Atlas›Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical›Guide 141
Guide X-141

Hot yoga, including Bikram

Bikram Choudhury
A 32 · L 58 · M 1010 interventions in the Trinity explorer
Client cardCompare
[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: the fixed "26 postures and 2 breathing exercises" series publicised as Bikram Yoga, as a 26+2 lineage school (Ghosh Yoga) lists it, plus generic heated ("hot") yoga classes as studied by the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse research group for the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Bikram Choudhury's own organisation's current materials are not used; other branded hot-yoga styles are not described here [uncertain: their curricula not verified].

Hot yoga is a group exercise class in which yoga postures are practised in a deliberately heated, often humid room. In the Bikram format, a teacher talks the class through the same set sequence every time: a standing series opening with a breathing exercise, then a floor series, closing with a second breathing exercise [source: Ghosh Yoga, 26+2 Modifications]. Practitioners and studios attribute benefits such as flexibility, detoxification or spiritual effects to the heat and the series; these are claims of the schools, not established facts, and no hot-yoga class is a treatment for any physical disease [synthesis]. NCCIH describes yoga in general as "generally considered a safe form of physical activity" for healthy people, but says hot yoga "has special risks related to overheating and dehydration" and should be avoided in pregnancy [source: NCCIH, Yoga for Health eBook, 2024].

This is a teacher-delivered fitness and yoga practice, not a psychotherapy. A psychotherapist does not run heated classes as part of therapy. This guide is written for the psychotherapist working alongside clients who attend, or want to attend, hot yoga, and alongside their teachers and medical providers: screening, preparation, choosing a teacher, integrating experiences, and recognising harm [synthesis]. Because the Bikram brand is tied to documented abuse allegations and a coercive training culture, a harm account follows section 5.

2. Framework

How a class is structured (as schools publish it).

  • Bikram-style 26+2: a fixed order of postures, always the same, so students can memorise it. Ghosh Yoga lists a Standing Series beginning with Standing Deep Breathing and including Half Moon side bend, the Chair (awkward) postures, Eagle, Triangle, Tree and Toe Stand; and a Floor Series from Wind Removing through Cobra, the Locust variants, Bow, Firm and Fixed Firm, Camel, Rabbit, Forehead to Knee and Spinal Twist; closing with the Blowing breath [source: Ghosh Yoga, 26+2 Modifications]. The class is taught by spoken instruction ("the dialogue") that teachers memorise in training [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts, Bikram Part 2].
  • Generic hot yoga: studios vary the sequence; in the ACE-supported pregnancy study, participants practised a studio hot-yoga class that was cooler than Bikram's and encouraged drinking water [source: ACE, Safety of Hot Yoga for Pregnant Women, 2020].
  • Heat and session length are set by the studio. They are deliberately not given here as targets; the risk rises with heat load and time in the room (see Harm account) [source: ACE 2015 study].

Teacher-training routes and credentials.

  • Bikram's own route was a residential certification course of about nine weeks, run at hotels and resorts, with hundreds of trainees per session at its peak and high tuition [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Wikipedia, Bikram Choudhury]. Trainings by Choudhury continued outside the US (reported in India, Thailand, Mexico and Spain) after he left the country [source: Yoga Journal 2023; New Republic 2019].
  • 26+2 lineage schools independent of Choudhury, such as Ghosh Yoga, offer 200-hour and 300-hour trainings and a teacher-modifications manual by Ida Jo and Scott Lamps [source: Ghosh Yoga].
  • Yoga Alliance registers teachers and schools and runs a sexual-misconduct and grievance procedure; it states it lacks "the same authority or resources" as law enforcement [source: Yoga Alliance, Sexual Misconduct Policy]. Registration is a voluntary credential, not a government licence; no regulator licenses yoga teachers in most places [synthesis; uncertain: jurisdiction-specific rules not verified].

