The founder of the Bikram yoga practice was ordered to pay US$924,500 on Monday to a former legal adviser who said she was fired for investigating sexual misconduct charges against her employer, media reported.
Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, the former personal attorney of celebrity yoga guru Bikram Choudhury, was awarded compensatory damages by a Los Angeles jury for claims of discrimination, retaliation and of suffering sexual harassment herself, The Los Angeles Times reported.
During the trial, Choudhury had dismissed the accusations and said Jafa-Bodden was let go because she did not have a license to practice law in the United States, the Times and other media reported.
Choudhury published a book in 1979 with descriptions, photographs and drawings of his signature 26 postures and two breathing exercises yoga sequence, which is practised in a room heated to 41 degrees Celsius.