He has convinced devotees from Hollywood stars to U.S. presidents that yoga should be performed in very hot temperatures by very sweaty students. But Sarah Baughn has claimed she knows from bitter experience that multi-millionaire guru Bikram Choudhury can become fired up in a very different way. The pretty 24-year-old alleges he pursued her for years and had implored fellow attendees at one of his training camps in 2008 not to leave her alone with him. Fired up: Sarah Baughn, right, has accused the millionaire founder of 'hot' yoga Bikram Choudhury of sexual offences and is suing him . But one night when, as usual, they all had to stay up with Choudhury and watch his favourite Bollywood films, she nodded off. She says she awoke to find her friends disappearing out of the door. 'I grabbed my shoes and the door went click. I remember the click,' she says. 'I ran to the door. When I got to the door, he was on me. He was all over me.' She is one of four former students suing Choudhury, accusing him of sexual offences - rape in the case of three of the women. They claim the internationally renowned founder of Bikram, or 'hot', yoga took advantage of the 'cult-like' atmosphere in which they say he holds sway over his acolytes. Bikram denies the allegations and has described the charges as 'false'. As yet, no court date has been set when he will defend his name. The women claim most of the alleged abuse took place at one of Choudhury's twice-yearly teacher-training retreats, which are compulsory for anyone who wants to teach Bikram yoga. 'Cult-like' atmosphere: Devotees pay nearly £8,000 for a nine-week boot camp with Choudhury, who has compared himself to Jesus, Buddha and Superman . Devotees pay nearly £8,000 for a nine-week boot camp, staying at a California hotel and undergoing a regimen so gruelling that some people vomit, break down in tears or pass out. On top of that, they have to listen to rambling monologues from the man who, at 67, conducts classes wearing tight black Speedo swimming trunks and a jewel-encrusted Rolex watch. Bikram yoga consists of a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in a precise sequence for 90 minutes in a room heated to 105f. Choudhury, who says he saw the benefit of intense heat while teaching in his native Calcutta, maintains his yoga can even cure cancer and Parkinson's disease. The yogi, who claims to have been invited to the U.S. in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to help him improve his health, says he has even taught Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Star fans of his form of yoga include Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Murray, David Beckham and Lady Gaga. His global empire (more than 600 yoga schools in 220 countries) has made Choudhury a multi-millionaire, and a very flamboyant one at that. Misogynistic: Choudhury's former legal adviser claims the guru routinely referred to women as 'bitches' No loin cloth and bed of nails for him. He lives in a gaudy, 8,000 sq ft Beverly Hills mansion and owns dozens of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. The diminutive yogi's sartorial taste is pure Bollywood:  tailor-made white leather  suits, industrial quantities of bling and an obligatory entourage of stunning girls in  skin-tight clothes. Witnesses say he only needs to enter a room and his acolytes will bow down and put their hands together in prayer. Miss Baughn started Bikram yoga in 2004 and, according to her lawsuit, was initially flattered by Choudhury's attentions (he told her they knew each other in a past life). He pursued her for years, eventually sabotaging her yoga career by discouraging studios from hiring her after she rejected him, she claims. On the night of their final encounter after the film screening, he pinned her against the door and groped her, she says. She escaped, but others, it is claimed, were not so fortunate. Larissa Anderson, from Washington state, started Bikram yoga when she was 22 and became close to Choudhury because her boyfriend was one of his chief disciples. In her own lawsuit, she claims that one night after dinner, when Choudhury's wife and business partner Rajashree had gone to bed, he tried to kiss her. She rebuffed him but claims he raped her, causing her to go into 'trauma shock' and simply freeze, unable to cry for help. She says she was terrified that her 'life would be over' if she left Choudhury's close-knit community, so she remained but tried to keep her distance from him. In 2011, she finally left the community after claiming he assaulted her again, this time trapping her against a wall as he pressed his body into hers. He got his revenge for her departure, she says, by refusing to recognise her studio as part of the Bikram movement. Two other women, identified in court papers simply as Jane Doe 1 and 2, have made similar accusations against Choudhury. Jane Doe 1 alleges that, during teacher-training in 2011, he told her he had a 'gift' for her because they 'thought the same' and she had been 'touched by God'. One morning, when she was performing her assigned task of cleaning his hotel suite, he surprised her and forced her on to the bed, she claims. As she told him to stop, he repeatedly called her 'idiot'. She then makes an allegation that Bikram forced her to perform oral sex and raped her. The woman said she had invested everything, financially and mentally, in becoming a Bikram teacher and couldn't afford to leave his community. Pure Bollywood: The yogi, pictured with his wife Rajashree, left, enjoys tailor-made white leather suits and industrial quantities of bling . She says he attacked her again in his room days later and 'remembers feeling that his sexual assaults were incestuous'. She eventually left with money lent by her mother and reported him to police three weeks after Miss Baughn filed her lawsuit. Jane Doe 2 was 21 when her boyfriend paid for her to attend a training retreat in 2010. When Choudhury started making sexual innuendos, she says she was offended but didn't want to waste her boyfriend's hard-earned money by dropping out. She claims she rebuffed Choudhury's repeated attempts to seduce her until one night, as trainees sat through one of the mandatory Bollywood film screenings (anyone who fell asleep was shaken awake by staff), he asked her to come up to his room to discuss her career. 