I practice at Yoga Six in San Diego. I have never been inappropriately touched but have received hands on adjustments. Hands on adjustments are important for students that are not in the correct position and many times do not understand the instructor's description of the pose.
Inappropriate touching should never be accepted. Great article. Thanks.
1
Thanks for the interesting article.
Another amazing and in-depth report from the talented staff at NYT!
Katherine Rosman and the team have done a masterpiece worthy of recognition. This is why I appreciate my subscription to the Times and all it offers.
Thanks Katherine for your work and look forward to seeing your next contribution.
Once again, thank you NYT for investing in this type of journalism. I know little about yoga (and perhaps only a little bit more now), but I always thought it was more personal and spiritual. The solution to the conundrums posed by this analysis is two fold: students are free to attend or not, and (2) always ask for permission before you touch someone with whom you do not have a long-standing personal relationship (especially regarding a commercial relationship).
Yoga is a spiritual practice that in the West has been commercialized and bastardized. In its original form the gurus did not charge for training any student. In India still you can find this. The students and all involved were expected 100% to abide by very strict moral codes. (Patanjali’s Yamas and ninyama’s)No man was allowed to touch a woman who was not his wife. No exceptions. Hatha yoga is less than 10% of yogic practice.
When one form of corruption exists then others follow. Dishonesty , stealing, greed, power seeking, sexual misconduct... it seems many yoga teachers have fallen off the path like other religious leaders. It is terribly unfortunate as these practices do have numerous health benefits. It seems that franchises are particularly prone Quest, Bikram Choudry, John Friend have all succumb.
Adjustments can be helpful. There is no excuse for using them as an entry into sexual abuse. Whether it is the US gymnastics team doctor, Pattabois Jois or Quest it is never acceptable.
2
The western world should change how it teaches yoga, because of how messed up and what a commercial machine it has become. Yes a machine, because it not at all spiritual and organic. Where is the modesty of wearing loose clothes and not letting anyone else get distracted by others gaze. The ethos of yoga is lost here.
2
I am a certified kundalini yoga teacher (non practicing). One of the things that we learned in this type of yoga is there is no touching at all. Your job as a good teacher is to be able to verbally communicate to your class. If you’re not getting your point across, that’s a problem with you as the teacher. So, the solution would be to learn how to communicate better.
I think people need to get over the mystification of yoga. We are all human beings. If yoga teacher is putting themselves on a pedestal and if there is an unequal balance between teacher and student, you’ve lost the whole point. Yoga, first and foremost is about connection to our higher source, what or whoever that may be. The poses did not be so fancy that you need someone helping you or touching your body to make you feel like you’re doing something spiritual. It just really isn’t that big of a deal.
We are also hung up on what people are calling “wellness gurus” these days. These are human beings just like everybody else. If someone isn’t making you feel comfortable, if someone isn’t listening to your requests for boundaries, If someone is ignoring the hints that you are trying to give them, you need to take a step back and evaluate why you feel the need to be in this class.
Lastly, don’t ever hesitate to tell someone that you don’t want to be touched. It’s totally your right and really is not that big of a deal. If someone is offended by that – that’s their problem. Not yours. Take back your power.
12
Ever notice the difference between the "yogawear" marketed to men and women? For men, it's loose comfortable cotton pants and T-shirts; for women, skin-tight, revealing, and expensive. In this area, as in all, the American market degrades women (and yoga) by pushing them to be sex objects, and simultaneously discourages women who might benefit from yoga: the old, the fat, the poor, the out-of-shape. Patanjali didn't wear spandex. He'd be dazed at how his teachings have been twisted.
8
@Michal well said! In India people wear sarees, dhotis, pyjamas to learn yoga. People of all age shape , size do it in a community hall or open field. As kids we read comic books on fable stories from patanjali yoga. Each story had an ending with a moral message. That is the beauty of raising kids with a humble, spiritual, inclusive, moral mindset. Unlike western comic books where all you see is violence even though they are superheroes. Indian mythology has superheroes since centuries, but all their stories have a moral message.
3
Katherine Rosman deserves a great deal of credit for exposing the truly shocking level of patriarchal narcissism, insensitivity and cluelessness that still permeates much of the male dominated world of yoga instruction. There is much that male yoga instructors could learn at this moment if they truly listen to the current criticism, and make changes. That doesn't sound like too much to expect from people who claim to have dedicated their entire professional lives to personal growth. However, it is pretty hard for me to feel hopeful that changes will be made without a very big fight ahead, based on the truly nauseating responses of the two most powerful and well known living instructors featured in her article. Eddie Stern, when challenged by the reporter breaks off all discussion, and in a truly unguarded display of personal paranoia, openly acknowledges that he neither trusts the reporter nor the New York Times. And Mr Kest, as as can be seen in the Times video, can barely even pretend to listen to the women in the classroom who are challenging him and his approach to touch. Instead, he argues and falls back on a self justifying, and extremely narcissistic moral relativism proudly boasting a pathetic "there is no one answer." Both of these men have very full schedules in the next six months, conducting workshops all over the world from Brooklyn to Madrid. You can't make some men understand something when his living depends on not understanding it. Boycott Anyone?
17
@judd Bortner you hit the nail right in the head!
1
Yoga instructors I have worked with have not always asked consent to adjust me or others, though I have never felt inappropriately touched. However, I think it's a small humbling adjustment that instructors can (and many do) make prior to starting their classes. A simple change to stickers/cards/folded mat corner to show one "opting in" would prevent those who are very timid/traumatized from having to speak up. The male instructor in the report (Kest?) is at the very least brazen in his stance on not asking consent because it disrupts his ability to connect with his students. I see it as disrespectful and very un-empathetic to not give your students the courtesy to silently opt out despite your best intentions. No one is that important/good to ignore a basic dignity everyone ought to be afforded that can be easily accommodated with little/no effort.
7
Just started looking into yoga to relieve arthritis/sore muscles. The DVD I saw, Rodney Yee and a woman, definitely had lots of touching, some of it on the sides of the buttocks and all areas of the torso and thighs. Every book I see emphasizes the need to have classes with an instructor. Don’t see myself doing that. Seems like all the touching is built into it.
@Patrick no it's not. I am sure in NYC, you have some very good teachers who have built in ways to establish consent, or have no touching rules. The studio where i studied for yoga teacher training basically has a no touching policy. There classes are designed to be trauma sensitive and appropriate for all bodies. Look for a "gentle yoga" class as a good place to start. Call some studios and ask questions. Yoga has a lot to offer you, if you would like to pursue it.
2
I do yoga by myself in the privacy and space of my home. Problem solved.
14
From the point of view of a person who has used yoga as part of a spiritual discipline for many years, this article is disturbing. While focusing on aspects of necessary reform, a lot of damage is being done in the name of insuring a less harmful environment of study. I suppose in the end the dust will settle, there will be less inappropriate touching, and the students who wish to study yoga as the unity of the individual with divine consciousness will be able to continue their studies. Let's just hope there is not legal interference in place that makes life harder for everyone.
4
I have taken yoga at LA Fitness and some hot yoga classes. My posture has been corrected many time and no instructor has ever had to touch me. In fact, one should never push his/her body into a stressed position as more practice allows the stress to decrease and you gradually improve.
1
My experience of yoga studios in NYC is that it’s a beauty pageant. If you’re not slim, flexible, trendily yoga-dressed, pretty, the instructor won’t “adjust” with a barge pole. Let’s discuss the yoga “freeze-out” instead.
12
Hahaha. This comment made me lol. Isn’t that for life in general?
3
As a exercise instructor, I found this article deeply troubling. I teach and coach acrobatics and partner acrobatics, which requires a lot of touch, sometimes somewhat intimate or uncomfortable. There are a lot of hand to crotch, foot to crotch and head to crotch skills in partner acrobatics. I also have to spot students for their safety. I tell students this in a frank and straightforward way.
But, as a coach, the idea that a student who was uncomfortable would continue coming to a class for months or years and not say anything is frankly terrifying.
19
These instances of sexual abuse should be prosecuted. I don't understand how yoga became an industry. I thought that yoga was a personal meditative journey and that while gurus were important to establishing practices, the journey was solo. Who needs these abusive men selling you a product and the cult of their personality? The video of masses of people doing "yoga" in Times Square says it all. This isn't yoga but some mass exercise fad and the shame is that abusive "leaders" have monetized it and are perpetrating abuses against their customers.
5
@E Really?????
7
@E You need to learn about consent. What you say is not only wrong it is terrifying.
5
By all means, let us apply standards which assume victimhood immediately for all women who ever feel uncomfortable at any uninvited contact with any human males! And especially ancient systems of healing! God forbid we should just say no or learn martial arts or become fearless and independent, the whole point of such systems! You win, “me too” movement!
16
@Sandra Cason OK, boomer.
1
Elvis Presley and Yoga
Elvis’ 1967 film, “Easy Come Easy Go” offered an early example of yoga reaching the mainstream. Elvis is a participant in a class run by Elsa Lanchester (so memorable in the 1935 film, “The Bride Of Frankenstein”). He sings, “Yoga Is As Yoga Does”, which includes the lyrics, “come on come on and twist my legs, pull my arms a lot.”
So there are some hands-on moments – but then the subject is Elvis - after all.
Those who would like a reminder of how talented the handsome Mr. Presley was, can find a clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDD-yYz3uQ
4
@Mike Edwards thanks for this. :)
2
Like most yoga teachers, my 200 and 500 hour trainings included practicing on how to adjust safely and within boundaries. Several years ago I became certified to teach trauma sensitive yoga, which completely changed my approach to teaching. One of the fundamentals of TSY is no adjustments (or even alignment cues) are offered.
A traumatized individual has experienced that their body is not their own or they don't have control over what's happening to it. Severe or long term trauma can rob a person of feeling they even inhabit a body. TSY focuses on returning a sense of agency and control over one's body. Adjusting or insisting that a pose be done with a specific alignment creates a power dynamic that says that I, the teacher, know better than you, the student, what should be done with your body. Pattabhi Jois and other abusers use that power dynamic for their own insidious ends.
Of course, safety in poses matters, but this is not necessarily or even best achieved by physical adjustments. Encouraging interoception (moment to moment awareness of sensation whether moving or resting in stillness) is more valuable than speed, getting "deeper", or achieving an idealized image of a pose.
All students can benefit from this approach to teaching yoga.
Judith Herman, author of "Trauma and Recovery", says it best: "No intervention that takes power away from the survivor can possibly foster her recovery, no matter how much it appears to be in her immediate best interest.”
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Insightful, informed and emphatic comment. I would take yoga with you. Except I had so many egotistical, unhelpful yoga instructors I no longer have any interest.
1
Why is this even a question? Is yoga so sacrosanct that it is immune to common restrictions against misconduct and abuse? We are in the first quarter of the 21st century. Surely we can understand unequivocally that some yoga “masters” have taken gross advantage of their positions. Hint: it makes utterly no difference that yoga is a “spiritual” practice. So called spirituality excuses none of what is clearly abusive behavior.
