Bikram Choudhury teaches yoga and is founder of Bikram’s Yoga College of India. The question is – is Choudhury ethical? Now, I must admit that I have never practiced Yoga. However, I do know many people who find Yoga to be challenging and beneficial for their health. It is not my call to make in terms of a “physical fitness” or “body awareness” sense. Yoga is not in question here.
Bikram Choudhury Yoga
Bikram is the one in question.
Bikram Yoga is practiced in a hot room; sort of like a sauna. There are 26 poses. Those who practice it are scantily clad and sweat profusely. I am again, not judging, but little red flags start to pop up in my mind.
In an article by Dana Ford for CNN (February 26, 2015), we learn that Choudhury has been accused by six different women of sexual assault and rape.
Mary Shea is the lawyer who represents all six of the women.
“It’s human nature,” she said. “People are always looking for spiritual leaders. When you have traditional churches failing and people are looking for spiritual guidance, it is not surprising that people are going to different arenas. He [Choudury] told them [the women] he is on the same level as Jesus Christ and Buddha.”
For his part, Choudhury dismisses the claims as nothing more than exploitation and an attempt for the women to have financial gain.
The women making the accusations said they fell victim to his advances when they paid him thousands of dollars each to go through Bikram teacher training. Bikram Yoga promises practitioners that it will heal them in body and mind. In the case of one of the women, there was a history of prior sexual assault. She came to Choudhury to heal and instead, she was sexually assaulted again.
Everything is alleged
Everything in this case is alleged, of course, but it reflects so many other cases we have heard of in the past several years. Politicians, church leaders, military leaders, educators, actors, coaches and professional athletes have all been accused of using their power, celebrity and “magnetism” to take advantage of vulnerable women and children.
That Choudhury is delusional should not be in question. For him to convince young women that he is on the same level as Jesus Christ or Buddha was and is irresponsible to say the least. Nevertheless, I don’t want to turn this into a religious discussion rather, it is the thought that young people – especially, are so bereft of positive role models that they would elevate a Yoga instructor to such a level.
There is a whole other side to this discussion that must be addressed; Choudhury himself. Choudhury is not so much a specific person in the largest, ethical sense as he is typical of anyone who sees an opportunity and takes advantage of that opportunity. He can do so because there are no checks or balances in place that would dictate his limits.
The women in question said they felt “powerless” to resist him because of his power. He is no different than a female teacher or a male coach who sexually exploits teenaged boys or an athlete who rapes young women. There are however, much more established legal boundaries in those other cases. Teachers, coaches and athletes are people in positions of trust.
The women whom the Yogi abused paid him $10,000 for a “certification course.” They were already vulnerable when he made his advances. They would have lost their money and their chance for certification had they resisted him. They fell victim to his trap.
We live in an age
We must again return to a point raised earlier. Why would anyone feel so powerless in the presence of someone they consider “like a Jesus or Buddha?” How was that mindset allowed to develop? In a few decades, this obscure Yoga teacher elevated himself to his own mythic proportion, and students were more than happy to give up themselves to that myth.
I fear that part of the problem is societal and it is difficult to say where this will end. We need positive role models and we need them now.
Someone, somewhere should have turned to these young women and asked: “Just who is this guy, and why are you buying what he has for sale?”
Unfortunately, no one asked.