The psychotherapist's work, in phases [synthesis]:

  1. Screening and medical clearance before a client starts (or when you learn they attend). Move on once medical questions are answered by the client's own clinician and the client understands heat-illness warning signs.
  2. Preparation: trauma, dissociation, eating-disorder, body-image and compulsive-exercise considerations; choosing a studio and teacher; consent for hands-on assists.
  3. Ongoing integration: brief check-ins on how classes affect mood, body experience and relationships; watch for warning signs.
  4. Recognising harm and responding: heat illness, injury, coercive group dynamics, sexual misconduct; referral, reporting and support. Typical format: a few minutes inside ordinary sessions rather than a separate course; revisit at each change in health, pregnancy, medication or studio [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

  • Heat is the risk factor, not a bonus. Treat the heated room as a physical stressor that needs screening, not as evidence of a deeper practice [source: NCCIH 2024; ACE 2015].
  • Medical questions go to medical clinicians. You screen and refer; the client's physician or obstetric provider clears them [source: NCCIH 2024; ACE 2020].
  • Pregnancy defaults to no hot yoga. NCCIH says it should be avoided; a small ACE-supported study suggested otherwise for some women and left the decision to the woman and her obstetric provider. Present both, and defer to the obstetric provider [source: NCCIH 2024; ACE 2020].
  • Leaving, resting and drinking water are always allowed. Any class or teacher that discourages these is a red flag [source: ACE 2015 (Porcari quote: "Nothing is gained from withholding water in any setting."); 30 for 30 Podcasts].
  • Choice over compliance. The client decides what they do with their body; "trust the process" is not a reason to override pain, dizziness or a no [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts for the phrase; synthesis for the principle].
  • Touch only with explicit, ongoing consent and never sexual. Clients may decline or withdraw consent to assists at any time [source: USABP Code of Ethics VIII on consent and refusal of touch, applied by analogy; synthesis].
  • Attribute claims. Detox, spiritual or healing claims are the school's; you do not endorse them [synthesis].
  • Listen for the group, not only the body. Devotion to a teacher, isolation from family, and shaming of bodies are harms in their own right [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Salon 2019].
  • Stay within competence. If you hold no yoga-teacher training, you do not instruct postures; you collaborate with a qualified teacher [source: UKCP Code item 23; APA Code 2.01].

4. Intervention inventory

These are the psychotherapist's tasks around a client's hot-yoga practice. None of them involves teaching postures, setting room conditions or class length. Steps are [synthesis] unless a source is given.

4.1 Heat-safety and health screening

  • Purpose: catch people for whom a heated class carries extra risk, and route medical questions to the right clinician. Use when a client mentions starting hot yoga, or at intake if they already attend.
  • Steps: (1) Ask what style and studio they attend and whether the room is heated. (2) Ask about pregnancy or plans to conceive. (3) Ask about heart conditions, blood pressure, past fainting or heat illness, diabetes, kidney problems, low-sodium diets, recent illness, and any medicine the client's prescriber has said affects heat tolerance or hydration [source: Cheshire Medical Center/CDC on heart problems and low-sodium diets as risk markers; NCCIH 2024 on discussing needs with providers; uncertain: wider risk list not verified]. (4) Ask about alcohol use, eating restriction and purging, since dehydration and electrolyte loss add risk [synthesis]. (5) Ask about musculoskeletal problems; the most common yoga injuries are sprains and strains [source: NCCIH 2024]. (6) For any "yes", suggest the client discusses hot yoga with their physician before attending, and say so in your notes.
  • Example language (illustrative): "Before we talk about how the classes feel emotionally, can I ask a few health questions? Heated classes put extra load on the heart and on hydration, so it's worth checking with your doctor if any of these apply."
  • Watch for: minimising ("I'm used to it"); experienced, heat-acclimatised practitioners still reached high core temperatures in the ACE study [source: ACE 2015]. Working: the client has had the medical conversation and can name warning signs.

4.2 Pregnancy conversation

  • Purpose: give accurate, attributed information and defer to the obstetric provider.
  • Steps: (1) State NCCIH's position that hot yoga should be avoided in pregnancy, and that yoga in pregnancy needs evaluation by a health care provider first [source: NCCIH 2024]. (2) If the client cites research, note that a small observational ACE-supported study of nine women (four pregnant) found no pregnant participant passed the core-temperature threshold the authors linked to fetal risk, but the authors said the decision belongs to the woman and her obstetric care provider, that conditions such as high blood pressure or gestational diabetes may rule it out, and that the findings do not apply to Bikram-style classes [source: ACE 2020]. (3) Encourage the conversation with the obstetric provider; support whatever plan results.
  • Example language (illustrative): "The US government's integrative-health centre advises against hot yoga in pregnancy. There's one very small study that was more reassuring, but even its authors said this is a decision for you and your midwife or obstetrician."
  • Watch for: pressure from a studio or community to keep attending; anxiety or guilt about stopping. Working: the client has a plan agreed with their obstetric provider.

