Bikram Choudhary

Bikram Choudhary, the founder of Bikram Yoga, is one of the most popular fitness gurus in Hollywood. He is also the founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India. With this biography, you will get to know more about Bikram Choudhary as well as Bikram yoga.

His Life History

Bikram Choudhury was born in the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata), in the year 1946. He was introduced to the technique of yoga at the tender age of four years only. Bikram underwent yoga training under Bishnu Ghosh, one of the most popular physical culturists of that time, at his ‘College of Physical Education’. Bishnu is the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda (Author of ‘the Autobiography of a Yogi’ and founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles).

Bikram practiced yoga rigorously, devoting four to six hours every day towards it. When he was only thirteen years old, he won the National India Yoga Championship and kept claiming the title for the next three years also. Thereafter he retired as the undisputed ‘All-India National Yoga Champion’. At the age of seventeen years, Bikram Choudhury got badly injured in the knee during a weight-lifting accident. Renowned doctors, from as far as Europe, gave up the chances of his ever walking again.

However, having faith in his teacher, Bishnu Ghosh, and his yoga techniques, Bikram went back to his school. Six months later, he experienced total recovery in his knee. Thereafter, Bishnu asked Bikram Choudhary to start a number of Yoga schools in India. Bikram received fantastic response from people and his yoga schools become extremely successful. Then, again at Bishnu’s insistence, Bikram traveled to Japan and opened two yoga schools. Since that time, he has being promoting the curative techniques of Yoga therapy around the world.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram Choudhury introduced a new style of yoga, known as the Bikram Yoga or Hot Yoga. This style is practiced in a room that has been preheated to a temperature of 105 deg F (40.5 deg C) and has a humidity of 50 percent. The training course goes on for nine weeks, during which the temperature is slowly taken to, as high as, 130 deg F. The entire course involves the training of 26 postures and two breathing exercises.