'Don't worry, we won't be alone,' he allegedly told her. Accuser: 24-year-old Sarah Baughn was once an acolyte of Choudhury's but is now taking action against him . Too late, she discovered he was lying and started to walk out. He implored her to stay, saying he needed to 'spiritually enlighten' her, but to do that, they needed 'to become one', she says. The woman alleges he then raped her, even as she pleaded with him to stop. She says she considered going to police immediately, but her room-mate persuaded her to stay in training. The day after the attack, she says Choudhury regaled his class with a story about how women would rape him when he first moved to the U.S. She ran out of the tent in tears. Additional lawsuit: Larissa Anderson says the yogi raped her . She says Choudhury later insisted she sit next to him and his wife at her graduation dinner, taking her aside afterwards and warning her in no uncertain terms against crossing him. Inevitably, questions have been asked as to why these women stayed in the community. 'What did you think would happen in his hotel room? You think he was going to help you with your standing-bow pose?' asked a Bikram teacher who suggested the women used sex to get what they wanted. But the yogi's woes are piling up. Choudhury is also being sued by his former legal adviser, Minakshi Jaffa-Bodden, who claims he threatened to have her deported after she insisted on investigating  the allegations. She claims Choudhury is homophobic, racist and misogynistic, routinely referring to women as 'bitches'. Neither Choudhury nor any of his official representatives have commented on the latest accusations, though in March he responded to one of the first lawsuits by saying he was 'disappointed by the false charges'. Devotees say he has a superhuman ability to understand their past and see their future, and he has compared himself to Jesus Christ, Buddha and Superman. Whether Bikram's Karma - good or otherwise - will be much use in a court of law, however, remains to be seen.
Bikram Choudhury founded 'hot' yoga, where practitioners assume a series of poses in 105f rooms .
Fans of Bikram yoga include George Clooney, Lady Gaga, David Beckham .
But several women accuse the yogi of sexual offences against them .
Choudhury denies the allegations .
He has convinced devotees from Hollywood stars to U.S. presidents that yoga should be performed in very hot temperatures by very sweaty students. But Sarah Baughn has claimed she knows from bitter experience that multi-millionaire guru Bikram Choudhury can become fired up in a very different way. The pretty 24-year-old alleges he pursued her for years and had implored fellow attendees at one of his training camps in 2008 not to leave her alone with him. Fired up: Sarah Baughn, right, has accused the millionaire founder of 'hot' yoga Bikram Choudhury of sexual offences and is suing him . But one night when, as usual, they all had to stay up with Choudhury and watch his favourite Bollywood films, she nodded off. She says she awoke to find her friends disappearing out of the door. 'I grabbed my shoes and the door went click. I remember the click,' she says. 'I ran to the door. When I got to the door, he was on me. He was all over me.' She is one of four former students suing Choudhury, accusing him of sexual offences - rape in the case of three of the women. They claim the internationally renowned founder of Bikram, or 'hot', yoga took advantage of the 'cult-like' atmosphere in which they say he holds sway over his acolytes. Bikram denies the allegations and has described the charges as 'false'. As yet, no court date has been set when he will defend his name. The women claim most of the alleged abuse took place at one of Choudhury's twice-yearly teacher-training retreats, which are compulsory for anyone who wants to teach Bikram yoga. 'Cult-like' atmosphere: Devotees pay nearly £8,000 for a nine-week boot camp with Choudhury, who has compared himself to Jesus, Buddha and Superman . Devotees pay nearly £8,000 for a nine-week boot camp, staying at a California hotel and undergoing a regimen so gruelling that some people vomit, break down in tears or pass out. On top of that, they have to listen to rambling monologues from the man who, at 67, conducts classes wearing tight black Speedo swimming trunks and a jewel-encrusted Rolex watch. Bikram yoga consists of a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in a precise sequence for 90 minutes in a room heated to 105f. Choudhury, who says he saw the benefit of intense heat while teaching in his native Calcutta, maintains his yoga can even cure cancer and Parkinson's disease. The yogi, who claims to have been invited to the U.S. in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to help him improve his health, says he has even taught Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Star fans of his form of yoga include Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Murray, David Beckham and Lady Gaga. His global empire (more than 600 yoga schools in 220 countries) has made Choudhury a multi-millionaire, and a very flamboyant one at that. Misogynistic: Choudhury's former legal adviser claims the