Bikram Yoga founder fined $6 million in female harassment suit: media

The founder of Bikram yoga, the heated exercise and breathing routine that enjoys worldwide popularity, was ordered in the United States Tuesday to pay more than $6 million in damages for harassment.

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).