The Bishnu Ghosh Cup is an international yoga asana championship held in honor of yogi Bishnu Charan Ghosh. In this event each participant has 3 minutes to demonstrate 7 yoga asanas before a panel of judges. There are 5 asanas that each participant is required to perform and 2 asanas that each participant chooses; the asanas used are all from the vast body of Hatha yoga, derived from the Pitanjali Yoga Sutra. The participants are judged on their poise, flexibility, strength, execution of the stated asans and overall presentation.

Although they are an old tradition in India, yoga asana championships began in the United States in 2003. Since their inception in the USA they have stirred up a heated controversy within the American yoga community. Nonetheless, yoga championships are gaining popularity and 2008 marked the 5th International Ghosh Cup event, with participants from 15 countries including the United States, several European countries, China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Chile, Mexico, Australia, and Canada.

Bishnu Charan Ghosh was one of the greatest and most influential yoga masters of the past century. Ghosh, born in Lahore, India in 1903, was a celebrated physical culturist and the first person to bring the ancient science of Hatha Yoga from the great sages and holy men to average people so that all people could enjoy the benefits of Hatha Yoga. Ghosh came from an extraordinary family. He was initiated into the field of yogic exercise and physical education by his guru and older brother, Paramahansa Yogananda, a world renowned Yogi and spiritual master. Yogananda founded the international Self-Realization Fellowship and his book, "Autobiography of a Yogi", continues to be one of the best known and influential writings on Indian yoga.

In 1923, at the young age of 20, Ghosh founded the first Ghosh College of Physical Education in Kolkata, India. This institution taught a unique blend of spiritual inspiration mixed with a highly disciplined physical regimen. Ghosh believed the human body is the temple of a living God and this view has been a major force in the renaissance of Hatha Yoga in the West. The original school is still running today under the directions of Bishnu Ghosh's granddaughter, Muktamala Ghosh. Since oppening in the 1920s the influence of Ghosh's yoga has spread around the world.

In 1939, Ghosh came to the United States to educate people on the subject of yoga by giving demonstrations of amazing yoga feats. He lectured at Columbia University in New York, generating a great deal of interest in the field, and was widely acknowledged and respected in the academic community. In 1968 he went to Japan with his troupe and traveled all over the country giving lectures and yogic demonstrations. Ghosh's were the first yoga exhibitions to be televised outside of India, and were seen and loved by millions of Japanese. He passed away in 1970. Today students of Ghosh contine to teach in India, Japan, Austalia and the USA.

His students and disciples have gained worldwide recognition as yoga teachers and have won many titles, including the 'Mr. Universe' competition. One of his students, Bikram Choudhury, has carried the message of the curative powers and benefits of yoga, and the possibility of a disease-free long life, to the United States around the world. Bikram has trained thousands of teachers and has over 500 affiliated schools.