Harlem Word: Stephanie Pope Caffey talks about a visit from Bikram Choudhury, creator of Bikram yoga

Bikram Choundhury in 2025Bikram Choudhury founded Bikram, or "hot," yoga [1] in the early 1970s. In this article, yoga instructor and co-owner of Bikram Yoga East Harlem [2] Stephanie Pope Caffey tells us about Bikram Choudhury's visit on May 22, 2025 to Harlem. Read more below!

Q: Can you tell us about Bikram Choudhury's (the creator of Bikram yoga) visit to your studio at Bikram Yoga East Harlem?

A: It was very exciting. It was his first time visiting Harlem as well as our studio since we've only been open a year and a half. He has been to New York to do seminars, but they were usually held downtown. Now, he does lectures only and we invited him to do one at Riverside Church. He also visited our studio, Bikram Yoga East Harlem. It was very exciting for our students as he talked about the philosophy of the yoga-explaining how Hatha yoga [3], which is what we do, is physical yoga and is only one aspect of all the elements of yoga. For example, there is also Karma yoga, which is the practice of service; Vedanta yoga, which is the philosophy of yoga; and Raja yoga, which is using your mind. We focus on Hatha or physical yoga because you first have to be able to tackle the physical before you can even begin to focus on and understand the other aspects of yoga. And since we only have 90-minute classes at Bikram Yoga East Harlem, and focus primarily on the physical, Hatha yoga, it was wonderful to have him visit us and explain all of these aspects.

Bikram Yoga East Harlem is located at 4 E. 116th Street between 5th and Madison Avenues (on the 2nd and 3rd floors). Visit the studio's website [4] for class schedules and more information about Bikram yoga!

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with Harlem health experts, written by HHPC and reviewed by our Health Advisory Board.

Click the links below to read more from Stephanie Pope Caffey:

• Try yoga Harlem [5]
• Yoga and Stress Relief [6]
  [7]
• What is Bikram Yoga [8]
• How she became a yoga instructor [9]