Why do hot yoga instructors and studios need to be certified to use the Bikram name?
The Bikram sequence of postures is copyrighted. Its instructors must complete a nine-week certification course that costs $6,600 per person. Hot yoga instructors who are trained and certified elsewhere can’t use the trademarked “Bikram” name. This all came about several years ago, when Bikram’s lawyers sent cease-and-desist letters warning yoga teachers in San Francisco that they could not teach Bikram yoga without certification. A group of yoga teachers sued Bikram over use of the name, but a federal judge declared the Bikram sequence as the yogi’s intellectual property. • What are the differences between Bikram and other kinds of hot yoga? The Bikram yoga sequence is done the same way in every class. It’s physically challenging and feels a bit like unorthodox calisthenics. “It feels more like a strenuous workout than other yoga,” said Shawn Preisler, 31, who recently started taking Bikram classes. “You are definitely getting cardio and you feel more flexible.” With other hot yoga cla
