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Trigger warning: I will be discussing the Netflix Bikram documentary here. There’s nothing explicit in this blog, but because of the serious nature of this commentary, I’ve decided to leave .gifs and pictures out of it.
I love Southern California – the sun, the sea, the optimism, the creativity!
And. . .it’s no secret that there’s a dark underbelly to the culture. I would argue that it’s this shadow side of the sunshine state that creates a fertile breeding ground for perpetrators like Bikram. When the Netflix documentary came out a few weeks ago I thought, “Yeah, I guess I should schedule that in,” (with about as much enthusiasm as I have for a pap smear). But, a few days ago, I managed to get through it.
It’s the kind of documentary that’s good at rousing incredulous rage – but not good at addressing the root causes of the problem. I was left wanting to know more about what lies beneath this iceberg – what is it about LA that made it the crucible of his cult-y allure and criminal exploits?
Let’s start with the outfits.
If you’re expected to wear a bikini to do yoga in a mirror lined room, you’ve just entered the perfect petri dish for growing self-disgust. The body culture of LA has long been the subject of critique – but that doesn’t mean it’s changed much. Bikram simply transferred it to a yoga studio – perfect – a room full of people ready and willing to self-flagellate. His solution to their pain was pure and simple – sweat and starve.
“Best food?” he prompts from his platform.
“No food!” they respond.
As Amy Schumer said about the Hollywood diet, “A smoothie for breakfast, and then like for lunch you journal about that smoothie. . .That’s the Hollywood secret, don’t put food in your dumb mouth.”
So, here’s a room full of light-headed women seeking salvation from fat who are primed for tolerating abuse because it offers the answer to all their problems. The CIA could not devise a better prisoner-breaking scheme.
Over the years many people have told me that they really liked practicing Bikram and when I ask why, the answer almost inevitably includes: “Because you can lose weight really fast.”
Yes, yes you can.
Lots of aspiring actors in LA. The thinner you are, the more likely you’ll get the role. And though the role you seek may not be on the silver screen, Hollywood has sold the success = thinness equation for decades, spreading it like a toxic cloud and poisoning women’s minds all over the world.
Some of the commentary about the documentary has centered on the question of why so many otherwise rational people voluntarily sign up for this clown’s circus?
But the documentary itself answers that question.
The woman with the long red hair concludes – “This…yoga…is….magical. I’ll never stop doing it, I’ll never stop promoting it.” The guy who tells us he used to weigh 300 pounds tearfully laments – “I wouldn’t be the person who I am today without him.” And we are led to conclude, yeah, such a shame, the guy was a criminal, but wow, what a great practice!
Hot, strenuous, body-punishment has been SO normalized in our culture that we don’t even question its veracity. Bikram quite simply offered the holy grail of all that we have been brainwashed to desire.
Culturally promoted self-loathing fueled by weight loss industry unattainable/unsustainable goals sets the air-conditioned stage for Bikram’s arrival, but there’s one more essential ingredient to catalyze his toxic rise to fame and power:
Orientalism.
A term coined by Palestinian American writer Edward Said to explain the tendencies of westerners, saturated in a colonialist/imperialist worldview, to project their fantasies and longings onto the east.
The guru will save us – even if he’s a raging lunatic.
For the most part, Americans could care less about anything that occurs beyond our borders. But we also like to entertain fantasies about the exotic, the transformative, the magical, and the savior. And we know that wise men come from the east.
This particular version of predatory behavior doesn’t fly on Indian soil because there are rules in Indian culture for interacting with the opposite sex. But Bikram got away with breaking all of them. (Which, BTW, is not to say that India is without its own garden variety of misogyny, take the gang rape and murder from last week for example. But here, I’m talking about the yoga space, which, for so many women, has been a reprieve from that reality.)
For me, yoga has been a saving grace, a refuge from self-loathing and body hatred, and an opportunity to learn to start to learn to love myself. It hurts my heart and my head to see it so egregiously and irreparably abused.
What is the answer?
I’ll just keep saying it – we need more women teachers in positions of power and authority (and here I’m not suggesting that women are automatically exempt from being abusive, it’s only a part of the solution) – and the men who hold those positions at the moment need to become vocal allies/supporters and just deal with the risk of losing some of their power/money/prestige or whatever.
