Bikram Choudhury built a hot-yoga empire on his ability to heal. And as filmmaker Eva Orner sees it, thatB次元官网网址檚 what makes the pain left in his wake so devastating.

The Australian directorB次元官网网址檚 Netflix documentary B次元官网网址淏ikram: Yogi, Guru, PredatorB次元官网网址� charts ChoudhuryB次元官网网址檚 rise and fall as the speedo-clad founder of the global Bikram Yoga franchise.

The documentary features interviews with some of the six women who have filed sexual-assault lawsuits against Choudhury since 2013, several alleging rape. Four of the cases have been settled, according to the documentary.

ChoudhuryB次元官网网址檚 lawyers have said he never sexually assaulted any of the women suing him and prosecutors had declined to bring charges in their cases. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

In a sense, Orner says the story isnB次元官网网址檛 about Choudhury, but the women who B次元官网网址渞isked everythingB次元官网网址� to speak out against him.

B次元官网网址淭his is a pre-#MeToo story in a post-#MeToo world,B次元官网网址� Orner said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. B次元官网网址淚 have so much admiration and respect for them, and I feel like this is their story and this is their film.B次元官网网址�

After emigrating from India, Choudhury became a pioneer of the burgeoning fitness scene in Los Angeles in the 1970s, said Orner, putting B次元官网网址測oga on the mapB次元官网网址� with his signature 26-pose sequence performed in rooms heated up to 38 C.

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Boosted by ChoudhuryB次元官网网址檚 self-mythology as B次元官网网址渢he bad boy of yoga,B次元官网网址� Bikram spawned hundreds of studios worldwide, counting several celebrities among its legions of followers.

Orner said the ascetic regimen also appealed to people who felt something in their lives needed fixing, whether it be a physical injury or lack of spiritual direction.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 also a lot of people that a predator would pick on, which is sort of weak people who need help,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t healed them, so then theyB次元官网网址檒l be beholden to him.B次元官网网址�

Many yogis paid $10,000 to learn from the master at training courses that were required to teach the technique or open a certified Bikram studio.

Held at hotels around the world, the weeks-long program pushed students to their limits, and some suffered exhaustion and dehydration from the non-stop exertion in the sweltering heat.

One former pupil in the film describes ChoudhuryB次元官网网址檚 persona as a B次元官网网址渃ross between Mother Teresa and Howard Stern,B次元官网网址� alternately serenading his disciples and berating them with obscenities and personal insults.

B次元官网网址淭he problem is that (gurus) are set up to be beyond human,B次元官网网址� said Orner. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e idolized. People want to do anything to get in their favour.B次元官网网址�

In her view, this power dynamic set the stage for what has become a familiar story in the #MeToo era.

B次元官网网址淲hat he did was he picked out these very young, vulnerable girls and went after them,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淧eople knew about it for a long time, and people didnB次元官网网址檛 speak.B次元官网网址�

In 2017, a California judge issued an arrest warrant for Choudhury after he was ordered to turn over business revenues to pay a $6.8-million judgment won by a former legal adviser in a sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit.

The award was won by Minakshi B次元官网网址淢ickiB次元官网网址� Jafa-Bodden, who claimed Choudhury sexually harassed her and wrongfully fired her for investigating another womanB次元官网网址檚 rape allegation.

While he appears to have fled the United States, Choudhury continues to hold teacher-training courses abroad, including a seminar in Spain earlier this year.

But the community he cultivated was shattered by the scandal, said Orner. Some factions have severed ties with Bikram to start their own yoga ventures, while others continue to teach under the guruB次元官网网址檚 banner.

Orner recalled an interview with a former teacher who believes ChoudhuryB次元官网网址檚 accusers, but through tears admitted that when the women first came forward, it felt like they were trying to B次元官网网址減ublicly annihilate my father.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 what a strong hold Bikram had on young, vulnerable people,B次元官网网址� Orner said. B次元官网网址淗e felt such a loss. He still feels it. His community was taken away from him.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淏ikram: Yogi, Guru, PredatorB次元官网网址� is now streaming on Netflix.

B次元官网网址� with files from The Associated Press

Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press

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