Bikram Yoga

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Template:Yogaschool Bikram Yoga is a style of yoga developed by Bikram Choudhury. He claims that his method is the only true hatha yoga practiced in the West. This claim is not accepted by many other schools. Bikram has designed a sequence of 26 yoga postures (or asana) and two breathing exercises that are performed in a heated room. The postures are vigorous and demand a lot from the students. The heated room, typically around 95–105 °F (35–40 °C), makes muscles more pliant and encourages sweating which purportedly acts as a purifier. People of all levels, ages and body types practice together with a teacher acting as a guide, taking the class through the ninety-minute series.

Bikram teaches at the Yoga College of India in Mumbai and other locations around the world, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo.

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Intellectual property controversy

Bikram recently secured federal copyright registration under 17 U.S.C. Section 410 for his original work of authorship in his sequence of asana and pranayama. Through registration of this work, the United States Copyright Office acknowledges Bikram's exclusive right to the distinct series of postures and breathing exercises comprising the sequence. Together with an unvarying script of dialogue, this sequence makes up Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class.

This development is controversial within the United States yoga community. Some practitioners object to the idea that Bikram can have exclusive control over a series of postures derived from traditional practices. Also, some object to the way Bikram conducts his business, and particularly to his stated plans to create a formal franchise of studios.

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