We need to teach boundaries, trauma informed best practices, empathy, and ethics. (It’s not enough to have good intentions, you have to be intentionally ethical). We need higher standards of training, we need to teach critical thinking and building the skill of self-referral/interoception as part of our curriculum. We need to educate the public about what yoga can do, what it can be, as a holistic mind-body-spirit human potential vehicle. Not just a weight loss, or even hamstring stretching, practice.
I want to offer my students the expansive potential of self-love, self-compassion, self-acceptance, community, and help them open to the possibility of helping others find the same refuge. I want to offer simplicity and slowness. I want to offer a chance to regularly touch a place of peace and hope within. That’s all.
Is that so much to ask?
Breath of fresh air and good sense.
Thanks Helen.
I am right on board with your approach and wisdom around what Yoga really is and isn’t. Thank you for this deeply truthful response, and I intend to continue as you do in educating people about the purpose of Yoga from this deeper perspective. We are in a healing practise and integrating all you’ve suggested that needs to be taught to yoga teachers and explored by us are right on the mark.
Thank you Joanna!
I could not agree more. THANK YOU for writing this piece. I too watched the Netflix video last week, I was left feeling sad and angry. I have never taken a Bikram class so cannot personally comment. It is, however, clearly not in alignment with my views of yoga which for me has been personally transformative and Self affirming.
Yeah, it’s hard unfortunately to separate the man from the method. And I don’t want to deny anyone their positive experience. But I do think it’s important to search beneath the veneer for deeper answers. thank you for your comment.
Bikram’s Method taught me how to breathe. Its true, most humans have no idea how to breathe. He taught me how and I will forever be thankful for that.
As for the abuse, as the old adage goes. Give a man or woman a long enough rope and they will eventually hang themselves.
interesting. Thanks for sharing!
So that’s ok then Mark? Is that what you’re saying? We’d all do it eventually? Hope this is not what you’re saying ……
1972 at 21, I taught myself Slowest yoga 5 hrs a day for 6 months! My body and my life balanced-of course. I always prefer Slowest yoga, so It took me 6 months to go to a Bikram class with a young friend who invited me. It was a period that I had missed yoga for too many months and thought I would check it out. I figured if I could do sweat lodge, the heat would be fine because yoga is a sacred to me as sweat lodge and the heat was fine. I learned that every pose cleansed a particular organ to detox daily. It all adds up. I attended 6 times a week for 3 months. I was 58 at the time and wore thin just below the knee yoga pants and tank top. No required 2 piece as the blog stated. I did lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks though was not the reason I took Bikram. I built much needed strength and then I hurt myself overstretching. I learned that particularly flexible older woman have a greater tendency to overstretch. I learned from a Bikram teacher who taught for 25 years that people don’t hurt themselves in Bikram, so I did inform her. I resisted “vinyasa”because it was fast, and later attended for years Because, as an Energy healer I do Yoga for health and my home practice was not sufficient for my health at that time. I have seen so many Yoga’s through the years and they are all too fast for me. Only one Yin instructor maintained the sacred connection. I have 2 certifications though taught before having them and have also seen too many young teachers never having done yoga that begin teaching 6 months after certification without fully integrating the breath. And I have witnessed “nazi-like” women teaching Yoga as well. Those are not Yoga, and at best is only a workout. I am back to practicing and teaching at home, yet remain open to other Yoga practices. Kundalini also is quick and specific to cleansing organs, but I lived in the town of Yogi Bhajan’s Siek community and don’t agree with all their teachings, however, the Yoga is effective and at least actually came from the ancient practice. Like most things in life, their is an assortment for the choosing. I don’t appreciate the way Bikram was presented on Netflix because the focus seems to be more on the man than the Yoga.. The one thing I found disgusting were the carpeted floors that were actually required by Bikram. They were shampooed daily after 12 hours of people’s sweating! I always went to the 3rd class of the day.
I love teaching yoga with the yamas
Kindness and respect to oneself and others
Truthfulness re your body and emotions.
Integrity Your deepest inner knowing
Moderation in practicing asana and life
Acceptance of the moment and letting go
So this is how to practice yoga not force and from someone’s else’s power.
