Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury is the founder of the
worldwide Yoga College of India. Born in Calcutta fifty-two years
ago, Bikram began Yoga at the age of four with Bishnu Ghosh, brother
of Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi, founder of the
Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles). Bikram practiced Yoga
four to six hours a day with six thousand other students at Ghosh's
College of Physical Education in Calcutta; and at the age of thirteen,
he won the National India Yoga contest. He was undefeated for three
years.
At seventeen, an injury to his knee brought the prediction
from leading European doctors that he would never walk again. Not
accepting their pronouncement, 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 cure chronic physical ailments and heal
the body. Bikram was asked by Ghosh to start several Yoga schools
in India.
There Bikram came into his own. 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.