4.3 Heat-illness psychoeducation

  • Purpose: the client can recognise when to stop, and others in class can too. Use before a client starts and whenever they report symptoms.
  • Steps: (1) Explain the three levels as the CDC describes them: heat cramps (heavy sweating, muscle pain or spasms); heat exhaustion (heavy sweating, cold, pale, clammy skin, fast weak pulse, nausea or vomiting, weakness, headache, dizziness, fainting); heat stroke (high body temperature, hot red dry or damp skin, fast strong pulse, headache, dizziness, confusion, nausea, loss of consciousness) [source: Cheshire Medical Center, citing CDC]. (2) Explain first response: stop, get to a cooler place, cool with wet cloths, sip water for cramps or exhaustion; for heat stroke call emergency services immediately and do not give drinks [source: Cheshire Medical Center/CDC]. (3) Agree that the client will leave the room or lie down at the first sign, whatever the teacher says [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Dizziness, nausea, a pounding head or feeling confused aren't signs you're working hard enough. They're signs to stop and get cool. If someone becomes confused or collapses, that's an emergency call."
  • Watch for: beliefs that sweating, nausea or faintness are "detox" or progress; a studio that does not let people leave [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts]. Working: the client reports stopping or resting when unwell.

4.4 Choosing a studio and teacher

  • Purpose: help the client choose a setting that respects choice, safety and consent.
  • Steps: (1) Suggest asking the studio: can students rest, drink water and leave at any time? Are modifications offered for injuries and pregnancy? (Lineage schools publish modifications for each posture [source: Ghosh Yoga].) Are assists offered, and how is consent asked? Who is responsible for first aid? Is there a complaints route and a code of conduct? (2) Check whether the teacher or school is registered with Yoga Alliance or another body and whether that body has a misconduct procedure [source: Yoga Alliance]. (3) Ask whether the studio still promotes Choudhury or his events; the client can weigh that [source: Yoga Journal 2023]. (4) Encourage a trial class with permission to leave.
  • Example language (illustrative): "A good question for any studio is: 'If I need to sit down, drink or step out, is that fine?' How they answer tells you a lot."
  • Watch for: answers that frame rest or water as weakness; marketing that promises cures. Working: the client can describe the studio's safety and consent practices.

4.5 Consent to hands-on assists

  • Purpose: prepare clients, especially those with trauma histories, to say yes or no to touch. Bikram trainings are described as having a rule against touching in class, yet trainees described women massaging Choudhury's feet and brushing his hair, and lawsuits alleged sexual touching [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Oxygen 2019].
  • Steps: (1) Explain that consent should be asked before any touch and can be withdrawn at any moment; sexual touch is never acceptable [source: USABP Code VIII, by analogy; Yoga Alliance policy on non-consensual sexual touching]. (2) Rehearse a refusal phrase. (3) Discuss a visible signal if the studio uses consent cards or similar [uncertain: hot-yoga studios' use of these not verified]. (4) Agree that unwanted touch will be discussed in therapy.
  • Example language (illustrative): "You can say 'No adjustments for me, thanks' at the start, and change your mind at any point. You don't owe anyone an explanation."
  • Watch for: freezing or dissociation when approached; a teacher who touches without asking. Working: the client reports declining or accepting touch by choice.

4.6 Preparing clients with trauma, eating-disorder or body-image concerns

  • Purpose: anticipate triggers in a heated, body-focused, often mirrored and fixed-script setting [synthesis; uncertain: mirror use not verified].
  • Steps: (1) Explore what heat, sweat, close bodies and loud commands may evoke (panic, flashbacks, shame). (2) For eating disorders, discuss dehydration and weight-loss motives; if the disorder is active, liaise with the eating-disorder team before the client attends [synthesis]. (3) Plan grounding and exit strategies. (4) Note that trainees reported public mocking of bodies by Choudhury; ask whether the client hears body comments in class [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Salon 2019].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Some people find the heat and the mirror bring up a lot about their body. If that happens, I'd like us to talk about it here rather than you pushing through alone."
  • Watch for: dissociation, bingeing or restriction around classes, compulsive attendance. Working: the client keeps choice over attendance and reports stable or improved body experience.