Very worrying if people believe force and obeying a teacher to give up their choices to someone else is yoga.
Thanks for the article.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the yamas in practice Pamela. Really lovely points.
I watched the documentary which confirmed the validity of many articles I’ve read. I’ll admit I started Hot Yoga because I thought I could lose weight. I continued to go because I felt a sense of community with the studio. I was fortunate to have some great teachers who were well trained and accepting and some remain good friends. At a time when work was all consuming the studio felt like a refuge. The heat wasn’t really an issue for me. In fact I became more aware of nutrition and hydration which was encouraged. I have since been to other hot yoga studios which felt very “unaccepting” and judgmental. I feel sad for people who never experience yoga the way I have.
In summary if yoga leaves you feeling bad about yourself find a different studio regardless of the style of yoga.
Very well put Kathy. I appreciate you sharing your experience.
I totally agree with you. If you don’t feel good changing studio is the best thing to do.
My yoga journey began with the Bikram practice. I had been overweight and injured my knee and it was suggested. As the accusations came out, my yoga teacher closed her studio and moved to another city. I was so impressed by her values. She had a thriving business. It took me a long time to find another studio but I have evolved from hot vinyasa to gentle styles. Yoga became my work-in. Sometimes the introduction to yoga is a bit skewed. I’m grateful that I found it.
I so appreciate your perspective and sharing your story Denise. These are really good points.
Loved your article so much! As a yoga teacher joe for almost 7 years -I have come to believe that the yoga culture has so much wrong with it. I could and one day will write a book about how yoga saved my life – but how I had to leave it because the culture of yoga here in southern Cali got it so wrong. I now just practice in my back yard to the sound of the birds chirping and find such pleasure in it that I never worry about what I am wearing or how many pounds I feel I have gained or lost just simply living and moving and breathing and trying to follow the Yamas and niyamas. I would love to come to one of your classes if you are near LA?
Thanks so much MJ. I love that you found your way and your practice sounds simply sublime!
I live in Asheville, NC, but I have lots of online courses available. https://subtleyoga.com/online-courses/
I’m going to be in LA next week – I take classes at yoga works with Jasmine Leib at Yoga Works. You may enjoy her yoga therapy classes.
all the best!
Totally agree Joe… I have found it is within the home practice that the true magic of yoga happens
Amen.
I really sincerely appreciate your take on this. While we all share in the disgust, you are able to articulate your feelings in a helpful, productive way. I live in Southern California and would like to defend that of course there are wonderful pockets of culture here, and some incredibly skilled, thoughtful, genuine teachers in this half of the state — but I do also agree that the powerful dominant image affects us and can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. Thank you for this share.
I completely agree Peach, I’ll be out in LA next week studying with one of my favorite teachers in fact. I appreciate you not taking this personally. It’s not personal, it’s cultural and there’s some really pernicious stuff that has come out of Hollywood and affected the whole planet.
Please don’t put down other yoga. BIKRAM YOGA IS AMAZING ♥️ Bikram the man unfortunately has many flaws but so do football players, musicians such as Michael Jackson, and many others in the the public eye.We still watch the games and listen to their songs. Bikram is no more of a cult than CrossFit .Some people hate CrossFit, some live it! I have NEVER heard anyone say I love Bikram because it makes me loose weight fast. I am sure it has been said but if you truly get Bikram yoga it’s so much more.True, Bikram is not for everyone but I can tell you that Bikram students are of ALL ages, fitness levels, men, women,fat, tall, skinny,small,depressed,old, broken, EVERYONE is welcome! Our class has many men ranging from lawyers,Dr.s ,construction workers and MMA fighters, NOT just “light headed women”. Their are many studios across the world with amazing teachers and amazing students! Bikram Yoga is a brotherhood I am proud to be a part of .Say what you will about the man but please don’t judge the yoga. 🕉️
Thanks. I feel the same. I had some extraordinary Bikram yoga instructors while practicing in AZ and NJ. Routinely, they brought in experienced Bikram instructors to help us deepen our practice. The heat was amazing and helped me have a 90 minute meditation experience while moving into the 26 poses that were part of our daily practice. At the end of class, our instructors said, I will see you tomorrow. And, they did. I have very little regard for Bikram, the man; however, my Bikram yoga practice was excellent.