11
Here's a slightly different complaint about yoga teachers. They are very flexible, yes? And because of this they often have little sensitivity to people who are not as flexible and/or have injuries. I pulled both hamstrings and it took years to recover, trying to emulate the teachers. With head and neck injuries, I'm probably no longer a candidate to do headstands. I know others who shouldn't do inverted poses, because of back issues. I'm annoyed with yoga teachers who are demanding of their students but clueless about less-abled bodies and injuries. Fortunately, these yoga teachers are a very small number -- out of the dozen or so teachers I worked with.
5
@Ann i wish you could experience a class with my yoga teacher in nyc, denise la pointe. she begins each class asking if anyone is dealing with any physical issues and she adjusts the practice for them accordingly. she is more concerned with bending the practice to the student's limitations, rather than bending the student in ways that are uncomfortable or even dangerous. denise is extraordinary.
3
I have practiced many different types of yoga intermittently over the years. Part of any physical endeavor is to listen to one’s body. With the guidance of my yoga teachers, using my own body to practice form and breathing was all I or-anyone else in class-ever needed to “adjust” THEMSELVES. Reading this article I have come to the conclusion that I must have had some fantastic yoga teachers because not one of them ever felt it necessary to put their hands on their students or jam their body parts into them for the sake of a “correct” yoga pose. All direction was given verbally and was helpful and beneficial
As I understand it, perfection isn’t even the purpose of Yoga. You do what you can do in class...there really are no correct poses.
I would never ever be drawn to the type of yoga practice where a male instructor is half naked in crowded sweaty classes which sadly seems to
be where a lot of this inappropriate touching (and more) takes place
Without going too much out of my way...geographically or spiritually I have consistently and organically taken yoga in studios with appropriate lighting, adequate space, room temperatures adjusted to the students needs and the majority of my yoga instructors have been female
I don’t condemn or judge others for the type of yoga practice they choose but if I had ever found myself in a yoga class that made me feel uncomfortable-for any reason-I would not return
7
I have been to hundreds of yoga classes over many years taught by a variety of teachers. There was only one incident where I felt very uncomfortable with the teacher “helping” me. I never went back to his class again.
6
I've been doing yoga for over 20 years at studios on the West Coast, Midwest, and Northeast. In my experience, participants can opt out of adjustments.
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Garbage!
Iv’e been doing hot yoga for years. The instructor asks if any person wants to opt out of being touched
No one has ever touched another student in a way that created any problem
Not ever.
This is a 100% fabrication
14
@l burke oh well, never happened to you, so can't have happened to anyone, right!?
13
@l burke According to your logic - that you've never experienced or seen it happen so it's never happened anyone ever - those who have been inappropriately touched during yoga would think your statement is a 100% fabrication since it in fact has happened to them. Also, no one has ever done hot yoga because I've never done or seen people do hot yoga. And you don't exist because I've never met you and am not you.
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@ALN Really? The article implies a systemic problem that does not exist. Maybe you should educate yourself before you come on so strong with your unfounded opinions
3
You mean to say that nipple massage is not part of traditional yoga?
NOW you tell me?
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I have been teaching yoga since 2006. I do less physical adjustments now than when I was a newer instructor and the ones I do are very considered. If you really look at what the yoga class participants are doing, you begin to realize that random adjustments often don’t stick. In the next class, they may go back to the way they have always been doing it. Now I find that if there is something I am seeing across the board that can help the majority of participants, I may do that adjustment on almost everyone. For example, I noticed that the shoulders play a big role in accessing a seated forward bend. When I simply explain it, they may not get it. When I touch that area from the top of the shoulders to the blades, they can make the connection between how spending their flexibility in the cervical / thoracic region is counterproductive to the pose they are trying to achieve. I also illustrate it by demonstrating the exaggerated position and showing both the “incorrect” and the “correct” approach. As there are several learning styles, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc., we yoga teachers need a bag of tricks. I wouldn’ t recommend taking physical adjustments completely off the table. I adjust people who are long time attendees of my class more than those that are new to my class. That gives them a chance to feel comfortable with my teaching style. It also gives me a chance to observe their practice to better understand them.
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If you compare the amount of problematic teachers vs good ones who understand what is and isn’t appropriate you’d find a very small comparison indeed. Don’t let a few bad apples speak for the tree. Yoga is a multi billion dollar industry where thousands (maybe tens of thousands) classes are conducted daily in the US alone. If it was a real epidemic it would not be thriving.
14
I find it interesting that most of the comments about needing and wanting physical corrections seem to be coming from men.
8
@CaliMama Not a helpful comment at all. I'm a man, and I'm looking at it from an athlete point of view, having played sports from age 5 through 2 D-1 sports in college. Adjustment in yoga should be about the safety of the student in stressful, tough poses and making the hour or so spent doing yoga worth while. Yes, there are teachers that misbehave. My baseball coaches when I was little league touched me constantly to adjust my swing for my benefit and that of the team. And yes, somewhere there was a little league coach with bad intentions. The vast majority of people coaching, teaching physical activity are in it to improve people's lives through exercise.
This article is not a non-issue because I'm sure some yoga instructors are inappropriate, but if you don't like a teacher, STOP GOING TO THE CLASS.
8
@Phillip J. What about reporting inappropriate behavior instead of leaving him/her in a position to continue to inappropriately touch others?
As a man, I recognize that my experiences do not make me instinctually question whether strangers who touch me are doing it in a sexual/inappropriate manner. However, there's plenty of stories of women who do feel this way, and they - like men - should be given deference when they say they've been inappropriately touched.
As a coach, I appreciate that some kids do not want to be touched, regardless of whether an adjustment would help them learn the movement better. That's a reasonable limitation to my job I'm happy with. I'd rather a child enjoy playing than hate playing a sport really well because of the stress/anxiety/depression the training caused.
5
Looks like we’ve addressed all of our other pressing issues, terrific.
All you have to say at my studio is “no thanks, I’m good.” Works every time.
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@Midwest Josh You ought to learn about sexual abuse and what it can do to a body, a person, and speaking up in public. Also, you are brushing over a whole point of this article.
4
This is old news and has already been rehashed ad infinitum. When Pattabhi Jois began his students were young boys. He gave the same adjustments to the women that came to his classes. That is not to say that they were taken to an inappropriate sexual level, but the man is dead and cannot defend himself.
If someone does not appreciate hands on adjustments and is hyper sensitive about being touched, just avoid those places that do adjustments. When energy is transferred between two bodies that are close to each other, there is always the possibility of a sensual component.
8
@bob Pattabhi Jois did NOT give the same adjustments to women. And when he was confronted about his behavior (dry humping, digital penetration, etc) — he cried. And then repeated the behavior again. And again. And again.
1
The lead teacher who made the adjustment had prompted discussion, demonstrated different adjustments, created a learning environment. It's really interesting that 7 teachers-in-training see an adjustment that alarms them and only one speaks up. I do not know why people remain silent and leave the risk of speaking out to others. I can see why the male teacher would say that no one else objected because that's true. Speak UP. Don't step over anything. This was an opportunity to practice a complex and challenging issue in as supportive an environment as it may get.
P.S. Yogi for 22 years who appreciates light-touch corrections only
5
I take yoga classes in NYC. Being a beginner still, I find hands-on adjustment very helpful and necessary for learning and practice, and I
appreciate it when the instructor is mindful and willing to help an individual student. That said, the common practice is that the instructor asks at the beginning of class if anyone does not want this kind of help, and will not touch those students who opt out.
15
These places can exist only if you give them your money. Walk away!
11
Yoga is nothing but fancy stretching. Jimmy Buffet was right - if you’re that into yoga, you probably have less than half a brain.
7
Yoga does help, the 1/2 brain part is paying for classes.
4
@Tim Mosk
Actually, done correctly yoga is isometric contraction of the muscles combined with lengthening of the bones.
This is silly. Common sense tells us what is "too far". People need to speak up.
9
I don't understand why they kept going back for more classes & are now complaining about it.?!?!?!?
I have been doing yoga since 1984 & I was always open to a hands on approach with alignment. I especially found a hand touching my scalp or shoulders with essential oils to be quite healing during " Shavasana"
I am also a very strong & powerful person, so If any touched me In a way I didn't like I would rise up & tell them !!!!
I am no longer a Spiritual seeker! I have found In my 35 years of practice that most yoga teachers are recovering addicts of some sort & have major EGO issues. Why do people need to look up to a so called " higher power & fall under a spell. Thankfully I never did. I feel sorry for those who did. Just another induced addiction I suppose !!!
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@Dorene
That's bizarre. In my experience most yoga teachers are young healthy women who've never touched drugs.
1
@Dorene What an incredibly bizarre generalization, that "most yoga teachers are recovering addicts??" Even were that to be true, which I doubt, has every single teacher you've ever had laid bare their entire personal business to you? If not talk about ego to assume such a thing, and if so what a red flag.
1
The yoga world is not "finally" confronting consent. Please refer to John Friend's demise, the rape culture of Bikram himself, Amrit Desai of Kripalu, the list goes on and on. We have been talking about it for years and still nothing really changes. Jois is one in a long line. His boundary crossing, groping, sexual abuse, whatever you want to call it, was done in plain site. I was in those rooms as a young female practitioner. I had good boundaries and didn't feel threatened by him. I have no sexual trauma history so easy for me to feel safe. Perhaps not for others. Yes some people objected in the moment of the "adjustments." He took the feedback and backed off.
Why don't we also confront the physical injuries that occur in this practice? My neck hurt the entire time that I worked with him and when he asked me to stay for a year, I politely declined. I did not need to martyr my body for his approval or continued advancement thru those grueling "series" that he taught and mostly made up. Yoga is about the mind/breath/heart. The body is a part of, not the whole practice. The obsessive practice is distorted yoga and this is what Jois perpetuated, and profited $$$$ off of, on the backs of Western students. (a flip on appropriation). Still, I enjoyed my time learning from him and would be dishonest not to admit this. Current Ashtanga teachers can't admit to the wrongness of his conduct, because it threatens their entire foundation and livelihood.
31
America
Where we destroy not just our cultures, but every other as well.
11
I am from India and my mother has been doing yoga for several years back home. She was infuriated when I told her and she replied me saying that this would not happen in Asian countries. She told me that western society being really open about sex, nudity and all, many people who got inappropriately touched might have thought that this is how this magical Indian practice works and in turn tolerated this grossly inappropriate stuff.
7
@Aspi India? Where women are assaulted regularly? Do some research and learn from what that culture treats women. Speak to any girl growing up there. And you might want to tell your mother than no - this is not what Western women think Yoga is about.
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@Barb That was a pretty hateful comment or you didn't understand what I was trying to say. I know the issues my country faces better than you BARB. I was just trying to say that when you "pay money" to take yoga classes in India, this kind of stuff is not possible cause it's a conservative society and people would instantaneously question if touched inappropriately in a space where you are paying money. My mother was infuriated as she didn't want yoga to have bad rep among Westerners.
