Court Awards $9 Million in Sexual Harassment Case Involving Yoga Guru Bikram Choudhury

At the age of 18, Jill Lawler joined Bikram’s Yoga Training Seminar and set out on her life’s dream of becoming a Bikram Yoga instructor. That dream turned into a nightmare when she was allegedly groomed in cultish environment. Specifically, Lawler was sexually assaulted and raped by a then 66-year-old Bikram Choudhury, who “took every advantage of his role, stature, and prestige,” according to her lawsuit. To this end, as the lawsuit alleged, Choudhury used his exhaustive teacher