Thanks for sharing Kate!
Thanks for sharing your experience Kate.
I am a Bikram trained teacher I went to training in Spring of 2008. I still to this day teach Bikram or 26/2 or whatever you want to call it. I also teach Yin and Vinyasa. This is not an issue about L.A!!!! Bikram teacher training was an international training. I was 1 of 300 or so trainees from all over the world. This is about seeing abuse being part of the problem and not owning it until the bubble bursts. I’m also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and at the time I went to training it was the only way to teach Bikram yoga. Many of us men and woman did this training as a necessary evil. Drinking the juice or being part of the negativity to body, mind and soul is and was a choice. He had an inner circle and it was all based on ego. His ego and the ego of those around him who benefited from what probably felt like stardom. Bikram yoga is not about Bikram Choudry. He is a predator but that being said his abusive nature and bad behavior was obvious from day one. He prayed on those close to him and young girls who had no choice but to endure his abuse. What I find most annoying about all this is people knew. A blind eye was turned and many profited from his acts of disgust and abuse of power. The veil being pulled is positive because it’s about awareness and addressing how and why a man is allowed to do this. Hopefully someday we as a country and more importantly as woman can stop associating what works or doesn’t work to a mans name. I love Yoga and will continue to spread the love and it has nothing to do with his name it’s about the yoga it’s always been about the yoga!!!!!
My intention here was to unpack the worldview in which such a phenomena, like Bikram, can arise. I do think there are some very important underbelly aspects of LA culture that contributed to that rise, because it’s where he got his chops together. Choices narrow significantly when the situation taps into primal, subconscious attachment dysfunction/needs. So, I don’t know how many people were consciously choosing. It’s very difficult to be the nail that sticks up and Bikram was clearly a hammer. So the question that I get from your comment that I think is important is the “Why was a blink eye turned”? Is that correct? If so, then I think the nuances of my blog – particularly my points about body culture and orientalism, may offer some explanation.
Hi,
I worked for Bikram Yoga International HQ for 8years as the supervisor and scheduled teachers, I spent much of my time daily with Bikram Choudhury, and also made a 7ft stained glass window of the Hindu Trinity for the Choudhurys home. I’m not sure why people are saying they had no choice but to hang out with him. Several people I knew we’re happy willing volunteers in accompanying him & giving him affection, long after they claimed any assaults had happened. Freedom was always there, and there are other ways to express that you love yoga other than to go hang out with Boss directly. He enjoyed being with people, and would invite everyone to go out for dinners & movies. He was with many different men & women all of the time, and there was always freedom and choice involved from what I saw.
Also, Bikram Yoga heals injuries. That may be the main reason people find it, love it, and continue. Creating longevity is the other top benefit. Just look at Emmy Cleaves, and John Carter! 😃👍🕉️
Wow Jessica, you really did have first hand experience. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thoughtfully written – thank you for this. I won’t even start the conversation about Bikram because I feel we should learn, empathize and move forward. Forward vision and action is so eloquently expressed by your next to last paragraph, especially the line “It’s not enough to have good intentions, you have to be intentionally ethical.”
Saprema,
Karen
yes, moving on is so important Karen, I completely agree. And I felt it necessary to process what was not addressed in the documentary. The fact that he continues to train teachers is heart-wrenching.
Your points are well taken but your language comes off as narrow-minded and uneducated, at least on several points above, to be writing a blog. It’s like you have never considered a perspective outside of the Hollywood bubble. Yes, rapes take place in India regularly. I know people who live there. I haven’t seen the documentary but have fellow teachers with whom I took yoga teacher training who were taught by Choudhury. He was a narcissist. Who copyrights their yoga sequence? Unheard of. He’d tell his female students what nail polish he liked them to wear or never to wear green clothes, because his teacher died wearing green. Tyrannical stuff. But. These people who had positive experiences with the method had legitimate positive experiences with heated Vinyasa, which I personally think is a wonderful thing. Bikinis come into play because it is very hot and students are dripping and slipping on their own sweat and some people prefer not to have the encumbrance of clothing on during this activity. What a woman wears or doesn’t wear is her choice, please be reminded. This should apply in any situation: Burka to bikini.
