Born in Calcutta in 1946, Bikram began yoga at the age of four with India's
most-renowned physical culturist at that time, Bishnu Ghosh, the younger brother
of Paramahansa Yogananda (author of the most popular book on yoga, The
Autobiography of a Yogi, and founder of the Self- Realization
Fellowship in Los Angeles).
Bikram practiced Yoga at least four to six hours every day at Ghosh's College of
Physical Education in Calcutta. At the age of thirteen, he won the National India
Yoga Championship. He was undefeated for the following three years and retired
as the undisputed All-India National Yoga Champion.
At seventeen, an injury to his knee during a weight-lifting accident brought the
prediction from leading European doctors that he would never walk again. Not
accepting their pronouncement, he had himself carried back to Bishnu Ghosh's
school, for he knew that if anyone could help to heal his knee, it was his teacher.
Six months later, his knee had totally recovered. Ghosh was a celebrated
physical culturist and the first to scientifically document Yoga's ability to
cure chronic physical ailments and heal the body.
Bikram was asked by Ghosh to start several Yoga schools in India. The schools
were so successful that at Bishnu's request Bikram traveled to Japan and
opened two more. He has since brought his curative methods of
Yoga therapy around the world.
Bikram Yoga, the ORIGINAL HOT YOGA, is a unique 90-minute series of 26
postures, including 2 breathing exercises, performed in a specially heated room.
The Bikram series is intelligently designed to create optimal physical and emotional
health and is accessible to students of all ages and abilities. Every student may
experience health benefits as they balance and strengthen every
system of their body.