1
Even the way the issue is framed speaks volumes to lack of common sense:"How far is too far?" shows immature boundary development. You should not even be on the road to "far" let alone, "too far." A grown-up should know how to immediately react with force and fury when somebody crosses a line. If you don't you're setting yourself up to be victimized.
10
What has gone too far is the county and the media's obsession with sexual harassment. It devalues the cases where it is truly serious. Touching, hugging and affection is one of the most wonderful things about being human. But when we project criminality on it in every circumstance it becomes a frightening form of fascism.
16
@Laura Philips A yoga instructor touching a woman's private part or putting her foot in his, or touching her breasts is NOT one of "the most wonderful things about being human".
4
Never had any issues. Been doing yoga for 5 years. Classes are 19-12 people, twice a week.
5
It's always been this way, here, there, and everywhere.
2
I think it is useful to point out that the assorted 'spiritual teachers' are all too human. Some - particularly those adhering most to the hierarchies from the East (Tibetan, Indian, Japanese ...) find that students project on them, treating them as semi-divine avatars. Dealing with these projections is something that these people have never learned, so down the rabbit hole we go.
There is a myriad of sad stories of sexual, emotional and physical abuse. But sometimes it about our own reactivity that is being triggered.
I remember sitting zazen at a well known monastery. The teacher had the habit of walking past sitting students and slightly realigning their postures with a pat on the back, a line across the spine to make us aware of its position. I, and most people, found this very helpful. A new person came in, he touched her spine and she made a huge scene. The adjustments stopped. This person was not ready to practice zen or practice in a zendo. I don;t think people have the right to force others to treat them as if they are special.
6
Consent and asking for it is much more prevalent and discussed than in the world at large.
2
None of these bad things happen in my yoga class. Probably because my yoga class consists of streaming yoga workouts on my TV.
8
The incidence of inappropriate physical contact between a Yoga instructor and a Yoga learner is as likely as in any other situations where human beings, males and females, interact: doctors' clinics, work places, business board rooms, exercise rooms, kids' class rooms or gymnasts' coaching sessions etc.
There have always been a few "bad apples" who behaved inappropriately everywhere; for that reason, however, the role and importance of institutions can't be called into question.
A large number of respondents here testify they didn't have any experience of the nature described in the article.
A subtle attempt to defame and malign the practice of Yoga is quite noticeable!
Furthermore, in this sensitive age of "me-too" movement, there's always a risk of benign touches being taken or interpreted as inappropriate. The Yoga teachers around the world are acutely aware of this and they conduct instructions mostly by demonstration.
Moreover, in most Yogic exercises, the eyes are required to be closed for maximum introspection and self-realization.
Yoga is very easy, low-intensity, low-cost, non-denominational meditational exercise where one doesn't have to regard the instructor as a demigod.
So, come on, forget and forgive the negative deliberations of inappropriate touches, sit up in the Buddhist pose with your spine straight, close your eyes, slowly inhale a deep breath and exhale equally slowly trying at the same time to hum 'Ohm' as long as possible. You will feel a lot better!
6
@Binoy Shanker Prasad I like your comments but yoga is not "very easy, low-intensity" in most instances. It is a difficult harsh journey and not only from a physical standpoint.
3
As I am usually the only male student in class, this does not happen. I also tend to study with the same female teachers for years. My partner studies with me, and we know our teachers personally. When they change studios, so do we.
Yoga has been Americanized to its detriment. When I began, you studied Isengard, Ashtanga, or Hatha. Now some studios encourage enrollment, not community. Even where I study, youngsters always come and go, never to be seen again. I imagine in some settings, that encourages bad behavior.
On the other hand, some of this problem must come from the cults of personality around certain teachers. Bikram comes right to mind.
In any case, I will pay a few more bucks to avoid a gym. That said, gyms are upping their games here, with dedicated Yoga rooms and good teachers, far from the booming music and meat-market weight room. As a result, some small studios are struggling. Like me, in headstand...
1
I had many problems in my late teens. I worried about the bomb. I worried about the Vietnamese War, the Chinese, The USSR, my own contemporaries, poor and hopeless, those protesting in the streets against a nation I was raised to love, my destitute family, and the hatreds of people who could kill John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy just because they were the finest men of my parents' generation. I worried about (we had an appalling problem with booze but the first joint or any other illegal drug had not yet reached us). My faith was always strong, but it seemed the End of Days was upon us. I became so depressed I could not get up in the morning for weeks at a time. Some days, I stayed in bed for days, sometimes days at a time. My doctor recommended a neurologist and, though my family couldn't afford it and had to borrow money they couldn't afford, my Mother took me to one in Columbus. The results - Nothing wrong there, but he was a qualified psychiatrist and recognized the signs of deep depression. Knowing my family was poor, he recommended two books - a book on Yoga and "Stranger in a Strange Land." For those who Grok, you can understand why. He recommended that I follow the Yoga exercises in the book looking into myself for what I truly am. I would lead myself from my depression. He called me to see how I was but left it to me to find my path out of darkness. I did. No touching, no classes. How the world has become where it takes a group session to find you.
3
I'm a certified teacher and taught yoga at a summer camp one back in 2012. For most of the kids, it was the first time they'd ever tried it, and almost every single class was full. One day the director of the camp pulled me aside and told me that one of the kids had mentioned to her that he or she felt a little uncomfortable with being touched during the adjustments, and that I hadn't done anything "wrong," but that the kid didn't like it. I was really horrified at the time, both for making a kid uncomfortable and also for being approached about it by a superior, but overall it really helped me as a teacher in the long run. I don't teach much anymore, but whenever I do, whether it's strangers or just friends, I ALWAYS ask if people are comfortable with me putting my hands on them. Just because I'm showing people how to do the poses doesn't mean that they necessarily want me to put my hands on them, and I get that. Now that I know, it makes so much sense to me.
17
This is so bizarre. I took yoga in my 20s, picked it up again in my 70s and have never heard of anything like the issues described. I do hatha yoga and there's never been a need for any instructor to touch anyone - our current teacher demonstrates the moves and tells us which muscles to engage and how to move in and out of the poses.
20
I'd recommend a ruler or a good section of a pool noodle, for poking and prodding or if touching is necessary a pair of good oven mitts or perhaps welding gloves.
16
Several kinds of inappropriate physical contact are described. Even asking permission to touch is meaningless if the touch is to be grossly inappropriate. Licensed practitioners in other disciplines would be in danger of losing their license if they touched in some of the ways described here. Required licensure of yoga instructors is a reasonable measure to take after what's exposed in this article.
6
@blgreenie As a black man, I just look at this with my head in my hands. There's not a black woman I know who would in a million years have a moment of hesitation or self-doubt. In this movie, the next scene opens with the ER doctor saying "You have multiple fractures in your hand. What were you doing?"
8
Group Yoga in a gym is against the basic concept of Yoga that is essentially individual requiring concentration and peace and body and mind experience. Gym Yoga is typically a hyped American nonsense and people pay fancy prices.
22
@Shobha Date So maybe it's better to do it by streaming workouts at home?
4
@Shobha Date Some gyms have great yoga rooms and teachers. And some "yoga studios" have less than professional teachers. So best not to judge.
3
@Patricia Each one's choice though learning one on one in whichever setting is important. That is how I learnt and that is what yoga teachers do in India. The group is only for convenience for attending at common location and each one is independent. They do not talk to each other and nothing in group, teacher also does not address them as a group
First world elite problem. Take control
36
@Patrick So well said. Thank you.
2
@Patrick
I think sexual abuse and misconduct is also a third world problem
6
My simple suggestion:
At the beginning of each class the yoga instructor should announce that the student’s bodily integrity is paramount, that students have the option to consent/not consent to physical adjustments, and that the student should immediately speak up if an instructor’s adjustment is embarrassing, uncomfortable or in any way unwelcome.
It is unconscionable that a yoga instructor, no matter how eminent, would use yoga, an aspect of a venerable spiritual tradition, in a way that creates unease or a feeling of violation.
6
@ANetliner Except this non-consent should be able to be given not in front of an entire class.
3
I also have never had this experience of inappropriate touching when I took yoga classes, and I've had both male and female teachers. It's sad to hear that teachers of repute took advantage of their students.
I have one quibble with this article. There isn't enough of a distinction made between inappropriate and appropriate touching.
In my classes, the teacher would ask if anyone didn't want to be touched. But "touched" was well within the bounds of making appropriate adjustments if, say, your alignment was off in triangle pose. Other times the touch was to help deepen a pose. For example, in child's pose the teacher might gently push down on your back. Still, some people don't like that and their wish was respected. This article gives the mistaken impression that the only touching going on is by some creepy grandpa guru or a younger version of same.
7
Never in the most complicate of yoga poses does one need to be taught with touch. The world over, and especially in india, teachers so just fine with demonstrating and narrating muscles to engage, without tight figure-hugging Nike gear. This is clearly an American problem.
3
@Nearly Normal Yes but I would not use India as an example of great behavior. A country where women and girls are regularly assaulted. Speak to any girl that grew up on that culture.
1
Sexual assault and rape is not uncommon in the U.S. So could I say U.S. is a country where women and girls are regularly assaulted and raped and just ask any girl that grew up there?
4
Too many folks place too much faith in so-called experts: the man in the white coat with his stethoscope; the comely actress turned health guru; the property developer, scam artist and entertainer turned politician.
Teachers make a living from teaching, so have a vested interest in claiming they can teach a person something the person can't discover for himself or herself.
Teachers compete for students with other teachers, so have a vested interest in denigrating other teachers.
Every human anatomy is different. Bone lengths vary. Attachment points of tendons connected to muscles vary. The tightness of ligaments varies. What works well for person B may not work for person A — and vice versa.
Teach yourself human anatomy and comparative anatomy using second-hand graduate-level textbooks, Google Scholar and PubMed, plus Sci-Hub.
There is no such thing as perfect form. Form and fitness are functional. If we can break 9.58 for 100 metres then our form suffices functionally. If we can squat a new world record, then our form is good enough.
Our downward dog may be the best possible our anatomy can achieve.
The best coaches and teachers understand this and work with the anatomy in front of them.
15
Where are the finger-waggers who howl at things like tap dancing and rap when done by Caucasians as "cultural appropriation"?
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
8
This is Yoga only in the sense that opening a can of beans and heating it is cooking.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
11
Drama click-bait article. Yoga is great folks, helps to keep healthy,to stay loose for your other exercises, and is great quiet mind time. YouTube yoga classes are free also.
27
@James Consent and non-consent are real things. You speak from a great deal of male privilege. Educate yourself please.
9
I'm reminded of the song, "Don't Touch Me There," by "The Tubes."
6
@Demian You reminded me -- just gave me the image -- of being in Cambridge Ma in the 80s seeing The Tubes live outdoors somewhere.
2
I used air quotes on The Tubes, for emphasis. In Scotland, tube means buffoon. It doesn't take many buffoons to make buffoonery of a whole situation.
1
I did yoga in the early 1970s at the Integral Yoga Institute. It was a spiritual practice.