Another matter you focus on is weight. This is a thing we actually have control over and it is a ridiculous preoccupation. If a person has enough money to eat–which so much of the world does not; to feed themself healthfully; to eat without pain and suffering from disease (as I do not); or without fasting themself to death from starvation in attempt to cure cancer (of which I know a person who has) or regurgitating what they can get down because of post-breast cancer chemotherapy (another friend), be grateful. Celebrate your healthy life. For example, these LA- originated food obsessions such as “gluten-free” have even waiters in restaurants impatient with the general population or special requests. When in reality, some people have tremendous pain upon eating gluten (lymphocytic colitis, any microscopic colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease) and can literally die from it (Celiac Disease). So if a person is not happy with their weight or body image, I would advise they DO something about a matter they actually have control over. And the focus on weight is not of huge interest outside of the LA bubble. Look around America. Around our globe. People are definitely focused on other things. We are a nation of large people, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. If being overweight were a priority, over greed and desire, the citizens of our nation would not have excess weight to concern themselves with.
Bikrim gave something and he lost a lot, I guess. Like so many men in any position of power. It’s great we expose and no longer tolerate misogyny ( well, many of us don’t), that we question the inherent patriarchy, the phallocentic paradigm. But he innovated this manner of health and detoxification and, you can’t really help but have some type of spiritual experience in practicing yoga, if you do it with earnest investment. So he gave something to the yogic world. You might consider the grey in the black and white of your strong language. Especially if posting publically. Thank you for alerting me to the documentary. I will look for it.
“Narrow-minded and uneducated?” that’s just offensive dude. It’s difficult to reply to your comments because your arguments are not particularly cogent. So I’ll just say this: men are often offended by strong women with strong personalities and strong opinions. My blogging job is not about getting you to like me by using softer language, it’s to share my well-earned opinions on important topics that affect those in the yoga world. Egregious, protracted offenses deserve nothing less.
Your wishes hold all the graces Kristine… it’s a way that we should hold our students and ourselves. Thankyou .
Thank you Tracey, I appreciate the feedback
I loved your comments, as I also watched the Netflix Doc and felt that they left a lot out and only focused on the seedy side of him and not how doing some of these asanas can (I’m not saying to all people) cause damage!! Thankyou great read
Yes, that’s a huge issue Cherie that I didn’t even touch on – the exploitation of hypermobility and how it can lead to injury. Thanks for bringing that into the conversation, another aspect of the toxic cocktail.
I started practicing Yoga with hippies in the Midwest in 1978. There were no yoga studios and people taught in empty living rooms, church basements and small YMCA gyms. There were no mirrors and spanx leggings did not exist. I loved the freedom of feeling my body moving in space without the external critical eye that existed in the dance world I came from. Even better was the deep rest and peace received from the pranayama and guided meditations. But I did experience some cultlike aspects with some of the Indian teachers that had me dropping out of Yoga for years. Eventually I returned and vinyasa flow was popular and I loved it as ex dancer. It was fun and I was good at it but I was no longer 20 something and didn’t have the dancer bod anymore. The mirrors were not my friend, they just recreated the traumas of the dance world I left. Finally the most popular classes became heated and the music got louder and it was all too much for my nervous system. I was at a loss as to what people were draw to in these power Yoga classes but I thought I was just weird having an ‘old school’ background. I still taught and practiced flow yoga in both unheated and lightly heated rooms with soft music and a balance of playful movement and introspection. Now that the dark underbelly of Ashtanga, Bikram and even Iyengar has been uncovered I have relived all my various experiences with the mix of Indian tradition and American fitness culture that exists in the Yoga world. My gut feeling is there is good and bad in all the various forms that Yoga has taken since I began. Due to the relative lack of professional ethics and rigorous standards of training of teachers (Yoga alliance does far too little) we are left to try and separate the kernels of goodness from the con jobs and power trips on our own. What a job it is. Thank you Kristine for talking about all this because it does take courage.
