A yoga founder ordered to pay $7.4m for sex harassment

A man who made an empire out of his high-heat brand of yoga has been ordered to pay well over $7 million to a former legal adviser who said he sexually harassed her, reports AP.

 

A Los Angeles jury ordered Bikram yoga founder Bikram Choudhury to pay $6.5 million in punitive damages Tuesday on top of $924,000 in compensatory he was ordered to pay in the same case a day earlier.

 

The woman, Minakshi "Miki" Jafa-Bodden, had said Choudhury sexually harassed her and wrongfully fired her for investigating another woman's rape allegation.

 

"This is a good day for women," Jafa-Bodden said in a statement following the verdict.

 

Choudhury's attorney, Robert Tafoya, did not return calls for comment Monday or Tuesday.

 

Jafa-Bodden worked as head of legal and international affairs at Choudhury's Los Angeles yoga school from spring 2011 until March 2013, when she said she was abruptly fired from her six-figure position for refusing to cover up an investigation into a rape allegation.

 

Choudhury, 69, has built an empire around Bikram yoga, a rigorous, 90-minute routine performed in a room that can reach more than 100 degrees. The technique is taught at more than 650 studios worldwide and has drawn a throng of devoted followers.

 

Choudhury contends he is now nearly bankrupt.