Yoga master in court battle over positions

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Yoga master in court battle over positions

Monday February 9 2004 10:49 IST

Reuters

 

SAN FRANCISCO: Yoga master Bikram Choudhury is bent out of shape.

 

The eccentric Calcutta-born yogi who popularized the form of yoga

known as "Bikram" is being sued over his claims that he owns the

copyright to a 26-posture series used in the practice, which is done

in a heated room.

 

The suit could eventually set a precedent in an industry noted for

its openness and lack of standards. For now, it is kicking up a fuss

among yoga practitioners.

 

Bikram is a fast-growing yoga style made trendy by celebrities and

others attracted to its health benefits and spiritual leanings.

 

Choudhury, who is in his late 50s, has sent cease and desist letters

to more than 100 Bikram yoga schools and teachers, accusing them of

violating his copyright and trademark by employing instructors that

weren't trained by him and deviating from his strict teachings,

according to James Harrison, a lawyer for the Open Source Yoga

Unity.

 

In response, the Open Source Yoga Unity, a non-profit collective

whose members live in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Rhode

Island and Canada, has sued the Choudhury in San Francisco federal

court.

 

The suit asks the court to rule that his copyright and trademark

claims are unenforceable because his series of poses stem from

postures that have been in public use for centuries.

 

"No one can own a style of yoga," Harrison told Reuters on Thursday.

 

Choudhury was preparing for a trip and unable to comment, according

to a receptionist at his Los Angeles yoga school. One of his

attorneys declined to comment and another did not return a phone

call.

 

Lawyers for the two sides met in a court-ordered mediation

conference on Wednesday but did not reach a settlement, Harrison

said. A trial is scheduled for February 2005.

 

While some Bikram instructors have been forced to stop teaching the

technique, others remain loyal to their yogi.

 

"All he is asking is that they teach (Bikram yoga) honestly and

purely, and that's not too much to ask," said Lynn Whitlow, co-owner

of Funky Door Yoga in the bay area. "If you want to change it, don't

call it 'Bikram.'" Nora Isaacs, a senior editor at Berkeley-based

Yoga Journal, said her group wasn't taking an official stance.

 

"If he does win, the question is what does that mean for the future

of yoga?" Isaacs said. "If he asserts copyright, will other schools

follow?"

 

Choudhury has become rich selling books and videos, teaching

workshops that cost $5,000 and collecting franchise fees from the

hundreds of studios worldwide that teach Bikram yoga.