4.7 Integration check-ins

  • Purpose: bring body experiences from class into therapy and spot benefit or harm early.
  • Steps: (1) Ask briefly, at intervals, what the client noticed in body, mood and thoughts during and after class. (2) Link observations to therapy goals (e.g. tolerating discomfort by choice, noticing limits). (3) Ask about the teacher's language and the group atmosphere. (4) Note any symptoms of heat illness or injury and revisit 4.1 and 4.3.
  • Example language (illustrative): "What did you notice in your body this week in class, and what did you do with it?"
  • Watch for: pride in ignoring pain or faintness; idealising the teacher; new isolation. Working: the client describes making choices in class and their mood or body experience is steady or better.

4.8 Screening for coercive group or training dynamics

  • Purpose: identify when a studio, community or teacher training has become controlling. Use if the client is a long-term practitioner, works in a studio, or is considering teacher training. (Risk flag: the Bikram training culture below.)
  • Steps: (1) Ask about rules restricting water, rest or leaving; rules about not questioning the teacher; pressure to cut off family or work during training; costs and debt; public comments on bodies; requests for personal services such as massages [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Salon 2019]. (2) Ask how complaints are handled and whether people who complained were punished; Yoga Alliance's policy names withholding certificates or expelling students as retaliation [source: Yoga Alliance]. (3) Reflect patterns back without forcing a conclusion.
  • Example language (illustrative): "When you think about questioning something in the training, what do you imagine would happen?"
  • Watch for: fear of losing certification or community; minimising phrases such as "that's just how he is" (trainees reported "that's just Bikram") [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts]. Working: the client can name concerns and weigh options freely.

4.9 Collaboration and referral

  • Purpose: coordinate with the client's physician, obstetric provider, physiotherapist or yoga teacher.
  • Steps: (1) With written consent, share relevant concerns (e.g. fainting, eating-disorder risk). (2) Ask a yoga teacher what modifications are available; lineage schools publish posture modifications and alternatives [source: Ghosh Yoga]. (3) Refer to medical care for injuries or heat symptoms; refer to a qualified yoga therapist or trauma-informed teacher if the client wants a gentler, unheated practice [synthesis]. (4) Keep your role clear: you do not prescribe exercise [source: UKCP item 23; APA 2.01].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Would it be all right if I let your GP know you've had dizzy spells in class, so they can advise you on it?"
  • Watch for: splitting between professionals; the client hiding symptoms. Working: medical advice is in place and the client follows it.

4.10 Responding to a disclosure of harassment or assault in a yoga setting

  • Purpose: respond safely when a client discloses sexual misconduct, assault or coercion by a teacher or studio owner.
  • Steps: (1) Listen, believe, and avoid pressuring for detail. (2) Assess immediate safety and any risk to others, including minors. (3) Explain options without steering: medical care, police, civil advice, and complaint routes such as Yoga Alliance's grievance procedure (only the person harmed, or a guardian for a minor, can report; reports within two years unless extended; no police report required) [source: Yoga Alliance]. (4) Know your own reporting duties (mandatory reporting for children and vulnerable adults where they apply) [synthesis; uncertain: varies by jurisdiction]. (5) Offer trauma-focused treatment as indicated (see Harm account).
  • Example language (illustrative): "Thank you for telling me. What happened was not your fault. We can go at your pace, and you decide what, if anything, you want to do about it."
  • Watch for: self-blame linked to devotion or to having "chosen" the teacher; fear of community backlash. Working: the client feels in control of next steps.

