cnn.com
'I was terrified'
Choudhury is the founder of Bikram's Yoga College of India. He's featured prominently on its website, which details his system of performing 26 unique yoga poses while in a very hot room.
With studios heated to 105 degrees, he credits the steamy, sweaty stretches with transforming people's bodies and minds. He said he's guided by a deep calling to help others.
Civil lawsuits filed in Los Angeles Superior Court tell the story of a different Bikram Choudhury, describing him as someone who preyed on young women who looked to him for guidance.
Besides Baughn's claim of sexual assault, five other women have come forward with civil lawsuits claiming Choudhury raped them. The Los Angeles Police Department, without explanation, declined to pursue criminal charges in the cases.
At first, Baughn said, she felt Bikram Yoga would be the answer to her years of back pain and depression.
"It was really quite life-changing for me. ... I felt good for the first time in a while," she said, describing her first class.
Baughn said her father helped her take out a $7,000 loan so she could attend Bikram's teacher training. But within the first week, she said, one episode left her feeling uncomfortable.
In a meeting in Choudhury's office, she said, the guru seemed to make an advance.
"He said, 'What should we do about us? We need to make this a relationship. ... I've known you from a past life.' It was instantly shocking. I felt like my whole system just sort of imploded," she said.
Then, she said, Choudhury cornered her late one night, making it clear she had to sleep with him in order to advance her career.
"He crawled on top of me and he put his hand on my, inside of my thigh, and the other hand he wrapped around me, and he was holding me there," she said. "He told me that he needed somebody to be with him, to massage him, to brush his hair, to spend time with him, that he was lonely. And he said, 'And I need someone to, to have sex with me.'"
Choudhury, she said, claimed she'd never win a yoga competition if he didn't have sex with her.
"I pushed him off of me and I said, 'I can do this by myself.' And he said, 'No you can't. There's no way.' And I got up and I left the room," she said.
In another instance, she said Choudhury pinned her against a door and sexually assaulted her when she was left alone with him late one night at a teacher training course.
"I just remember I was terrified. I didn't want to be touched again. When I reached the door, he was there," she said. "He was only in his boxers and a T-shirt. And he pushed himself up against me and held me up against the door," she said. "And he just started kissing all over my chest and my body. And he pushed himself into me very hard."
Ultimately, Baughn said she was able to open the door and get away.
forbes.com
WhatsApp launched in 2009 as a simple group text messaging app, but a voice messaging feature was added in August 2013. And then, WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in February 2014. By April 2014, WhatsApp was hitting over 500 million monthly active users, 700 million photos shared per day, 100 million videos shared per day and 10 billion messages sent per day. A few months ago, WhatsApp launched a desktop client service called WhatsApp Web — which is activated by Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone or Nokia S60 devices.
When someone calls you from WhatsApp, you will see an incoming WhatsApp call screen. You will be able to tap and slide the green button to answer the call or slide the red button to decline the call. Otherwise, you can tap on the message icon on the call screen to decline the call with a quick message. The Calls tab has a list of all your incoming, outgoing and missed WhatsApp calls. The WhatsApp calling feature lets you switch to speakerphone, mute the call and view the time spent during the call. It is worth mentioning that you cannot access 911 and other emergency service numbers through WhatsApp.
WhatsApp’s calling feature does not come as a surprise. Last year, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum said that voice calling will be added to WhatsApp. First it would roll out on Android and iPhones. This would be followed by Windows Phone and certain BlackBerry models. Last week, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton specifically said that the voice calling feature will be added to the iOS app within the next few weeks. WhatsApp spent the last year refining the voice calling feature before it was released on Android.
nationalgeographic.com
Lee developed a love for taking pictures as a child and naturally took to the sea with her camera. She was already comfortable with the physical challenge of being in the ocean; the creative challenge of photography came later.
“The main reason I love ocean and surf photography is the combination of the physical and creative challenge of it. It’s so cool, you’re floating and you can get into any position or angle you want in the water. Where else can you do that with photography?”
I was curious to find out if Lee had any secret breath-holding techniques. As it turns out, she took a free-diving class last summer to help with her photography. While familiar with what to do when pulled under by a set wave, “it was amazing to finally learn the mechanics and how your brain and body work in the water.”
In the training, Lee learned that when you feel what is called the “urge to breathe,” it’s not that you’re out of oxygen but rather that you’re feeling the buildup of carbon dioxide in your body. In essence, your body wants air, but you still have more time. “When you get that urge to breathe, that’s your halfway mark.” She explains that the way to push through the discomfort is to distract your mind. “You will inevitably eat up oxygen by freaking out; it’s [about asking] how can you calm your mind and your body.” Lee uses these techniques to get her shot and, conversely, uses getting the shot to distract her mind during a breath hold.
Lee herself has had some close calls in bigger surf. While photographing in Fiji she had some freak waves come through and pull her under. Her attitude in these situations is to try and stay relaxed. “Even if it seems like eternity, I just kind of go with the flow. It will pass, and when it does you’ll just come up to the surface.”