Thank you for sharing your story Tina, my first class was in 1978 with my hippie social studies teacher so I can certainly relate and remember that time. Also, thank you for acknowledging that it takes courage to write this stuff – I’d so much rather be rolling around on the floor instead – but I feel pretty strongly that it’s important to share my opinion in the hope that it helps others define theirs.
I am debating whether or not write about the details of my story. I did a few years back when the Anusara scandal happened so it’s already out there in cyberspace. But this stuff just keeps happening. I remember the first ones in the early 80s. Some of them just got covered up for a longer time and that is very disturbing. But I do feel we have reached a defining moment now with the biggest and longest trangressions being revealed.
So beautifully and courageously written! My teacher always says, “you can have flexible hamstrings and still be an asshole”. Words to consider, and I think relevant and potent as the yoga environment continues to evolve from guru-led to self-led guided by a skilled, compassionate, and ethical teacher. Keep up the great work you are doing with all of your words of wisdom and investigation – both sides of a well-developed yoga practice 🙂
Burkas are NOT a choice. I can barely digest anything you’ve written but “burkas to bikinis” put Me over the edge. The “narrow-minded and uneducated ” comment I find hilarious. You are either a full time troll , or you have tremendous gall writing that about someone who has multiple degrees from prestigious institutions, has taught all over the world and has forgotten more than you will ever know on a variety of subjects. Please stop.
Thank you the logic in that one completely defied me. But I believe you meant to respond to our buddy Sukhdev, not Barbara.❤️
Thank you for your article and educating me… I’ve not done Bikram as the Hot seemed counterintuitive to the Sivananda yoga Teacher Training I did at Neyaar Dam in Kerala, India in 2004… temperatures in January were in the ‘80s, held outside twice a day, and felt like an authentic, high integrity, traditional yoga practice with vegetarian meals, mediations, chanting, lectures, trainings, Ayurvedic massages, and living an ashram life. I felt safe in this “church camp” environment. Upon my return to western Virginia, I taught this style. In 2008, I joined the programs staff as a volunteer for occasional weekends at the Satchidananda Ashram at Yogaville on the James River south of Charlottesville ~ again blessed with this sister organization of Sivananda. My experience is the Sivananda style is masculine; the Integral Yoga of Yogaville feels more gentle & feminine ~ in combining the 2 styles, I practice and teach a more balanced approach of traditional yoga… no tights or commercialized outfits (shoulders covered, modest dress). I’m thankful my first yoga classes in the early ‘90s were with a teacher trained in India… as my trainings have been along the same vein. My greatest joy is to lead my students through this practice to the peace that passes all understanding. …and for those in CA, the Sivananda Yoga Farm is located in Grass Valley in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
I Love and Respect your opinion and well written thoughts on the subject!
I’ve been feeling this way about the whole exercise craze for years especially
when the Cross Fit craze came into play, although, the “no pain, no gain” mentality
has been with us for a very long time. After being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia
25 years ago after having my son I could no longer exercise. Before I got pregnant
I had been practicing Yoga since I was 18 years old. I had my son the year I turned 40.
I had been attending advanced classes for years, loving it. I also had excellent teachers
who practiced the traditional Hatha Yoga. I never got hurt because the teachers watched
everyone to make sure their poses were correctly done with proper alignment and always
offered a modified version. It was a class for the students, not a workout for the teacher, if
you understand what I mean? In any case, I am very interested in learning more about this
Subtle Yoga because in the last 8 years I have been struggling with Lyme disease. This is the
third exposure for me. Keep up the good work you do! We need more instructors such as
you who understand how to teach with care. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season
with you and your family & friends!
