In short: Bikram yoga is a specific hot yoga method: the same series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises, in the same order, for about 90 minutes in a room held at about 40°C (104°F) with around 40 percent humidity. It was developed by Bikram Choudhury in the early 1970s. “Hot yoga” is the wider category; Bikram is one fixed sequence within it.
Bikram yoga is easy to recognize once you have taken a class: the same postures every time, usually a mirrored wall, a teacher speaking a set script and a very warm room. This guide explains where the method came from, how a standard class runs, how it differs from other heated classes, what the research says about its intensity, and who should be careful. It also covers, factually, the legal cases involving its founder, because many students want to know about them before choosing a studio.
What is Bikram yoga?
Bikram yoga is a modern method, not an ancient tradition. Its core is a sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises arranged in a particular order, which Bikram Choudhury described in his book Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class (dated 1979 in the Ninth Circuit’s 2015 opinion). Students and researchers often call it “26 and 2.” A 2025 systematic review of hot yoga research describes it as a 90-minute class with 26 fixed postures and two breathing exercises, repeated twice per session, in hot conditions of about 40°C and 40 percent relative humidity, and dates its development to the early 1970s.
The postures themselves draw on the wider repertoire of modern postural yoga; Bikram’s contribution was the fixed selection, the order, the heat and a standard spoken instruction. For how postural practice grew out of older Hatha yoga, see our history of yoga.
Bikram vs hot yoga
This is the most common question about Bikram, and the answer is simple: every Bikram class is a hot yoga class, but most hot yoga classes are not Bikram.
| Bikram yoga | Hot yoga (general) | |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | One specific method | A format: any style in a heated room |
| Sequence | The same 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises, in the same order | Chosen by the teacher; often a vinyasa flow |
| Room | About 40°C (104°F), about 40 percent humidity | Varies by studio, from warm to about 40°C |
| Length | About 90 minutes | Usually shorter |
| Instruction | A standard spoken script | The teacher’s own cues, often with music |
Some studios teach the 26-posture series under names such as “hot 26” or simply “hot yoga.” The reason is partly legal: Choudhury tried to stop others teaching the sequence by claiming copyright, and lost. Our guide to hot yoga covers the wider category, including heated flow classes.
Can a yoga sequence be copyrighted?
Choudhury registered his book with the U.S. Copyright Office and later registered the “compilation of exercises” in it. In 2012 the Copyright Office stated that a selection and arrangement of exercises such as yoga poses, offered as a way to improve health or physical or mental condition, is a functional system or process that copyright does not cover, and that earlier registrations of such compilations had been issued in error.
In 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed in Bikram’s Yoga College of India v. Evolation Yoga. The court held that the sequence was not protected by copyright: Choudhury had presented it as a system for producing physical benefits and well-being, and under copyright law a system or process is not protected, however original. The practical result: studios may teach the sequence without a license from Choudhury.
How a Bikram class runs
A 2019 study that used standard Bikram classes summarized the structure like this:
- Standing breathing. The class opens with a standing pranayama (deep breathing) exercise.
- Standing series, about 45 to 50 minutes. A run of standing and balancing postures, done in the same order every class.
- A two-minute rest lying in savasana, the corpse pose.
- Floor series, about 35 to 40 minutes. Postures on the floor, with a 20-second savasana between each one.
- Closing breath and rest. The class finishes with a seated Kapalabhati breathing exercise (quick, strong exhalations) and a final savasana.
Because the sequence never changes, regular students learn it by heart and can measure their practice against the same postures week after week. People who like that predictability often love Bikram; people who prefer variety usually move to a heated vinyasa class instead.
A note on the breathing: Kapalabhati is a forceful breathing technique. In the Hatha yoga tradition it is listed among cleansing practices, and it is not suitable for everyone. Read our guide before trying it at home, and if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure or heart problems, or feel dizzy, breathe normally instead. Our pranayama guide explains the difference between gentle and vigorous breathing practices.
