Bikram History

Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury is the founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India. Born in Calcutta in 1946, Bikram began Yoga at the age of four with India's most-renowned physical culturist at that time, Bishnu Ghosh.

Bikram practiced Yoga at least four to six hours every day at Ghosh's College of Physical Education in Calcutta. At the age of thirteen, he won the National India Yoga Championship. He was undefeated for the following three years and retired as the undisputed All-India National Yoga Champion.

At seventeen, Bikram injured his knee and was told that he may never walk again. Not accepting this fate, he had himself carried back to Bishnu Ghosh's school, for he knew that if anyone could help to heal his knee, it was his teacher. Six months later, his knee had totally recovered.

Ghosh was a celebrated physical culturist and the first to scientifically document Yoga's ability to heal the body and cure chronic physical ailments. Bikram was asked by Ghosh to start several Yoga schools in India. The schools were so successful, that at Bishnu's request, Bikram traveled to Japan and opened two more. He has since brought his curative methods of Yoga therapy around the world.