Now, 50 years later, It seems it has turned into a fashionable health craze to get bodies looking more sexy.
19
@Sam Kanter: and, thank god, it works!
2
I have attended yoga classes in four different US cities within the last month. I have seen nothing remotely resembling the practices described in this article.
In the past I have been at classes when the instructor asks those who do not want hands on assistance to raise their hands before the practice begins. End of.
22
I have heard for years (have been practicing 30 years.....) about the “gurus” molesting their disciples.... his has been going on forever.... at the same time in the at least 15 studios I have practiced I have never seen any inappropriate behaviors and have been often asked if it is OK to touch me to correct a posture. Stay away from gurus!!!!!
14
@Tamar Gurus are ignorant and manipulating people. I find them repulsive. Keep them at bay. Never warship human beings no matter how great they are. it is a recipe for slavery and exploitation.
1
@Tamar
Agreed. This article is misleading. Most yoga classes are taught by young women, not bearded old gurus.
1
Like so many trends and fads in America, what starts in relative innocence and virtue soon enough turns into an obsessional cult. Why? Because the average American mind is flabby, bored, and empty.
29
Makes me glad that I can stretch at home, on my own, as the whole nonsense woo pseudo-spiritual aspect of yoga put me off the sort of "guided" practice of it long ago. I strongly suspect that the religious mystical nonsense that is attached to this stretching also has a suppressive effect on people saying NO to the creeps and charletens who inevitably attach themselves to "mystical practices".
9
The problem is that yoga has deviated a lot from its real purpose. I am from mysore and learn yoga from my grandfather. There are so many rules that need to be followed such as not to eat beef and not to do yoga on ekadashi, dwadashi, amavasya and hunnime. Now people invent new poses that are also against yoga that was revealed to celestial masters. Yoga when learnt this way leads to extra normal experiences. I have experienced them myself and they are all true; being a scientist I can assert to it’s reality. My wife has taught yoga for free in Boston. Perhaps the money part needs to be taken down and it be kept true to the days of old gurus who gave it all away to the deserving.
20
@Harish Kashyap
Exactly nowhere in the Yoga Sutras does it say ANYTHING about not eating beef.
In fact, the most ancient of the Ayurvedic texts, for example , "The Charaka Samhita", contain extensive information about the various health benefits of all types of meat, from A-Z.
1
@MaryTheresa Ahimsa nonviolence is mentioned in the yoga sutras and some see eating meat as causing violence.
1
@Laura
I am SO glad you brought that up: Ahimsa, the philosophy of nonviolence, begins with non harming the Self. As Science has determined, there are many vital nutrients not provided for in a diet devoid of animal products. B12, D3, K2, EFAs, to name some. In other words, starving oneself in order to prevent harming another portion of the food chain is not only illogical; it is antithetical to Yoga.
1
Ever heard of Niels Bukh, the gay Danish gymnast and Nazi Fan whose "Primary Gymnastics" seem to have heavily influenced the invention of modern yoga ?
@satyagraha
No. Sounds unlikely. Do you have a reference?
2
Unfortunately, there is a yoga industrial complex but it is in the United States. In India the students wear loose fitting cotton pajama type outfits to practice. They don't wear skin tight stylish yoga gear.
20
@Just paying attention and this has what to do with sexual assault? Blame the victim, much? Sexual assault is the fault of the person perpetrating it, not the victim. Period.
15
@Multimodalmama Very true. But how about some common sense ?
16
@Just paying attention And clothes have what exactly to do with assault?
4
I've been practicing for years and I have never seen or heard of inappropriate or unwanted touching--or adjustments in my experience. Most teachers will ask the class at the start if anyone doesn't want adjustments. And there are white discs in the studios to place on your yoga mat to indicate no hands-on, something that seems amusing to me since I want and need adjustments to get the most out of the yoga experience and to refine technique. Maybe I just live in my tuned -out bubble, but this "issue" baffles me.
29
@Richard M. Braun
Maybe you are just so involved with your own interests. Very revealing your response.
6
@Ralph Petrillo I agree with Richard. Why go to any exercise class and not welcome adjustments? How are we supposed to learn correct alignment when we are incorrect,
without the help of an instructor? If that is self-interests, I'll take it! Sheesh.
16
@Mary Fell Cheston
It’s ok to have different opinions. In the future I predict you change your opinion. Think within to increase your own internal strength not with anyone needing to physically touch your physical being to make you feel that you corrected a form that is accomplished from within. All the best.
1
hummm. sounds suspiciously like a tamer version of the Catholic Church . figure of authority that should not be questioned or challenged. follow the masses. accept things because it is the way it is. another opiate of the people.
folks - wake up.
17
I didn’t see the weekly video... but I am a relatively attractive female who has practiced yoga for 25 years across different schools among various disciplines in different areas of the US. Never once had an issue with a hands-on adjustment. Never attended a class where the adjustments seemed invasive. I have noticed since “Me Too” that announcements requesting permission for adjustments is standard.
13
@Change Happens
Sounds like the women in Scientology that didn’t admit to the brainwashing right in front of them. Open your eyes.
6
@Ralph Petrillo
Ralph, the lady says In her 25 years of experience, she hasn’t seen it. What part of that don’t you understand? My wife and her friends have gone to yoga classes in Arizona and Alaska for decades. I’ve been in a lot less classes then they have but still quite a few. Have never heard the issue brought up before now.
There has to be a few bad apples out there – no doubt. However, groping a person in a room full of people when half of them are probably observing the adjustment? I’m not saying that doesn’t happen but based on my experience I don’t think it’s a common occurrence.
5
@meritocracy now
I remember many saying the same about what is right in front of them. I doubt the truthfulness in the answer and still do. In 25 years never saw anything wrong seems absurd.
1
What is amazing is that this stuff -- the feeling up, the groping -- was in plain sight. Look at Brian Kest's yoga tapes from the late 1990s. ON TAPE he feels up women and touches them in a way that is cringeworthy. Basically, he's just "coping a feel". I was tempted to attend one of his classes in LA and my friend said that if I found the feeling up of women by Brian in the class offensive, don't go!
A few years ago here in Aspen a Yoga teacher was sentenced to a substantial multi-year jail term as a result of essentially engaging in a nonconsensual sex act in the yoga class; so at least here there was some semblance of understanding what was right and wrong.
It's good it's come into the national light.
17
Exhale act Ina yoga class? What I front of all students?
Was that a private class?
As a trainer, I ask if it's ok to provide a physical cue before I do. No one refuses, and I'm as unobtrusive as I can be. That said, this is one-to-one physical education, so of course there is going to be contact. On the one hand, I am careful to make the client comfortable. On the other hand, if she is about to fall I am going to grab her to prevent it, and if we are practicing aggressive martial arts, we are going to inadvertently contact one another, even occasionally in private places. I hope that the attention raised here brings an end to abuses. But I hope it doesn't provoke an unreasonable response that makes training impossible either, because training from an experienced professional is just plain good for everyone.
13
@Joe No. Training from a BOOK is enough for most people; I have NEVER found personal training meaningful for the 'recreational' exercise adult.
2
A book can’t assess your form though, which could lead to injuries or ineffectiveness.
3
Yoga currently is about making money off of mostly confused individuals who want a group sense of friendship and recognition yet face loneliness after an exercise class. Watch out also for female instructors that can confuse many of their male students to enrich themselves by any means or stretch necessary by throwing out a vet basic philosophy which seems deeper then it is. Move on time. Yoga is about to lose its popularity fast. It starts out with small stories and then the masses start realizing they are being overcharged and forced into accepting a philosophy that is more of a stretch then a reality.
11
@Ralph Petrillo Just like the plethora of golf courses now eating grass!.
1
@Ralph Petrillo I signed up w\a local yoga studio b\c I wanted the physical & mental\spiritual connection. What I found was the modern-day coffee klatch; a bunch of mommies sitting around talking about their kids w\each other and in the studio. What a waste of money. The instructors wern't that good , either. Major let-down.
4
@AG
Well is shows that many moms are bored and need something to unite them and yet a disregard for the others in the class that an instructor could change. However you are right on target .
2
What we do in our Yoga Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, www.themuseumofyoga.com, is not only ask the student's permission but the teacher should say what is he going to do (like: "I'm going to lower your shoulders"). We have never had any problems. Yes: There are teachers out there the use Yoga class for abuse... like anywhere ( schools, corporate environment, sports teams etc etc). We should unite and prosecute them wherever they are.
12
The pseudo religion that is yoga is a 40 year old expensive and sexually erotic fad. In Asia and other parts of the world it may be part of the culture, but in the west it’s mostly a bunch of fakery for $100 a month.
13
@GCAustin have you actually ever taken a yoga class?
12
@GCAustin Yoga and meditation, both invented by Indians, have similar calming effects thats why it's becoming popular as we all deal with anxiety in one way or other. But, in America, isn't the whole billion dollar fitness industry fake as America is still one of the most obese nations in the world?
3
@GCAustin The development of yoga can be traced back to over 5,000 years ago, but some researchers think that yoga may be up to 10,000 years old old. It has gained popularity in the west and is known for it's physical postures (asanas) but that is only one aspect of the eight limbs of Patanjali's yoga which is written about in the yoga sutras. I would recommend doing some research before completely dismissing yoga.
1
I've never taken a yoga class where the instructor did not first ask permission to touch in order to adjust the posture. Maybe that's Maine?
10
@Elizabeth
Baby it is what is expected ?
2
@Elizabeth No, it's done routinely here in New York. And I'm sure everywhere. No studio welcomes lawsuits or death by the media.
6
During the late eighties and early nineties, I took yoga classes at the Kripalu Ashram in Stockbridge, Mass. The teacher, Amrit Desai, referred to himself as a Guru, but in 1994 he was forced to resign for having sex with three of his students, and attempting to coerce their silence. He was also married at the time. He left Kripalu and set up a new yoga institute. So, he remained in a position where he could victimize students. While I was not personally a victim, I felt as if I had been taken-in by this man, and his claim to sincerity. This happens so often with Eastern 'spiritual leaders' that I would suggest people take 'stretching' classes rather than 'yoga' classes. The spiritual component of this practice is just an invitation to corruption and fraud.
6
@ShenBowen This desire to be 'mindful' by grasping eastern techniques is NOT meaningful. It is NOT an exercise, but part of the whole way of life; even of a religion. It is a big ripoff. Just do basic stretching walking running weights. The KEY is to distract yourself from the STRESSES of daily life. Yoga itself has turned into a source of stress. STOP IT. And when India's PM Mudi led a global yoga day, I knew the end was as near as when the garbage man starts giving stock-buying advice.
6
Actually,the routine practice of hugging in many cultures needs a second look !
13
@Khagaraj Sommu: Very true! In many cultures hugging is something that simply isn't done. If you try to hug someone in mainland China, for example, the recipient is VERY uncomfortable.
