Bikram Choudhury began learning Hath Yoga poses in his native India at the age of three. At five, he began studying with Bishnu Ghosh (Paramahnsa Yogananda's brother) and quickly became a yoga champion. At age eleven, he was the youngest contestant to ever win the National India Yoga Competition. At 14, Swami Shivananda declared him "Yogi Raj" (King of the Yogis).

At age 20, a weightlifting accident crippled Bikram. With the guidance of his guru, Bikram created his 26 posture series, which restored his health. In a United Nations sponsored research project at Tokyo University, Bikram helped doctors prove that yoga regenerates tissues and cures chronic ailments. Combining Eastern discipline and Western medicine, Bikram perfected his comprehensive system, making it suitable for all ages and levels of fitness.

Bikram arrived in the United States in 1973 at the invitation of President Nixon and the urging of Shirley Maclaine. He quickly became the foremost yoga teacher in the West as celebrities, athletes, and others began to flock to him. Since that time, he has been healing thousands of students at his school in Beverly Hills. He also has traveled the world extensively, bringing the benefits of Bikram's Yoga to millions of students worldwide.

The benefits of his postures have been prove to help heal our western cultural problems of stress, knee injuries, asthma, insomnia, Type II Diabetes, and many other chronic ailments. For more information on Bikram or Bikram Yoga, click here.