5. Handling problems

  • Client insists heat is safe because they are used to it. Share the ACE finding that regular, acclimatised practitioners still reached high core temperatures without noticing symptoms; ask them to discuss it with their doctor [source: ACE 2015]. Do not argue; leave the decision with the client and their physician [synthesis].
  • Client keeps attending while pregnant. Restate the NCCIH guidance and the ACE authors' view that the obstetric provider decides; support the client in having that conversation; avoid shame [source: NCCIH 2024; ACE 2020].
  • Overwhelm or panic in class. Plan an exit, grounding, and a cooler space; review triggers in therapy [synthesis]. Heat-related dizziness can mimic panic; if in doubt, treat as heat illness first [synthesis].
  • Compulsive attendance, weight control or self-punishment. Screen for eating disorders and compulsive exercise; involve the eating-disorder team; consider pausing heated classes in agreement with medical advice [synthesis].
  • Non-adherence to medical advice. Explore meaning (identity, community, fear of losing benefits); motivational interviewing style conversations [synthesis].
  • Idealisation of a teacher or the founder. Explore without attacking; many practitioners credit the method with real benefits, and some separate the practice from Choudhury [source: New Republic 2019]. Help the client separate the practice from the person and notice controlling dynamics [synthesis].
  • Rupture when you raise the abuse history. Clients may experience it as an attack on their community. Acknowledge their experience, give attributed facts, and return to their own goals [synthesis].
  • Client works or trains in a studio and fears retaliation for raising safety concerns. Validate; explore routes (employment advice, complaint bodies); note that Yoga Alliance treats retaliation as misconduct [source: Yoga Alliance; synthesis].
  • Injury. Refer for medical assessment; discuss returning only with medical and teacher input [source: NCCIH 2024 on sprains and strains; synthesis].

Harm account

Two separate harms are documented: physical heat stress in heated classes, and allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape against Bikram Choudhury together with a coercive teacher-training culture. Choudhury has denied all allegations; his spokesperson said he "totally refutes all the allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment" [source: Oxygen 2019] and later that he "was stitched up by a hate campaign" [source: Yoga Journal 2023]. Only one civil case reached a jury verdict; no criminal charges have been brought [source: Yoga Journal 2023].

What was actually done

Heat load in a standard Bikram class (research findings only). In 2015 a University of Wisconsin–La Crosse team (Emily Quandt, John Porcari, Jeff Steffen, Manny Felix, Carl Foster), sponsored by ACE, had 20 healthy, regular Bikram practitioners (7 men, 13 women, aged 28–67, all heat-acclimatised) swallow core-temperature sensors and wear heart-rate monitors during a standard studio Bikram class led by a certified instructor [source: ACE ProSource, May 2015]. Findings:

  • Core temperature rose steadily throughout the class for both sexes, whichever posture was being done.
  • Seven of the 20 exceeded 103°F; one man reached 104.1°F by the end of class. Average peak core temperature was 103.2°F for men and 102.0°F for women.
  • The article cites NATA and ACSM guidance that exertional heat illness and heat stroke can occur at 104°F.
  • No participant showed signs or symptoms of heat intolerance, despite these temperatures.
  • Heart rate averaged about 80% of predicted maximum in men and about 72% in women, with peaks higher still.
  • Lead author Quandt called the increases "alarming" and said heavy sweating did not seem to cool participants enough. The authors suggested shorter and cooler classes, free access to water (many classes allowed only one water break), modifications and resting postures, and less sweat-wiping, which reduces evaporative cooling. Porcari: "Nothing is gained from withholding water in any setting."
  • Limits: small sample, no link to specific postures [source: ACE 2015].

Teacher training as former trainees describe it. According to former trainees interviewed by Julia Lowrie Henderson for ESPN's 30 for 30 podcast (Season 3, "Bikram", Part 2) [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts]:

  • Trainings were residential, about nine weeks, at hotels and resorts (early ones at the Los Angeles headquarters), growing from about 30 trainees in 1994 to hundreds per session, with tuition reported up to about $16,000 (others report $10,000 or more) [source: 30 for 30; Salon 2019; Yoga Journal 2023].
  • Trainees took two heated classes a day plus lectures and clinics, and spent long hours memorising and reciting the class dialogue under critique.
  • Trainees described people fainting, vomiting and losing bladder control in class, and staff at the doors not letting people leave.
  • After dinner Choudhury gave long, rambling lectures that ran into the early morning, sometimes followed by films.
  • A welcome letter told trainees not to judge, argue or question, and to set aside outside distractions such as family and jobs; the mantra was "trust the process."
  • Trainees described Choudhury publicly mocking people's bodies, hair and appearance, including telling one woman she was fat in front of about 200 people; his behaviour was dismissed as "that's just Bikram."
  • Young women regularly massaged his feet and hands or brushed his hair, sometimes in front of trainees, despite his own no-touching rule in class; women outnumbered men and lined up to show him their practice and seek his approval.
  • Salon's review of the 2019 Netflix documentary adds that students were pressured to accept late-night massage requests that often became unwanted physical advances, and that his authority extended to students' spiritual lives [source: Salon 2019]. Journalist Benjamin Lorr, who completed the training, wrote about it in Hell-Bent [source: 30 for 30; uncertain: book details not verified].