3
@Khagaraj Sommu Yes! I now always ask if I may give a friend hug before hugging them rather than assuming it’s welcomed or it’s just a customary part of saying hello or goodbye. I almost always receive and give the warmest of hugs after asking.
3
@Khagaraj Sommu I thought you were goofing. But you got a couple of serious takers!
4
Loose comfortable cotton clothing that allows air to circulate. Skin can breathe and the color white is traditional because it creates Sattwa. And it is respectful to the teachings, the space, the others practicing.
Plastic mats and synthetic fabrics have a much bigger carbon footprint.
A four-folded blanket topped with a beachtowel one can wash is very yogic.
What one sits on to practice is also called "asana."
We never did monkey-see-monkey-do in our training with Satchidananda Saraswati. In fact, class is with eyes closed much of the time s.t. one can watch what is going on within.
11
I considered yoga multiple times, but never quite got around trying it. The main reason is that I was always very skeptical of the idea of "guru" ad the aura of trendy spirituality associated with it. Having rejected Catholicism and being an atheist and a scientist, why would I want to get myself into a situation where some "teacher" tells me what to do and even what to think, and suspend my disbelief? Reading this article validates my hunch. Better get my exercise through skiing, hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, etc... With these activities I can meditate, often in nature (not in a sweaty studio; yuk!) and nobody asks me to believe some sort of fashionable replacement of religion. Stay away from prophets.
8
@In medio stat virtus Gurus? Yeah gods, all my teachers are twenty-somethings and/or married with kids who are leading exercise classes for a meager living.
7
@In medio stat virtus Good grief...you come off as so very over protective, suspicious, and defensive. And I like how have never tried it, yet know all about it and judge it so harshly.
6
@In medio stat virtus
I have probably taken yoga from 20 different instructors. None of them, as in ZERO, have ever told me what to think. They have recommended clearing your mind of all worries outside of class so you can concentrate on what you’re trying to learn. They have told me to pay attention to my body and if a move hurts not to do it.
Obviously if you’ve never even been to one class you have no idea what you’re talking about. In my experience, the people who go to yoga class regularly and especially those who practice it daily at home have better core strength, overall strength and are more flexible than the great majority of Americans their age.
There is a local club in my town that meets every Saturday and has a five dollar donation. So for about 20 bucks a month you can spend 90 min each week with experienced teachers. Mats and loosefitting clothing are not very expensive. From my perspective yoga is a relatively inexpensive way to keep strength and flexibility as we age.
But hey, whatever works for you is OK with me. Just don’t badmouth something when you have no idea what you’re talking about. That’s not OK.
13
People are not usually sardined so tightly in the Heartland... Although there is a far share of contact sports, and a not insignificant presumption of male guilt...
2
White people doing yoga--there is no more glaring sign that the neighborhood you grew up in is under assault, and that you can expect all of the poor and working people who grew up there to be displaced...
5
Lot of white folks in these images. probably a lot of middle-to-high income demographic white folks. "Yoga- It's Not For Regular Folks"
32
@Fighting Sioux
It definitely is a mostly white practice but that is slowly changing. More of us POC are showing up in yoga classes, especially in places like LA or Brooklyn.
There is, however, an economic divide in many studios (especially Core Power here in CA). Paying $18-20 per class or enrolling in monthly auto pay just is not feasible to many folk.
13
@Fighting Sioux —some studios may be that way, but don’t be so dismissive. Many studios are very diverse, and also have community clsses.
11
@Fighting Sioux
Had many non-whites in various yoga classes down in N. Mississippi. Makes one think.
But yeah, yoga is and has been too expensive forever. Only in ABQ, NM, did I come across some freebie classes. Alas, just not enough of them (and for an obvious reason: teaching yoga for free makes paying the rent pretty difficult).
4
Just so everyone knows, in Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, the Yoga Teacher is absolutely not allowed to touch their students.
13
Love love love Kindalini yoga!
3
I was raised in Kundalini Yoga/YogiBhajan. I was terribly abused. And just like the rest of the gurus, he coerced many of his followers to have sex with him. If you can’t be bothered to do the simple work to research these people’s backgrounds, that’s on you. Blind worship only enables more malfeasance.
11
@Kelly I am sorry to hear you were abused. I’m also saddened, disappointed and frustrated that the KY community is largely silent about YB’s abuse of young women. I found KY 3 years ago in early addiction recovery and it provided me with significant healing. I mostly practiced at home because there were no classes in my area. I eventually traveled to Canada to attend a teacher training. I had not done the proper amount of research to unearth the abuse until the past 6 months or so. I’ve since stepped away from teaching because I don’t know how I separate the teachings from the teacher, and I cannot tolerate the deafening silence of the KY/3HO community on these matters. I still practice, because it works for me, but I’ve taken my practice back “underground” as it were, to my living room. I can’t seem to locate other KY yogis who love the practice but are as disenchanted as I am with the history of abuse and cult-like dynamics.
6
Is it possible to adjust a pose using "Hover Hands"? If so, I'd want Keanu Reeves for my yoga instructor.
7
@Molly Bloom the article is about abuse
5
What nonsense and utter inability to accept responsibility. Abuse can occur anywhere- church, doctor's office, yoga studio, etc. The fault is not in the science or art or religion but the individual who abuses power. You can't generalize everyone.
Part of the blame here belongs to the victim as well, for letting oneself be abused, refusing to stand up against true abuse, which is harder to do.
17
@raine
when i first encountered advocates of pahtabi jois and ashtanga yoga in the seventies, i noticed immediately that there was a smugness to the practitioners that could morph into a sort of spiritual facsism. a lot like the rajneeshies ithen prevalent in oregon, only not as cohesive a group. A teacher of ashtanga whom i knew well really tried to convince me his way was the only way until we went separate ways, and never again to meet. I think yoga opens up the vulnerable and the sensitive, and that it is equally felt by the ego driven as by the humble. Several eastern teachers over the years have advised that this is the case - wetern practitioners are just not able to maintain the disciplines.
3
@raine Part of the blame belongs to the victim, does it? Oh, dear.
To stand up to abuse, you first have to realize that you've been abused, and the process usually starts very subtly and ambiguously, to confuse the target. Usually, the abuser has also acted in beneficial ways, to further confuse the target. And standing up to an abuser IN PUBLIC, in front of a roomful of people who likely won't believe that abuse occurred is very, very difficult. It may also be dangerous.
It would be great if abusers and abuse were all instantly identifiable (preferably from a distance), and if targets all had sufficient training and experience to know how to respond, and if bystanders had enough awareness to support the targets, and if organizations and the legal system acted reliably to punish abuse, and if abusers never found ways to retaliate against their targets. Until then, blaming the victim is just not acceptable.
11
Fear and emotional gaslighting can make it extremely difficult to leave an abusive situation.
7
There is no rule that you have to wear skimpy clothes. This seems just a bit silly, if the teacher makes you uncomfortable leave that class and teacher and go find another.
36
@crdavis If the members of the class are decked out in lululemon, I'm out of there.
7
For yoga devotees of a liberal bent, the opportunity to express outrage due to another’s actions, is more satisfying than the exercise. Being triggered is an art form.
18
@Richard
Finding outrage in each popular activity is a booming journalistic industry. Just talking about the crime itself doesn't go too far.
3
@Richard You realize you are doing the thing you are pointing to in others?
5
I wouldn’t want to be touched. But I also wouldn’t want to be in a room where other women were being touched by a male instructor, even with their consent. And just how far are they consenting? How can they know in advance what the instructor will do? Yuck.
12
Male teachers should not touch female students.
It's better to ask a female helper to touch students.
10
@As How about male doctors? Male nurses? Male masseuses? Trans men in any of those roles?
Can female instructors touch male students?
Yoga is importantly a physical practice. Do you want to advance in it, and get the most for your money from experienced practitioners, or would you rather spend your time exploring victim possibilities?
10
@As That is ludicrous, if may say so. What if they are gay male teachers? And if the teacher is a lesbian, should she only touch the male students? Should bisexual yoga teachers not be allowed to touch anyone? Get where I'm going with this? Just like there is a thing called CONTEXT, there is another thing called INTENTION. These are what makes the difference, not gender and certainly not sexual orientation.
11
@As That only works with one sexual orientation.
3
Asana practice is only a one part of being a yogi. There is a major difference between just thinking it is some kind of exercise because it is a practice. If you do not know the difference you are better off sticking with Pilates or your fun little HIIT workout or something. Yoga is a practice that take years to really learn and get right and if you are practicing with a real yoga teacher, they will always ask before adjusting you. They will not in anyway sexualize the experience. If that is happening to you - you are not doing yoga with a yogi. Period.
5
Be it yoga, gymnastics, swimming, or anything else there are going to be a few creeps that one has to be wary of. Anytime something uncomfortable happens to you, state it openly and leave. And if it continues to happen (to others), legal action should be sought.
Yoga is good for the body and mind. However, with its rise in the western world, it has become more than a simple daily ritual that people started their day with. My yoga instructor had sarcastic quips when we came with to class with fancy
designer yoga mats and clothing. This shouldn't become a cult or a fashion. Just do it, and get on with your day. Don't get obsessed with it or with the trainers.
5
I've met so many Ashtangi's who've arrive at the practice, recovering from addiction, abuse, cancer, close deaths, etc. I started as a way to handle the grief following my brother's death. I'm female and have been practicing Ashtanga for 15 years. Along the way, I've been physically adjusted by both genders, and have learned so much through the touch/guidance of these adjustments. Five years ago, I broke my hip in a biking accident. Ashtanga was the key element in my recovery, informing both myself and my physical therapist as I healed. There are days that my hip hurts from osteoarthritis, and I waive away adjustments. That's my right. Speak up if you don't want adjustments. But keep the practice's integrity as it was designed.
9
Maybe you’re too indoctrinated to see this but the problem is Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (which i myself practice) was ‘designed’ by a teacher who sexually assaulted his female students.
3
@Dearbhla Kelly - Pattabhi Jois popularized Ashtanga in the West, but he did not design the practice. He learned it from Krishnamacharya, who learned it from Brahmachari. I practice Ashtanga, and I have never had any issues with my teacher or seen any inappropriate touching. I love getting a good adjustment in a pose. My teacher asks permission to touch new students or if he is about to do a more sensitive adjustment. Some days I prefer to work on my own and will decline. It’s disappointing to know that Pattabhi Jois abused women who put their trust in him. However, that doesn’t mean the whole system should be devalued or tossed aside.
8
It baffles me how exploited and impure yoga appears in America. It is synthetic with no spiritual value. Yoga instructors or learners in India dont wear tight leotards, and its not about perfection in poses. Anyone will teach you yoga under a banyan tree in a village wearing loose cotton clothes or sarees. The skin has to breathe first of all. Second of all has to be relaxing, not stressful. Yoga is a way of life, its principles apply in aspects of your life. Just doing yoga, and then eating beef...totally beats the purpose! Go to India, educate yourself on real yoga.
17
I was never attracted to yoga because of what seems to me a sham spirituality associated with it and vulnerable women being exploited for their money and their bodies. There are other forms of exercise, and I don't need a yoga studio for my spiritual life, thanks very much.
