his two Yoga for the People co-founders were arrested in 2022. In October 2024, Gumucio pleaded guilty to tax evasion. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to pay $2.5 million in restitution to the IRS.
Oh, and as it turned out, this wasn’t Greg Gumucio’s first brush with the law. He had previously been arrested 15 times previously, dating back to the early 1980s, on charges ranging from forgery to attempting to escape prison, a charge that resulted in a six-year prison sentence. In 2004 he was accused of rape, but the case was dropped.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Bikram Sweats In Exile
Bikram Choudhury’s legal troubles have only deepened. In recent years, Multiple women came forward with lawsuits accusing the hot yoga guru of sexual harassment, assault, and rape. One lawsuit claimed that Bikram has a “pattern and practice of causing, inducing or persuading young women to enroll in teacher training classes to become yoga instructors only so he can sexually assault and/or rape them.”
In early 2016, one such case concluded with a California jury ordering Choudhury to pay over $7 million in damages to his former legal adviser, Minakshi “Micki” Jafa-Bodden. Choudhury – who has continually denied all allegations – fled the United States without paying this judgment, prompting a Los Angeles court to issue a warrant for his arrest in 2017. (To date, no criminal charges have been filed, but the civil findings have severely tarnished his legacy.)
These lawsuits dealt a severe blow to the Bikram Yoga empire. In late 2017, Choudhury’s flagship business, Bikram Yoga Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid roughly $16 million in legal judgments against him. Around that time, Choudhury’s wife, Rajashree, finalized a divorce (in 2016) that awarded her the couple’s U.S. homes and several luxury cars, effectively insulating her from his liabilities.
The once-ubiquitous Bikram Yoga brand also fractured: many studios around the world distanced themselves from Choudhury by dropping “Bikram” from their name and rebranding simply as “hot yoga.” (This trend accelerated after a 2019 documentary spotlighted the allegations.) Still, a handful of loyal studios and practitioners retained the Bikram name, and Choudhury attempted to continue his business abroad – returning to India and later hosting teacher-training retreats in places like Spain and Mexico.
The 2019 Netflix documentary “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator” brought mainstream attention to the scandal, galvanizing outrage and prompting even more practitioners to renounce the Bikram name. Prominent yoga figures have expressed shock that Choudhury still has followers; one instructor noted it was “bizarre” that people continued to attend his trainings given the rape accusations.
Meanwhile, Choudhury himself has lived outside the U.S. since 2016, continuing to teach yoga overseas while avoiding the legal repercussions at home. He has resurfaced to lead classes and teacher trainings in countries such as Spain and Mexico, and even planned an event in Canada in 2023 despite public outcry. While he maintains his innocence, the one-time yoga superstar now lives in de facto exile – his empire largely dismantled and his reputation irreparably tarnished.
Yoga From The Comfort of Home…
If you’re interested in trying yoga but you don’t want to leave the comfort of your living room, I have a recommendation! I recently discovered an instructor named Dalton Grant who offers live yoga classes online. Best of all, you won’t be listening to woo-woo eastern spa music during his classes. They’re curated to incredible rock and roll soundtracks. Tons of fun. Highly recommended.
Source: celebritynetworth.com