Allegations and civil suits.

  • March 2013: Sarah Baughn, a Bikram teacher who had been in teacher training, filed the first public sexual-harassment suit; it alleged Choudhury trapped her in a hotel room and tried to force sexual contact, and she has described an unwanted incident in class [source: Wikipedia; Salon 2019; Oxygen 2019; Yoga Journal 2023].
  • May 2013: two lawsuits alleging rape were filed, with claims of sexual battery, false imprisonment, discrimination and harassment; by January 2014 five women were suing [source: Wikipedia, citing press reports]. Larissa Anderson alleged she was raped at his home; Jill Lawler also came forward; Mandeep Kaur Sandhu described violation in the Netflix documentary [source: Oxygen 2019; Yoga Journal 2023; New Republic 2019]. In all, seven women, six of them former students, filed civil suits alleging sexual assault, harassment, hostile work environment, wrongful termination or rape [source: Yoga Journal 2023].
  • Settlements: at least three suits settled out of court, including Baughn's and Anderson's; terms were not reported; the rest stayed pending after he left the US [source: Yoga Journal 2023; Oxygen 2019].
  • Minakshi (Micki) Jafa-Bodden, an attorney hired in 2011 as head of legal and international affairs for Bikram's Yoga College of India, began an internal investigation of student allegations; she says Choudhury dismissed her concerns and she was forced out in March 2013 [source: Yoga Journal 2023; Courthouse News 2016]. Her 2013 suit alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination, including a "hyper-sexualized, offensive and degrading environment for women" [source: Courthouse News 2016].
  • January 2016: a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found for Jafa-Bodden, awarding $924,500 compensatory damages and about $6.4 million punitive damages, about $7.3 million in all, finding malice, oppression and fraud [source: Courthouse News 2016]. Later reports put the unpaid judgment at about $6.5 to $6.7 million [source: AFP via Daily Maverick 2017; Courthouse News 2017]. It was the only suit to reach trial [source: Yoga Journal 2023].
  • May 2017: Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Edward Moreton issued a warrant for his arrest to enforce the unpaid judgment, with bail set at $8 million [source: LAist 2017; AFP via Daily Maverick 2017]. He had left the US by then: his lawyer said he was running teacher trainings in Acapulco, Mexico, after travelling to India, Thailand and Japan [source: AFP via Daily Maverick 2017]. In August 2017 a California appeals court dismissed his appeal, citing court records that he had left the US for Mexico to avoid the judgment [source: Courthouse News 2017]. He filed for bankruptcy in 2017 [source: Yoga Journal 2023; Oxygen 2019]. The Los Angeles District Attorney has not pursued criminal charges [source: Yoga Journal 2023; New Republic 2019].
  • 2019: Netflix released Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator, directed by Eva Orner [source: Salon 2019]. Choudhury continued teaching and training abroad (reported in India, Thailand, Mexico, Spain), and in February 2023 an event in Vancouver was promoted as "Boss is back!" [source: Yoga Journal 2023; New Republic 2019].