6
First, I'm so sad for those trying to practice yoga only to be molested--reminiscent of those seeking sanctuary/fulfillment in religion, only to be taken advantage of--predators can be anywhere.
Second, good yoga instructors preface their class with adjustment info and provide ways to opt out anonymously. Not everyone wants adjusted--preferences differ.
Third, in my 30+ years' practice (primarily ashtanga), my yoga still needs perfected so I welcome adjustments. I even practiced at a specialized studio that supplied extra class instructors to provide adjustments. Assists prevent injuries when yogis fail to correctly hold or move into/through a pose.
Fourth, a few comments belittle the importance/helpfulness of yoga. Yet, yoga has given me back my life. Each of my lumbar disks is compromised (shredded, extruded, you name it). Every. One. I've been wheelchair bound, had dozens of spinal injections, etc. Knowing I reject fusing my disks, my neurosurgeon frankly told me that, if I didn't continue my yoga, I wouldn't walk. Now, I haven't had an injection in 5+ years, and I use certain poses to self-adjust before my back goes out. I now live in a place where I walk daily on cobblestones . . . when I often couldn't walk before. The bottom line, molesters need prosecuted, but yoga remains an important benefit to many of us.
23
So please do not ride the bus, subway or even walk down a sidewalk in NYC-- your chances of "unwanted contact" are about 100% on any given day. There are creeps everywhere and such behavior is absolutely unacceptable and should be called out and dealt with. However I am disappointed in the NYT for such sensationalist non-journalism. You are better than this.
25
If one visited a traditional yogic retreat in an ashram in India (https://www.biharyoga.net/), they would see just how much has been modified to suit ‘westernized’ tastes-from modesty in dressing, simplicity in diet to spiritual ambience.
4
Oh for god’s sake! Just say “no” to unwanted touch or vote w your feet and go to another studio. It’s not like they own you!!
21
Why don’t you clearly mention the most salient fact? That the teachers doing this are men and the students getting humped and groped are women.
Don’t male students EVER need these “corrections”? Do female yoga teachers correct students in this intimate and sometimes sexualized way? Article keeps saying “teachers” and “students” and “many” etc.
At the heart of this is a gender specific behavior and, apparently, sense of entitlement or opportunity or whatever this seeming one-way pattern of aggression is. You dont mention the reverse being true or reported,but you are glossing over it.
9
@Karen Green I am male and my female yogi, Gina, frequently realigned my pose or added her body weight to get me deeper in the pose by pressing her whole body against me. It was weird at first since I am only that physically close to my wife but I got used to it and greatly appreciated the help. I almost got into a full split again. The only discomfort was I worried she’d be grossed out by my sweat. But that is male privilege, I guess.
2
**I’m very sorry, sickened, that people have been hurt by touching and the unspeakably depraved, anywhere.
The work of Louis CK and Michael Jackson and Garrison Keillor and Al Franken have been met with disgust and a tidy dismissal of their art and work by many (don’t try to interject with “well there are varying degrees of sin or assault in this context.”) Yet when otherwise PC people are affected at the heart of something they love, truly love, suddenly we’ll look the other way. Bikram and Ashtanga practitioners have no business pointing the finger at folks who enjoy Woody Allen movies. This article and the righteous indignation of these comments magnify the vagrant hypocrisy of those refusing - even unintentionally - to apply the same yardstick to all creators of art implicated in sexual misconduct.
**Again, deeply sickened by all of the sexual abuse NYT has courageously reported the last two months. My own disgust with hypocrisy has nothing to do with victims.
1
@Annie I’m deeply sickened by the inability to make real distinctions — even among the men you mention. There’s a chasm between Jackson & Franken. To pretend otherwise is ethical blindness. Moral absolutism is a dead end.
17
Yes, perhaps the great Guru should ask for permission before humping flexible female students.
4
Honestly i feel like these women shouldve asked indian women what their experience has been working out with a male “coach”/guru before embarking on a “spiritual” workout with a stranger. Its quite common in india for women to get sexually harrassed by such men. No shocker for me but news for the western world. Yoga in the west is courting for so called yogis an opportunity to lay hands on anyone.
11
I was 13 when i was groped by my indian teacher. Like does no one know about how women are treated there. How many times have you been sexually harassed in india should be the article.
17
Yoga in North America is already off the rails with its slavish devotion to Vinyassa Flow and the self-annointed king of all postures, downward dog.
I teach a classic Sivananda-inspired hatha yoga class. It is the same sequence each time without any grand philosophizing on my part.
I was finally so annoyed with the endless cycles of "take a chataranga" and "let's all meet in down dog" and listening to some pony-tailed 22-year old tell me about the meaning of life that I finally decided to just teach the kind of class I would want to be in.
A year in and I have lots of dedicated students who also have had enough of Vinyassa Flow. God knows how yoga in North America came to this.
Ya basta!
21
@Nobs I get what you say but Lots of folks take yoga at their local YMCA and these generic classes are the backbone of a lot of people’s exercise routines if nothing more than to improve flexibility. Lots of poor teachers out there for sure but seems like anyone can find a teacher whose style the prefer
Victim blaming is silly. Wear whatever you want in yoga class—fast paced flows and heated classes can get very sweaty!
If a teacher doesn’t ask you if you are comfortable with hands on assist, or doesn’t honor your choice, then find a new teacher.
If you are unsure if you’ve been assaulted, use your best judgement. Talk to the instructor and see where the uncertainty arose. Maybe they didn’t see you raise your hand for no assists in a crowded class. An isolated incident, unless its egregious, may not be criminal.
If you truly believe you have been sexually assaulted / abused, then report the teacher—there is no immunity for yoga teachers. Be judicious with accusations; they are very serious, and slander is also a crime.
5
I go to yoga class and I'm horrified.
This man is so well endowed it looks like he has python in his
Lululemon yoga pants. Should men be allowed to wear yoga pants? I go to yoga class to feel empowered, but I walk feeling ugly and trashy. What am I to do?
1
@P&L Be horrified.
Don´t go there anymore.
Whoever is managing or teaching has not taken care of providing a Sattwic environment. I am sorry, and am horrified with you.
That guy´s fashion statement is Rajasic.
The lack of dress-code in this case is Tamasic and unethical as it violates the shared space that must feel safe, reliable, respectful and one that observes Bramacharya if it is to be a yoga class.
Yama and Niyamas needed.
1
@P&L: Perhaps offer Python man an "adjustment"?
1
@P&L Report him.
1
It would be great if NYT covered yoga from the lens of cultural appropriation. See this article about #WhitePeopleDoingYoga, which does a great job of describing the issues: https://www.motherjones.com/media/2019/10/white-people-yoga-sf-asian-art-museum/
3
We are taught to be polite, to follow directions from elders/teachers, to not call attention to ourselves...and there are people who take advantage of that. Look at the cases of sexual abuse that have come out in gymnastics, at OSU, at Penn State. Maybe some of this yoga "touching" is perfectly innocent, but someone grinding their genitals on you is not yoga. I've been practicing yoga for years. If someone touched me in that way, I'd be telling them loudly to back off, no matter if it disrupted the class. That's the only type of action that will stop this kind of overstepping by groping, molesting men.
3
Yoga is a spiritual practice hijacked by the fitness industry.
30
@HappyMinnow it’s many thing to many people and who cares as long as they are happy doing it
1
Yoga students need to understand that most of the people teaching yoga are not spiritually advanced and, really, have no idea what they are doing. I know because I was one of those people. I started 45 years ago after a back injury with a very simple program. It helped for years but when yoga became trendy, I became ambitious. I went to workshops, learned "advanced" asanas, began teaching, developed a following, and began accumulating injuries. Luckily I read an article about Vanda Scaravelli, who advised an unambitious form of yoga. I was lucky to contact her principal student, Diane Long, who helped me unlearn everything I was ever taught. I'm back to a simple, injury free practice. My only advice is that if you take a class, don't trust any teacher under 60.
13
men and women have to practice in separate places. In India this mixing of genders so common in the West would be unthinkable.
7
@YFC not in my experience and certainly not at the Yoga Shala in Mysore with Jois. We all practiced together. He was instrumental in creating the yoga industrial complex - he profited $$$ off of Western people doing yoga. Reverse appropriation in IMHO.
I practice vinyasa yoga and other forms of exercise following double bypass surgery five years ago. My cardiologist and regular GP encouraged me to start a regular exercise program and, after cardio rehab, I have done so with significant results. Yoga and other forms of exercise reduce inflammation throughout the body. Yoga also helps blood vessels dilate to increase blood flow which stimulates brain activity and muscle flexibility.
While I enjoy the peacefulness and restfulness at certain times during yoga practice, it is the series of different poses and the flow from one to another that offers me the best stimulation and energy boost. Another goal has been improving balance in standing and cat-cow exercises. Sometimes I use a Bosu ball to improve standing balance.
In all of this I do not think about what other people around me are doing. They have their paths. I think of how yoga and the other exercise routines improve cardio-vascular flow and cognitive acuity. I’m an old man and feel stronger and healthier than I did before bypass surgery. Yoga has also led me to change my diet to a more plant-based one. Occasionally, I enjoy eating fish, meat, and chicken, but by and large I eat a lot of soups, porridges, fruits, and veggies (yoghurt with fresh cucumbers and dill, for example). As my yoga teacher once told me: no cows eat meat; and the muscles need collagen derived from plant-based food to produce more lasting energy that protein does not give.
2
@bkbyers well said
I totally agree with a comment lamenting the lack of adjustments by ethical teachers due to fear of lawsuits. My wonderful teachers who used to adjust in the most educational, ethical, safe and empowering ways, no longer did when they started fearing baseless lawsuits (someone hinted neck injury after an adjustment- it was not true at all). This was a huge loss in my practice and other fellow yogis.
I believe the majority of teachers are ethical but due to a shady or outright disgusting few, generations of students will not get the full benefit of yoga instruction without hands on teaching.
No doubt abuse happens in every sector, but everyone has the responsibility to stop it and report it. This stuff is perpetuated with silence. Indeed, it is incomprehensible how some here deny the proof of blatant abuse by Jois in the abhorrent photographs enclosed.
Someone commented negatively on a teacher laying back to back on a student. This was the way I was able to fully reach a perfect paschimottanasana and I always requested from my teachers. Later on I didn't have to request, they knew that 1. I was able to perform the full pose with their full weight on my back and 2. I always welcome it. Absolute joy and perfectly respectable.
Respect and bliss is all I ever experienced in my yoga classes with adjustments. You absolutely know when a teacher is perfectly ethical, if you feel otherwise, speak up, stand up and walk away.
1
Yoga is wonderful exercise for stretching and flexibility but I hate combining it with religion and/or sex. It’s hard to find a class or group without mediation and/or touching.
