A multi-millionaire Indian yoga guru in the US is suing his former student for over a million dollars for copying his unique 'Bikram Yoga' style of exercises that involve workouts in a 105 degree-fahrenheit room.
Kolkata-born Bikram Choudhury is the founder of 'Bikram Yoga' and has copyrighted his unique hot yoga classes. In the lawsuit filed in a California court for copyright infringement, Choudhury, 65 is seeking monetary damages in excess of a million dollars and asking a federal judge to block 'Yoga to the People', founded by his old student Greg Gumucio, from offering similar hot yoga classes.
Choudhury has alleged in the lawsuit that Gumucio's yoga studios offer a 'Traditional Hot Yoga' class that is identical to his 'Bikram Yoga', which is a 26 posture sequence practiced in a 105 degree (40 degree Celsius) 'Torture Chamber'.
"The hot yoga class is taught in the same ambient environment as Bikram Yoga in order to give students the impression that the class offers the same experience and benefits a student would have at a Bikram Yoga studio," the 25-page lawsuit says.
In the lawsuit, Choudhary says that Gumucio had entered into an agreement with him that prohibited him from using the Bikram Yoga brand name and trademark in any form and teaching his style of yoga to others.
It costs USD 10,000 per teacher to be certified as a Bikram instructor, according to the lawsuit. While a Bikram Yoga class costs USD 25, Gumucio's chain of yoga studios charges eight dollars for the class.