Bikram Choudhury Yoga Inc files for bankruptcy in wake of sexual harassment claims

Bikram Choudhury, self proclaimed "yogi to the stars," signs his book in 2007 in New York
Bikram Choudhury, self proclaimed "yogi to the stars," signs his book in 2007 in New York

Bikram yoga’s founding company has filed for bankruptcy amid more than $16 million of debt following years of sexual harassment lawsuits against its founder, Bikram Choudhury.

Bikram yoga was, for a time, the most fashionable exercise among trendsetters. Practicioners went through a series of 26 poses in a studio heated to 40 degrees, and Mr Choudhury himself travelled the world promoting his company., styling himself as "yogi to the stars". 

But accusations of sexual harassment and assault began emerging in 2013, and many of the yoga studios that promoted themselves as offering Bikram yoga have now renamed the practise as hot yoga.

Bikram Choudhury Yoga Inc, a California-based company, filed the Chapter 11 documents on Thursday in Santa Barbara.

The whereabouts of India-born Mr Choudhury, 73, are unknown.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the company listed liabilities of $10 million to $50 million, with the biggest creditors being former employees.

The first lawsuits were filed in 2013, accusing him of rape, and claiming that he enforced a cult-like atmosphere of intimidation.

Yoga practitioners in New York City
Yoga practitioners in New York City

She said in a 2015 lawsuit that she was hired in 2013 as chief executive of Bikram’s Yoga College of India, and one of her main roles was to help Mr Choudhury in “navigating the avalanche of sexual harassment and sexual assault suits filed against him.”

In 2015, however, after she reported “even more acts of apparent sexual misconduct” by him during a business trip to New York and Atlantic City, he stopped paying her, breaching a written contract. She said she was essentially fired.

Two other women have claims for $8 million and more than $3 million, bankruptcy records show.

Mr Choudhury has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the allegations of sexual misconduct.

In May a judge in California issued an arrest warrant, stating that he had yet to pay any of the $6.8 million awarded last year to his former attorney, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, who alleges she was sexually harassed by Mr Choudhury and fired after investigating claims from a student that he had raped her.

Bikram Choudhury and his wife Rajashree at their home in Los Angeles in 2005. She filed for divorce in 2016
Bikram Choudhury and his wife Rajashree at their home in Los Angeles in 2005. She filed for divorce in 2016

“Bikram Choudhury created a hyper-sexualized, offensive and degrading environment for women by, among other things, demanding that female staffers brush his hair and give him massages,” said Ms Jafa-Bodden in her 2013 lawsuit.

She also accused him of pressuring her to cover up sexual harassment of women, and in a separate lawsuit filed this year, of fraudulently transferring assets such as luxury cars including a Ferrari and a Bentley to avoid paying judgments against him.

Her lawyer claimed that Mr Choudhury had a fleet of about 44 luxury cars in a warehouse in California.

“It was a pretty extraordinary collection,” said Aaron Osten.

He said Mr Choudhury tried to ship the cars and other property overseas, and tracked a number of vehicles in Florida and Nevada. Mr Osten said the legal team now has court orders in those states preventing him from moving property from warehouses.

“He has sufficient funds to satisfy the judgment,” said Mr Osten, including a $3 million diamond-encrusted watch he has previously flaunted.

“But he’d rather play this game and run fast and loose with this legal system.”

Speaking to CNN in 2015, Mr Choudhury repeatedly denied sexually assaulting anyone, saying he would never resort to physical aggression to have sex because he has so many offers.

“Women like me. Women love me,” he said. “So if I really wanted to involve the women, I don’t have to assault the women.”

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