1
I started teaching yoga in 1997. I was taking yoga in Santa Monica, CA for 10 years prior to that. I always spoke up if I was uncomfortable with adjustments in class. I am very flexible and one of my teachers took that too far too fast. I was injured. It took me about three weeks to heal. I was in an inverted pose and he seriously hurt my neck. When I began to teach, I always asked for permission first to make any adjustments to my student's poses. Later, when I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, I never adjusted any student at all when I taught at Oracle, Google and at Stanford University. I am looking forward to watching this show tonight! Annie www.yogaforce.com
2
"The combination of physical touch, spirituality and power dynamics have made the contemporary yoga studio a complicated place at a time when there’s heightened sensitivity around issues of consent."
File this under "Sentence you'll never read in a conservative publication." :-)
1
A Teacher is a living vessel - like the Holy Grail - not available just anywhere - and (as: no pearls before swine) only show the choice jewels of the teachings to known customers - no sweating needed.
If you finally find the place.
The hardest thing to get in this world are three things together, and one of them is "someone who can show you the way." --Mahabharata
Join me in the small community only recently comfortable outing ourselves: Those who hate Yoga. The feet. The smells. The never-washed-matts. The wardrobe malfunctions. The new-agey speak. The hot rooms. And the unwanted touching. All the things you once hated about Church.
15
@Jackie Well said!
2
@Jackie Feet? Smells? Unwashed mats? Where have you been practicing?
1
I've been a yoga practitioner since the 1980s. Late in that decade I was introduced to Kripalu Yoga, brought to the U.S. by a guru named Amrit Desai. Desai founded the Kripalu Center in Massachusetts. It was a haven for people seeking yoga as well as spiritual development and a peaceful weekend with great food in a natural setting. Desai was handsome, articulate, and charismatic. He was also married, but claimed he was celibate. He also required celibacy of the ashram's single residents, his devotees.
Then, in 1994, the details of his secret affairs with female devotees came out, and bye bye Desai. The community was devastated by the deceit and hypocrisy of a person whom, let's face it, they had elevated to the stature of a god. For his part, Desai was so arrogant that he exempted himself from the ethical code he expected his devotees to follow.
The moral? Don't turn your yoga practice into a cult. Don't give away your power to anyone who stands on a pedestal requiring your fealty. Take your class and go home. If you don't like how the teacher touches you, tell them to stop. If they don't stop, leave, and let them know why. I'm not saying it''s always easy. But it's got to be done. Because this saga is as old as the hills and it will never go away.
9
@Round the Bend Add Bikram Choudhury to that list and all who espoused his ridiculous hardcore dialogue while he was in this country. Unchecked ego and those who sheepishly drank his kool aid. I like doing yoga in a huddle room, but his way was not the only way and is not now. Nevertheless, his followers continue while the name may be changed to Hot Yoga.
1
The idea that you need anything other than a t-shirt and an old pair of sweats to do yoga is ridiculous: cladding yourself in $200 pair of tights is missing the point of the practice.
Yoga (in the sense of aasan, or poses) is the third of 8 stages in the spiritual practice prescribed by Patanjali. Before it come yam and niyam--prescriptions on proper living. Yam, a series of don'ts: don't steal, don't be violent, don't be inappropriate. Niyam--a series of dos: be pure of mind, be content, maintain self discipline.
Perhaps it's time that all of us, practitioners of yoga, take a step back and remember these first two stages.
55
I started doing Asanas in 1967. I learned from books on proper technique. I think what is taught as Yoga today is a total ripoff and exploitation of people who are ignorant and gullible. I would make that about 99% of the population.
It is a shame that these gurus (con men) can blaspheme yoga and get rich at the same time.
12
I have been a daily ashtanga yoga practitioner for 10 years and studied with many of the best teachers around the globe. In my opinion, hashtag culture needs to toughen-up while being more mindful. If you’re going into a crowded, sweaty studio and participating in a extreme physical practice, hands might be placed awkwardly from time to time as the instructor guides you. I’ve been sat-on, grinded-on, twisted, turned, yanked and pulled. When you’re pushing your body to it’s limit, it’s hard to think of it as sexual. Yoga assists for a qualified instructor on a full floor are nearly as physically demanding as the practice itself. Is it possible there’s a normal-population of perverts? Certainly! But these photos of Pattabhi Jois are taken wholly out of context and at angles which would be provocative in any scenario. The assists are intimate, person-to-person contact which are highly dependent on training and trust. This piece amounts to a smear on a family that has dedicated their lives to ashtanga yoga. This is click bait at its finest, I’m ashamed that I fell for it, and shame on the NYT for publishing this.
16
@AJ Ina Thank goodness for the New York Times.
Thank you, NYT, for showing all that has to be corrected in overcrowded classes by teachers who are not practicing Yama and Niyama, the ethical principles of yoga that are the very foundation to acquire before anything else in the study of yoga, per thousands of years of the teachings being transmitted.
After decades of people taking classes en-masse, it turns out there are foundation-stones missing - too bad.
No, it is not yoga if it breaks the code of ethics of Yama and Niyama.
7
@AJ Ina Totally. You said what I wanted to say but much better. Thank you. I also practice Ashtanga and, as I am relatively new to it, I am being corrected all the time. Yoga is definitely not for people who have concerns with being touched based on principle alone.
2
@AJ Ina, no. Absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason — no justification — for a teacher putting a hand on a student’s groin, or placing is groin against hrs. If you enjoy being “ sat-on, grinded-on, twisted, turned, yanked and pulled,” that’s your thing, and I suggest you just go for it. But you are giving your permission for that interaction. These women did not. I did not.
8
Lol. The over the line, and usually wholly unnecessary touching behavior is rampant among all the New Age, Eastern practicing arts. Yoga (which has like a thousand genres) Reiki, "alignment therapies", cupping (which sports and massage professionals now use more properly) and even simple meditation practices, are often tainted by "teachers", or worse Gurus, usually male, who think they have power in their touch. And then proeeed to manipulate a naive students body parts.
It seems all the "blockages" in the body usually involve the genitals and secondary sex zones.
How do I know this? I spent several summers working upstate at a New Age, Holistic "adult camp", as well as similar time at a now defunct Caribbean resort where many of those teachers spent the winter months giving classes. I got close, mostly in a professional manner, to many of the practitioners - although nonprofessional intimacy was always available from either gender. And it was readily offered to, and often greedily accepted by the paying guests/students.
The Teachers, Gurus, etc use the typical tools that any medical professional predator would use to take advantage of their patients. Intimacy and the secrets they learn.. Many of whom are seeking release from various problems that have manifested in their bodies. Sexual abuse victims often have physical manifestations of trauma. I knew of about a dozen male teachers who used that victimhood to their own advantage. And in a large group its free-gropes.
9
Ok. Just ask the instructor if you can take his photo on your phone while he "adjusts" you.
See what happens then!
7
As far as I know, yoga originated in India. And in that country it is practiced almost exclusively by men. Here the USA, yoga is practiced by women! So when an accomplished yoga instructor (most likely a male) comes to the USA, he is met by female instructors! He probably has to think about this for a while! I would call this 'culture shock'! A good solution might be to assign a male instructor to any male teacher from India to start them and help them adjust to life amongst empowered feminists (even I have this problem)!
2
Why hasn't he been charged?
1
Because he’s dead.
2
I find it almost imposable to believe these ladies would allow such touching to go on for long!!
Either they are extremely naive, or their mother didn’t teach them about their rights! Both seem highly improbable!
7
Folks, this is not yoga. Open your eyes- this is the western capitalist folks selling sometting filled in a plastic bottle.
Yoga can't be 'sold' or 'bought'
The moment you try to strip Yoga of its eastern and Hindu philosophy so you can market it to Christians, it ain't Yoga.
The moment there is even a shred of vanity, it ain't yoga!
12
Seriously the west doesnt like the way the east does yoga? Why do it.
That twisting and bending of your body what most people associate with “Yoga” is only a very small part of Ashtang Yoga. Control of mind, body and food complete the trilogy of Ashtang Yoga. If you are a vulnerable kind, you would be taken advantage of everywhere in the world. So, blaming Yoga for this is a bit misplaced.
6
Where did the editors have to go to even find a male yoga teacher to reinforce the "angle" of this story--which has nothing to do with yoga, in particular?
The real story here is the assiduous scouting-out of every corner of the non-flyover world to identify and expose further outrages visited upon helpess women by nefarious, all-powerful men. In this episode: "The yoga world is infected with lecherous male instructors--discuss."
Unless you were to study and practice yoga yourself, you wouldn't know that 90% of US yoga instructors are (drumroll) female. You certainly would not get that from this article, since that would give a flat tire to the male=bad omnibus.
Every instructor I ever had (over ten years) asked first, always. Especially the (very rare) male instructors--who also make a general announcement about this--since they recognize that some women may have suffered sexual abuse.
Of course, this begs the question of why a woman with "touching-sensitivities/abuse issues" would ever choose a male instructor when there is an overwhelming abundance (and variety) of female instructors? Some NY/LA status thing gone wrong?
I first studied yoga in a Philadephia sururb in 1971. The teacher was an Indian man, a Sanskrit scholar at UPenn. He only reluctantly "allowed" women in his class, since in India (then) only upper-caste women were considered eligible to study, and since he (and yoga practice) were still relatively new in this country, he wondered if it was "proper."
25
I’m so happy I never “got into” yoga. Male friends who do yoga routinely mention the shapely women they see in class as if that’s a draw. When I ask why they don’t focus on spiritual growth in yoga, most laugh and talk about how they are there for a workout and noticing a shapely woman in yoga is no different than in a gym. That, and the fact that every single avid yoga person I know is more stressed out, anxious and Ill at ease than the next make me doubt the spiritual basis of yoga and whether it “works.”
9
@Micah open your mind. In its most basic sense it improves flexibility and relieves anxiety
1
@Micah I've noticed that , too! Yoga chicks are always uptight, I said to a co worker once, when one was obsessing about the fat content in our yoghurt. .... However, most of the women in the yoga classes I took, were shapely all right - obese.
Why would you include footage of Douglass and Mind Over Madness in this? Neither him nor ISHTA's founders have been involved in any scandals.
Pattabhi Jois followers know what they are getting into, or at least they can if they wanted to.
4
I don’t know why my post was rejected, but here is the short version. This happened to me, in an intense workshop led by a teacher who had an almost guru level following. Those who posted here deriding or blaming the victims have to understand the obedient mindset of committed yoginis. When inappropriate contact happens, it can be confusing, in the moment. You doubt your interpretation, because you have been groomed to accept whatever the teacher does to you. And then when you get away from that (toxic, in my opinion) environment and consider what happened, it is obvious that the touch was intended as a violation.
Don’t judge and condemn the victims.
24
So why did these ladies attend the classes if they felt themselves under assault? Do women not understand that silence is the same as assent to most criminals like this? Look at Trump claiming that "they all want it", meaning that women want
sex and want to be assaulted, by people like him.
Coming decades after, to make a an issue of this merely causes all relations between men and women to fall into a permanently gray area, where all women need do is make accusations and, automatically-without any evidence, just a surfeit of bitterness, entire classes and groups of women are given the benefit of the doubt, and men are dumped on by bands of women like a pride of lions seeing the prey weaken, cut off from the herd.