How hard is Bikram yoga?
Harder than it looks, mainly because of the heat. In a laboratory study of a standard 90-minute class, every posture counted as light to moderate exercise by American College of Sports Medicine standards, and participants burned an average of about 286 calories, well below the 1,000 calories sometimes claimed. Heart rate tells a different story: experienced practitioners reached about 86 percent of their predicted maximum heart rate on average, and in a separate study of 16 regular practitioners the average heart rate across a class was about 127 beats per minute, peaking near 168.
So the muscles are working at a moderate level while the heart and cooling system work hard. We class Bikram as vigorous because of that heat load. It can suit fit beginners, but it is a lot to take on as a first ever yoga class.
What the research says about benefits
Bikram is the most studied kind of hot yoga: it made up 74 percent of the studies in the 2025 systematic review. That review found that regular hot yoga practice appeared to bring some changes in flexibility, balance and markers of heart and metabolic health, with promising but inconclusive results for mood. It also noted that a number of studies were small or not rigorously designed, and that case reports describe people becoming ill after hot classes. In short, there is some encouraging evidence, but Bikram yoga is a form of exercise, not a treatment. The book’s claims about what the sequence does inside the body were described by the court as the author’s own claims; they have not been shown by research.
Cautions: heat, health and pregnancy
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that hot yoga carries special risks of overheating and dehydration, and both it and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advise avoiding hot yoga in pregnancy. Check with your doctor first if you are pregnant, have a heart or blood pressure condition, diabetes, a heat-sensitive condition such as multiple sclerosis, a history of fainting or heat illness, or take medicines that affect heart rate, sweating or fluid balance.
In class:
- Drink water through the day beforehand and bring water with you.
- Take the 20-second rests seriously; lie down for longer whenever you need to.
- Leave the room if you feel dizzy, nauseous, confused or unusually exhausted. MedlinePlus lists dizziness, nausea and confusion among the signs of heat stroke, which needs medical help right away.
- Ease into deep backbends such as camel and forward folds; you don’t have to match the person next to you.
The founder and the court cases
You will find Bikram yoga taught in independent studios around the world, and many of them have no connection with Bikram Choudhury beyond the sequence. It is still fair for students to know the public record about him.
In 2016 a Los Angeles County jury found Choudhury liable in a lawsuit brought by his former head of legal affairs, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, who alleged that he sexually harassed her and that she was fired after she began investigating claims that he had raped a yoga student. The jury awarded her more than $924,500 in compensatory damages and $6.4 million in punitive damages, finding that he acted with malice, oppression and fraud; Choudhury denied the allegations. The Los Angeles Times reported that six other women had filed civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. According to The Guardian, he has not faced criminal charges, and he left the United States without paying the damages. A 2019 Netflix documentary, Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator, presents former students’ accounts.
He continues to run teacher trainings outside the United States; his organization’s website advertises a nine-week training in Thailand in 2026. If this history matters to you, ask a studio whether it is affiliated with him, or look for studios that teach the same series under another name. Yoga’s own ethical teachings, the yamas, put non-harming first; it is reasonable to expect that of teachers and schools.
What to bring and how to start
- A mat with grip and a large towel to lay over it; see our yoga mat guide.
- Light, close-fitting clothes that dry fast; our yoga clothing guide covers hot classes.
- Plenty of water and a change of clothes.
- Arrive early for your first class, tell the teacher you are new and take a spot near the door.
If you are brand new to yoga, a short unheated class can teach you the basics first; our guide to yoga for beginners explains how to start. If you love the heat but want variety, try a heated flow class; if you want the opposite, slow and cool, try yin yoga.
Bikram on retreat
Few retreats are built around the Bikram series, because it needs a heated, enclosed room. If heat-based practice is part of what you want from a trip, our guide on how to choose a yoga retreat lists the questions to ask about class style, room and teacher training before you book.
