Have Yoga Mat, Will Travel



New York Times, 31 january 2003, By SALLY McGRANE

"Opening at a rate of five a week, hundreds of certified Bikram studios are now operating across the United States. Others are in Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. Mr. Choudhury is in the process of franchising the Bikram's Yoga College of India brand.

Dropping in on a class is not difficult. ''One of the great things about Bikram is they've standardized it, so you know what you're getting anywhere you go,'' said John Minnick, 63, an accountant in San Diego who visits far-flung studios when he travels.

The standardization is part of Mr. Choudhury's vision, as he explained to me when I reached him at his Los Angeles headquarters for a telephone interview. ''If you want a 2002 Cadillac Eldorado,'' he said, ''it doesn't matter which dealership you go to -- you'll get exactly the same car.'' (Mr. Choudhury, who is often seen in one of his several Rolls-Royces, is fond of automobile metaphors.) To help ensure uniformity in the classes taught under his name, he has copyrighted not only his posture series but the dialogue that goes with it."

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Read about Bikram Yoga in:

Times Magazine
Washington Post
L.A. Times
Business Life
The Guardian (UK)
The Times (UK)
Korea Herald (KO)
China Daily (CI)
Elle (FR)
Liberation (FR)
L'Express (FR)