Bikram Yoga Founder Ordered To Pay Nearly $1 Million In Sexual Harassment Suit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The founder of the Bikram yoga practice was ordered to pay $924,500 on Monday to a former legal adviser who said she was fired for investigating sexual misconduct charges against her employer, media reported.

Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, the former personal attorney of celebrity yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, was awarded compensatory damages by a Los Angeles jury for claims of discrimination, retaliation and of suffering sexual harassment herself, The Los Angeles Times reported.

During the trial, Choudhury had dismissed the accusations and said Jafa-Bodden was let go because she did not have a license to practice law in the United States, the Times and other media reported.

Choudhury published a book in 1979 with descriptions, photographs and drawings of his signature 26 postures and two breathing exercises yoga sequence, which is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

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