I am not a conventionally religious person but oddly I was thinking about watching the documentary but haven’t yet because I am avoiding feeling the pain of those who were abused. I also began my yoga journey with traditional Bikram classes. There were so many benefits I continued my practice and started to feel again after enduring years of self abuse. I eventually began feeling the desire to teach yoga and wanted to do the Bikram training. It was around the time that the rumors were becoming more and more talked about. Luckily I listened to my gut and decided that I could not handle having my yoga experience ruined by a potential predator especially when I had already been through abuse by other men in my life. So I chickened out and thought I would never be a Bikram Yoga teacher. I even had a couple teachers who said they loved him and I had nothing to worry about but still my gut said no. A few months later I was having a conversation with a studio owner and I was talking to her about how sad I was that I would not be able to teach hot yoga. She then told me there were other schools that held teacher trainings and that I could teach hot yoga they just use a different dialogue but the same 26&2 postures I had come to know and love. I was sad because I loved the dialogue with all my heart it was so beautiful to me. Looking back it was probably just comforting to me because when I started Bikram yoga I was in a really dark place in my life and it was the only good thing I had to look forward to and it was the only 90 minutes of my day I could escape my own mind. Now back to the religious point I was going to make. Eight years later I am a yoga teacher. I love myself so much and never thought I would be where I am today. It sucks and it disturbs me to think that the person who introduced hot yoga to America is a predator. I do think that Americans should still be open to doing any kind of yoga and not rob themselves of the gift of self care. The evil side wins if we don’t keep trying. If there is one thing yoga taught me is that you fall out of the pose just try again. It’s not about the final expression or being the most flexible person in the room or about Lulu Lemon or Dotera oils or being Vegan. If you like those things its fine. But yoga is everyone and everything. It is one of the best tools I ever came across to battle Depression PTSD OCD Anger Issues Insomnia Boredom Hatred whatever you battle daily Yoga can help ease the pain of being a spiritual being in a human and not so perfect world. I am not saying to love what Bikram did to those he hurt. I am asking you to question if perhaps an invisible entity is using him to try and turn ppl off from trying yoga and keeping the world sick and dependant on chemicals instead of natural remedies. I am not saying medication is bad as it helps so many ppl. But many ppl have adverse reactions to antidepressants and what about them? Let’s just please stay focused on the big picture which is Self Care, Unconditional Love and Forgiveness. I forgive Bikram because I know how evil works. And I am not surprised he was preyed upon by evil spirits because he was a perfect target. Yoga has so many positive benefits besides the physical it will awaken you to what is truly going on in the world. And that is why this happened. Now one of the most beautiful ancient practices is stigmatized and tarnished based on one mans behavior. Is his behavior acceptable? Absolutely not. As a survivor of sexual abuse my heart goes out to all the victims. Sadly I know in my heart that “their yoga” is to continue practicing and not let the darkness dim their inner light. I am sorry if I said anything that offended anyone. I just feel awful that so many will not try yoga because of this.
Thanks for sharing your story!
“The air-conditioned stage for Bikram” was hilarious.
Thank you Kristine for sharing your views and insights. I haven’t made any comments on any of your other blogs yet, but I do read some of them always with interest. I still can’t bring myself to watch the documentary although I’ve been aware of it for a while…In the light of so much uncovering of abuse of all kinds in the yoga world of late, I feel rather overwhelmed by it all and think to myself ‘how could this happen? And of all environments, In yoga? But of course how could yoga be immune to exploitation and manipulation when the spiritual dimension of yoga is in itself a very fertile ground for subjugation? I have always been very weary of individuals who build crowds of followers and empires using assertive -if not dictatorial- talk and promises of personal transformation and the louder they are, the less I want to hear. I struggle to understand how so many yoga enthusiasts subjected themselves to the tyranny of Bikram and his antics, but then again it goes to show how vulnerable we are to cult like figures in our quest for personal growth and our need for connection.
So this blog spurred a massive outpouring of comments – much more so than anything I’ve every written. While most of the comments were either supportive or personal stories about experiences with Bikram, some were quite… interesting. Here’s a sample:
• Please don’t put down other yoga. BIKRAM YOGA IS AMAZING.
• Your language comes off as narrow-minded and uneducated, at least on several points above, to be writing a blog.
• You might consider the grey in the black and white of your strong language.
• This is not an issue about L.A!!!!
• Bikram Yoga heals injuries.
I was well aware that when I published this blog that it would receive backlash. But my objective was never to “put down other yoga” or Los Angeles (I’ll be out there next week enjoying myself BTW!) – it was to provide some sociocultural critique/analysis as to why Bikram was able to get away with his high crimes and misdemeanors for so long. And I think the blog did just that.
First, if it offends you that I use “strong” rather than soft feminine language, then I’m sorry you feel that way but I will not apologize and you may want to examine your beliefs around who is allowed to use what kind if language and why. In my opinion, egregious abuses of spiritual power deserve nothing less than the strongest of expressions, or a punch in the face. I prefer the former.
