"Yoga's Bad Boy" fined by Los Angeles court

A Los Angeles court has fined the yoga studio run by renowned Indian guru Bikram Choudhury for violating building and fire regulations, justice officials said.

The court fined Bikram Choudhury Yoga Inc more than 8,000 dollars after the company pleaded no contest to charges including operating without a valid permit.

Choudhury is the founder of 'Bikram Yoga', where practitioners perform yoga in a room heated at 110� Fahrenheit and which is practiced and endorsed by celebrities like Raquel Welch and Julia Roberts.

Delgadillo said the yoga magnate, who jets all over the world opening new studios and teaching classes, repeatedly flouted notices from the city's Fire and Building and Safety departments. Inspectors said the studio had insufficient fire exits, given how many students sometimes squeeze into its mirrored classrooms.

Choudhury's yoga system consists of a sequence of 26 postures performed twice in a room heated to between 100 and 105 degrees. After pioneering what is believed to be the world's first yoga franchising operation, he made headlines last year for a legal fight over his claim to a copyright on the poses that would have prevented others from teaching his style. The dispute was ultimately settled. Because of his aggressive business tactics and brash behavior, he was dubbed "Yoga's Bad Boy" by Yoga Journal.

When the city first filed charges, Choudhury said he had been a victim of a five-year campaign of harassment by employees in the city's Building and Safety Department.