How it caused harm

  • Heat illness. In a hot, humid room the body takes on heat from the air and from muscle work, while sweat evaporates less well, so core temperature keeps rising; the ACE team found sweating did not seem to cool participants enough and core temperature climbed steadily through class [source: ACE 2015; mechanism partly synthesis]. The progression runs from heat cramps to heat exhaustion to heat stroke, which is a medical emergency [source: Cheshire Medical Center/CDC]. In the ACE study high core temperatures came without symptoms, so people may not feel warning signs in time [source: ACE 2015]. Fainting, vomiting and loss of bladder control were reported in trainings where people were not allowed to leave [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts]. Deaths or hospital case series linked to hot yoga [uncertain: not verified].
  • Who is most at risk from heat: people not yet acclimatised or poorly hydrated [source: ACE 2015]; pregnant people [source: NCCIH 2024]; people with heart problems or on low-sodium diets [source: Cheshire Medical Center/CDC]; men in the ACE sample reached higher core temperatures than women [source: ACE 2015]; people with eating disorders, alcohol use or illness [synthesis].
  • Musculoskeletal injury. Sprains and strains are the most common yoga injuries [source: NCCIH 2024]; pushing through pain because the teacher demands it raises risk [synthesis].
  • Sexual harassment and assault (alleged). Civil suits alleged harassment, sexual battery, false imprisonment and rape, and a jury found Choudhury liable to his former head of legal affairs for discrimination, harassment and retaliation [source: Wikipedia; Courthouse News 2016; Yoga Journal 2023]. Mechanism as reporters describe it: a guru's spiritual and professional authority, students' dependence on his approval for certification and careers, normalised personal services such as massages, and late-night access [source: Salon 2019; 30 for 30 Podcasts].
  • Coercion and humiliation. Rules against questioning, separation from family and work, public body-shaming, and blocking exits are described by trainees [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts]. Likely sequelae include trauma symptoms, shame and self-blame, body-image and eating problems, loss of community and livelihood, and financial strain from tuition [synthesis].
  • Retaliation and silencing. Jafa-Bodden says she was forced out after investigating complaints [source: Yoga Journal 2023]; followers' devotion and "that's just Bikram" kept behaviour unchallenged [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; New Republic 2019].
  • Most at risk of abuse: young women seeking his approval, trainees financially and emotionally invested in certification, and employees dependent on him [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Salon 2019].

Recognising it today

  • In a studio or class: no rest, water or leaving allowed; staff blocking doors; faintness, nausea or vomiting praised as detox or progress; teachers mocking bodies; hands-on assists without asking; promises of cures [source: ACE 2015; 30 for 30 Podcasts; synthesis].
  • In a teacher training or community: instructions not to question or judge; "trust the process" used to override distress; pressure to cut contact with family or work; late-night obligations; personal services for the leader (massage, hair-brushing); very high fees with certification controlled by one person; threats to withhold certificates; complainants pushed out [source: 30 for 30 Podcasts; Salon 2019; Yoga Alliance; Yoga Journal 2023].
  • Rebrandings: the same series may be taught under other names (e.g. "26+2"), often by teachers who have split from Choudhury; the name alone does not show whether a studio is safe [source: Ghosh Yoga; synthesis]. Events or trainings promoting Choudhury himself continue abroad [source: Yoga Journal 2023].
  • How legitimate versions differ: freely available water and rest, posture modifications and alternatives for injuries and conditions [source: Ghosh Yoga], explicit consent for touch, a published code of conduct and complaints route [source: Yoga Alliance], and teachers who welcome questions [synthesis].
  • In a colleague's practice: a therapist or yoga therapist who pressures clients into heated classes, frames heat symptoms as emotional release, or combines touch with therapy outside their code [source: USABP Code VIII; synthesis].

What to do instead and how to help those harmed

  • Safer alternatives: unheated yoga with a qualified teacher; for clients with trauma, a trauma-informed or trauma-sensitive yoga class or a yoga therapist, chosen with the questions in 4.4 [synthesis]. Medical clearance where health conditions apply; no hot yoga in pregnancy unless the obstetric provider agrees [source: NCCIH 2024; ACE 2020].
  • Heat emergencies: for confusion, collapse or very hot skin, call emergency services; move to a cooler place and cool with wet cloths; do not give drinks in suspected heat stroke [source: Cheshire Medical Center/CDC].
  • Assessment of clients harmed by abuse or coercion: a full trauma assessment (PTSD, depression, dissociation, substance use, eating disorders, suicide risk by standard practice); explore the relationship to the teacher and community, finances and work; check physical health after heat injury [synthesis].
  • Treatment: evidence-based trauma-focused therapy as indicated by current guidelines; space to grieve lost community and identity; address self-blame tied to devotion; let the client decide whether to keep practising yoga and in what form [synthesis].
  • Reporting and legal routes (client's choice): police for assault; civil legal advice; Yoga Alliance's grievance procedure for registered teachers or schools, which can suspend or revoke credentials (the person harmed must report, generally within two years; no police report required) [source: Yoga Alliance]; employment routes for staff [synthesis].
  • Your duties: confidentiality and its limits; mandatory reporting for children or vulnerable adults where law requires it [uncertain: varies by jurisdiction]; careful records; supervision; never sexual contact with clients [source: APA Code 10.05; UKCP item 4; BACP 2018 para 34].

Sources

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