guru routinely referred to women as 'bitches' No loin cloth and bed of nails for him. He lives in a gaudy, 8,000 sq ft Beverly Hills mansion and owns dozens of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. The diminutive yogi's sartorial taste is pure Bollywood:  tailor-made white leather suits, industrial quantities of bling and an obligatory entourage of stunning girls in skin-tight clothes. Witnesses say he only needs to enter a room and his acolytes will bow down and put their hands together in prayer. Miss Baughn started Bikram yoga in 2004 and, according to her lawsuit, was initially flattered by Choudhury's attentions (he told her they knew each other in a past life). He pursued her for years, eventually sabotaging her yoga career by discouraging studios from hiring her after she rejected him, she claims. On the night of their final encounter after the film screening, he pinned her against the door and groped her, she says. She escaped, but others, it is claimed, were not so fortunate. Larissa Anderson, from Washington state, started Bikram yoga when she was 22 and became close to Choudhury because her boyfriend was one of his chief disciples. In her own lawsuit, she claims that one night after dinner, when Choudhury's wife and business partner Rajashree had gone to bed, he tried to kiss her. She rebuffed him but claims he raped her, causing her to go into 'trauma shock' and simply freeze, unable to cry for help. She says she was terrified that her 'life would be over' if she left Choudhury's close-knit community, so she remained but tried to keep her distance from him. In 2011, she finally left the community after claiming he assaulted her again, this time trapping her against a wall as he pressed his body into hers. He got his revenge for her departure, she says, by refusing to recognise her studio as part of the Bikram movement. Two other women, identified in court papers simply as Jane Doe 1 and 2, have made similar accusations against Choudhury. Jane Doe 1 alleges that, during teacher-training in 2011, he told her he had a 'gift' for her because they 'thought the same' and she had been 'touched by God'. One morning, when she was performing her assigned task of cleaning his hotel suite, he surprised her and forced her on to the bed, she claims. As she told him to stop, he repeatedly called her 'idiot'. She then makes an allegation that Bikram forced her to perform oral sex and raped her. The woman said she had invested everything, financially and mentally, in becoming a Bikram teacher and couldn't afford to leave his community. Pure Bollywood: The yogi, pictured with his wife Rajashree, left, enjoys tailor-made white leather suits and industrial quantities of bling . She says he attacked her again in his room days later and 'remembers feeling that his sexual assaults were incestuous'. She eventually left with money lent by her mother and reported him to police three weeks after Miss Baughn filed her lawsuit. Jane Doe 2 was 21 when her boyfriend paid for her to attend a training retreat in 2010. When Choudhury started making sexual innuendos, she says she was offended but didn't want to waste her boyfriend's hard-earned money by dropping out. She claims she rebuffed Choudhury's repeated attempts to seduce her until one night, as trainees sat through one of the mandatory Bollywood film screenings (anyone who fell asleep was shaken awake by staff), he asked her to come up to his room to discuss her career. 'Don't worry, we won't be alone,' he allegedly told her. Accuser: 24-year-old Sarah Baughn was once an acolyte of Choudhury's but is now taking action against him . Too late, she discovered he was lying and started to walk out. He implored her to stay, saying he needed to 'spiritually enlighten' her, but to do that, they needed 'to become one', she says. The woman alleges he then raped her, even as she pleaded with him to stop. She says she considered going to police immediately, but her room-mate persuaded her to stay in training. The day after the attack, she says Choudhury regaled his class with a story about how women would rape him when he first moved to the U.S. She ran out of the tent in tears. Additional lawsuit: Larissa Anderson says the yogi raped her . She says Choudhury later insisted she sit next to him and his wife at her graduation dinner, taking her aside afterwards and warning her in no uncertain terms against crossing him. Inevitably, questions have been asked as to why these women stayed in the community. 'What did you think would happen in his hotel room? You think he was going to help you with your standing-bow pose?' asked a Bikram teacher who suggested the women used sex to get what they wanted. But the yogi's woes are piling up. Choudhury is also being sued by his former legal adviser, Minakshi Jaffa-Bodden, who claims he threatened to have her deported after she insisted on investigating  the allegations. She claims Choudhury is homophobic, racist and misogynistic, routinely referring to women as 'bitches'. Neither Choudhury nor any of his official representatives have commented on the latest accusations, though in March he responded to one of the first lawsuits by saying he was 'disappointed by the false charges'. Devotees say he has a superhuman ability to understand their past and see their future, and he has compared himself to Jesus Christ, Buddha and Superman. Whether Bikram's Karma - good or otherwise - will be much use in a court of law, however, remains to be seen.
founder of 'hot' yoga Bikram Choudhury of sexual Choudhury, accusing him of sexual offences - rape his acolytes. Bikram denies the allegations and watch. Bikram yoga consists of a series of 26 include Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Murray, David Beckham and Lady