Next, there’s a huge difference between criticizing or being middle school “judgy” and providing experienced discerning critique or analysis. My focus was only on the sociocultural milieu that cultivated a predator – I never even got to the serious flaws in his methodology – which also deserve heavy critique.
No physical therapist would ever give every single client the same 26 postures and tell them it will “heal injuries.” That’s just bad practice. Human beings are wildly different and positive anecdotes do not equal data. The studies that do exist on Bikram methodology leave many more questions than answers.
If this practice has worked for you – great! I’m glad you found a kind of yoga that you love! But please don’t extrapolate to the whole of humanity from your experience. What about all the people who have tried it and who’ve been injured? Who’ve just never come back again and who’ve never reported their injuries? There is no preparation and no compensation in the sequence anywhere and that’s deeply problematic if you have any understanding of biomechanics.
And what about the repetitive stain injuries accumulated over time? What about the exploitation of hypermobility? There are way more questions than answers here. Of course these issues are not exclusive to Bikram’s methodology, but I will say that a one-size-fits all approach is troublesome.
So if you love Bikram, I not interested in talking you out of it. What I am interested in is helping to educate people on the sociocultural issues that led to his criminal behavior, and in this follow up here I’ve provided just the tip of the iceberg of a cogent analysis of the biomechanical challenges of his methodology.
AH! I missed this response and i love the context you have added! You are spot on when you note that there is SO MUCH to be talked about with the actual methodology – that’s a whole different (and VERY long) conversation – and one I hope the Bikram community will be inspired to have … sooner rather than later. Thanks again for continuing to lead conversation. Much appreciated.
Great article. I’m a uk yoga teacher; I don’t have Netflix but I did read an excellent book called ‘Hell-Bent’ about the honest experiences of being a Bikram practitioner and being taught by Bikram Choudhoury himself. I found it shocking, sad and absolutely compelling. It seemed that there were followers of his who adored him, and it was mentioned in there that a blind eye was turned on many occasions. There was also talk of his ‘inner circle’ as someone else commented. The level of injury caused by obsession over backbends was also quite amazing and I wonder if the speed at which people’s bodies changed perhaps allowed their egos to take over…..?
Thanks for writing Lou. In the documentary, he steps up on a woman’s pelvis while she’s in an elbow/knee back bend – I just can’t even begin…
That moment in the documentary had my stomach turning. The well of negative emotion I experienced on so many planes
While watching that gross egocentric domineering act made me phyicaly ill.
I started my yoga practice with Bikram – at the time I am not sure if a slower paced yoga would have held my attention? So I think that’s something to keep in mind … all forms of yoga … goat! glow! yes, even beer! may have the potential to be the “gateway” yoga for a pretty big chunk of people who may otherwise be intimidated by yoga or fear or have conflict with what they may believe is too spiritual, or anti-Christian. That being said, the documentary was well overdue, and following the 3030 podcast a few years back, continues to expose Bikram for what he is: a sociopath and a predator.
The documentary was fairly one-dimensional, but I don’t think the filmmaker set out to capture an expansive view, so I understand her approach. I do wish there would have been more focus on the many, many enablers who looked the other way. It takes a village, as they say. His wife, in my view, is extremely complicit in all of this, yet she continues to have the support of the Bikram community. Perhaps I am wrong in my perception? I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I’m not sure I can.
I continue to teach and practice Bikram yoga in addition to slow, restorative, yin and vinyasa. I never did a Bikram training, so my teaching style is very different. Initially I had trouble getting teaching work for the 26&2 sequence, but the tide is turning. Truly, Bikram’s outing is the best thing that could have happened to the community. He was never a leader and caretaker of the yoga – he stifled growth and development of his teachers and studio owners, and the student population has paid the price: in ignorance, injury and limited range of scope of the expansiveness of the wider yoga world.
It really does appear that we are at a tipping point in the elimination of the guru culture, and I’m so grateful to have resources like this one, where compassionate, thoughtful yogis from varying backgrounds can talk about ugly, difficult topics and learn and grow.
Thank you for that, Kristine!
Thank you for sharing these great points!