It makes no difference even when it turns out that a half are either mis characterising or just jumping on a passing bandwagon.
More claims like this -where women continue to participate in social rituals and only complain years after,will end by making ALL such accusations -even serious and immediate assault and battery charges, seem trivial and belonging to a cetain group of women who
It is the story of the boy who cried: "Wolf!" , repeatedly.
All touch should be consensual. Yoga teachers should also be able to instruct their students with verbal cues, so that touch essentially becomes unnecessary. But this article also speaks to a phenomenon in certain “wellness” communities; that the teacher is some kind of infallible guru or savior. When you’re inappropriately touched by one of these saviors, the doubt creeps in because you think it’s normal even though your body says it’s not. Listen to your body. Wrong is wrong. Speak up. Shout if you must.
5
Yawn. Has it been a decade already? Because that's about how often these stories pop up with the hopeful intent of maybe cleaning up this creepy industry. Nothing happens. In fact, the industry continues to swell. Its consumers–people who believe their yoga to be precious and sacrosanct and above reproach and their yoga gurus to be infallible–do not want to hear anything critical. And they definitely do not want to hear that the thing they thought was innocent is not innocent at all, and never has been. This is an industry built on a rotting foundation of exploitation and lies. Bother to do the research. It's all there.
5
@NG
It's not a creepy industry. Most women doing yoga in the US have not been touched inappropriately by a yoga instructor. Most of the weird stuff discussed in this article happened in India years ago.
As in most religions, "spiritual communities", cults, movements...so many participants are insecure, dependent "followers" feeling in need of leadership and "guidance". A lot of the examples of behaviors described in the article are plain vanilla sexual assault, and nonetheless the sheep keep looking on, let it happen, stay silent - astonishing and sad.
4
Just a footnote to this article. While I agree that the "hands on" techniques of some of these instructors is clearly out of bounds, what I have learned as a Pilates student, is how critical form is to both maximizing the effect of a particular movement and more importantly, to prevent injury. I am always amazed at how a slight push or positioning of particular parts of my back, shoulders,etc. dramatically changes what muscles are used and how other muscles that should not be used. I would say, the instructors I have are quite skillful at making these adjustments with their hands, but, Yoga, like Pilates is all about proper form. I should add, that these mass Yoga sessions would not work for me. I do need small classes where the instructor can keep an eye on me--and when needed walk by a push a little here and there.
6
@Amanda Jones
This confirms my experience, I greatly appreciate being physically corrected by the teachers in our Iyengar class.
If you think someone crosses your boundaries say so. Yoga teachers are humans not semi gods.
3
Blurry lines? Any time I have ever taken a Yoga class, the instructor has made it clear that we should let them know if we don't want to be touched or our positions to be corrected. Always at the beginning of class. If that's not the norm, then there is an issue, but it hasn't been in my experience.
8
It seems to me that this deep sensitivity and fear of being inappropriately touched is interesting in itself. It seems that these women need some assertiveness training classes more than yoga class. It’s possible to learn personally appropriate responses to situations, but impossible to change the world to satisfy every individual person in all situations. What is good for one person may not be good for another. The world is already cold and cruel enough without the need to create heightened sensitivity about every situation. I think this really shows how suffering is part of human nature, if there’s not enough of it, we create it.
5
My first yoga teacher taught out of her loft below Canal St in NYC. There were no yoga studios in the neighborhood then. (80's & 90's) She was an incredible teacher who taught all levels at once and always knew what each person needed to move further in the pose. She did very good hands on corrections that were never inappropriate. It was a 2 hour class. I miss her so much. Her name is Carolyn Oberst.
5
Yoga instructors should first ask
Can I touch you?" before making any adjustments.
All too often, yoga instructors do not offer corrections either verbally or physically resulting in student injuries due to improper positioning and alignment.
3
We would like to think that yogis and other spiritual leaders are different from the rest of of but they are not. The same desires and emotions run through all of humanity. Anyone in a position of authority risks taking that position into undesired realms. Yoga assists are a valuable tool to help practitioners advance in their practice. But like anything, the possibility for abuse exists. I also believe that the abusers may have positive reactions in some instances and that just encourages more abuse.
1
The underlying philosophical, spiteful, learned reasoning of & for Yoga has been debased beyond reason by the coterie of proponents that made it commercial.
While the physicality of Yoga is of immense help when it is devoid of the philosophical & spiritual underpinnings it’s true essence and meaning is an empty well being cup.
Commercialisation has robbed Yoga of its deep significance. It is to the detriment of all most all practicing it & robbing them of benefiting available from its deep roots in spirituality.
2
@Rh
I agree that yoga has strayed far from it's fundamental roots, becoming not much more than exercise with pretend mindfulness. The final straw for me was yoga competitions. Isn't that the antithesis of what the inner journey is all about? Yoga is now a commercially exploited market not unlike sweat lodges, shamanic practice and Ayahuasca journeys. True practicioners are as scarce as honest politicians.
Unfortunately accusations of 'cultural appropriation' arise modern day if these sorts of things are not stripped of their spirituality.
1
I think these videos should be available from NYT and not via more apps that requires more subscriptions and downloads. I’ve already paid for and downloaded the NYT app, this links and more links just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s not user friendly.
I love NYT content, wish it were more seamless.
8
Like others here mentioned, there has to be an easy way to inform the instructor whether you wish or do not wish to be touched. I believe appropriate, consensual adjustment is necessary or at least a good idea since if you are doing a pose wrong you might even sustain an injury.
1
my Yogi and his wife taught for decades and NEVER touched s student. they talked you through the proper moves until it was as good as one can do.
4
Usually an instructor will ask the class at the beginning, in child's pose with eyes closed, to raise their hand if they prefer not to be touched. Any touching at all is already sensuous. "Inappropriate" touching is absurd. If I were female I'd choose women instructors as well as women doctors.
1
Touch only with consent. Teachers I have had have made that clear.
12
It's not the yoga practice that becomes offensive, it's the people, all around us, each day. In every manner, respect is thrown aside, a selfish, self-serving attitude prevails. It happens everywhere, all the time ... it will never cease because we are human.
9
If the purpose of this article is to invite us to think, here are my thoughts:looking the other way when sexual assault occurs, should be classified a crime (Ohio State and Jim Jordan come to mind). If ones signs up for a class where pictures are all over the internet of the instructor providing "correction" that you believe looks like sexual assault, why for hesven sake would you sign up for that? If you go to a healer for hands on healing, maybe ask questions on what to expect before laying on of hands begins. But in the final analysis, we are mammals. Mammals crave touch. It's bizarre to me that human beings have become so insular they are terrified, or at the very least, offended by touch. Touch does not equal sexual assault. Sorry, I'm not a millennial snowflake whose only acceptable touch comes with a permission slip or a touch screen. I'm a Boomer; hugs are welcome here. sheesh!
43
@Dennis
Licensed K-12 teachers in many states are mandated reporters of any kind of abuse. Even if they don't have first-hand knowledge, but have a reasonable suspicion that abuse is going on, they are required to report. They are held harmless if there is found not to be abuse.
I can't help but think that the average person would not be protected if an allegation of abuse were made and found to be untrue or simply not substantiated or corroborated.
Yes, we want people who witness a crime to report it, but if they don't, we arrest THEM?
2
@Dennis
And conversely, it’s bizarre to many of us that some humans think it’s a big deal to take 5 seconds to inquire about another person’s feelings or preferences. You want to show someone affection? Start with respecting them. Then work up to hugs.
12
@Dennis
Ok Boomer.
Mammals crave consensual touch. Do you have a pet? Ever try to pet a cat or dog who does not want that contact? Responses range from avoidant to outright hostile. This response is also a version of a gender-typical response to female complaints about uninvited physical contact: What’s the big deal.
This has nothing to do with millennials or boomers. This is about the evolution of understanding boundaries and gender privilege.
You want a hug? Get it from someone who consents. Otherwise, until you get permission, keep your hands off people.
13
I have never minded an instructor readjusting me to correct my form, but these images are just gross. I have never had a teacher do anything like this, just infrequently move an arm or foot and they usually tell you what to do. If you have a teacher do something like this, time to complain to management and go somewhere else.
37
There are yoga studios that use tokens. Pink side up - don't touch me. Blue side up - I am okay with physical corrections.
There was really no need to write such a long and convoluted article about things that have such simple solutions.
20
@Alfred Neuman That's right. Because it's all about your solution and none of what is reported or assaults or consent or accountability matter. Scary.
1
Hasn't "guru" style yoga been associated with sexual misconduct for a long time? This is nothing specific to yoga, of course. The same thing happens in every field that looks to gurus. it's important to point these things out when they happen, but we shouldn't be surprised as if we didn't expect it.
24
I want to know if female yoga instructors practice these aggressive adjustments and if male instructors practice them on men. If both sexes use these intimately physical adjustments on both sexes, would that point to more legitimate intent? I’ve been to only a few yoga classes and nobody ever touched anybody. Sounds lucky for me that I was never able to afford a prestigious, expensive celebrity instructor.
9
It needs to be pointed out that this NYT not time sensitive article using incendiary language about a well established and venerated and deceased Indian yoga teacher of great standing was PUBLISGHED on the very weekend--and just before--the Indian Supreme court was announcing its very important and sensitive decision on the Avodyha temple/mosque dispute.
Poor timing at a minimum.
3
What about sports coaches?
4
As someone who has practiced Ashtanga and knows something about the system , The NY Times piece has a whiff of the She Said bias. I can’t help but feel this coverage is incomplete. The entire Ashtanga system is based on powerful physical adjustments. I have been to studios where they gently adjust you or give you a verbal queue and I have been to studios where you get full on intense adjustments. The former feels watered down and Americanized. The latter turbocharges your practice to the next level and is authentic. Jois was not a perfect man but this piece fails to mention that he was born a Brahman in 1915 pre-modern India. He was a Sanskrit and Indian philosophy scholar in a way no westerners can come close to. He opened his doors to teach yoga to westerners and women at a time in india when that may have seemed inappropriate. I just worry we are going in the direction of so much #metoo political correctness that all this no touching yoga culture will turn the yoga practice into something not even worth doing .
23
“Turbocharged” and yoga: two words I never thought I would see in the same sentence. As a yoga teacher who offers adjustments, this is a mentality that I find sad and strangely divorced from the spirit of yoga as I understand it. It also relates to the surge in power yoga and the relative disappearance of slow flow and gentle yoga.
10
How Yoga, the ancient practice in India, became so commercialized and sexualized in the West is a mystery. Another form of cultural appropriation?
A whole new industry has grown around it, including supplying the must-have status accoutrement, the "yoga mat"!
In India, yogis generally used to practice yoga solo and away from the crowds and in solitude to seek true spiritual awakening. It never was an in-thing of group exercise like "power-yoga." What an oxymoron!
The sights and smells of co-ed body grinding, bending and flexing is far from the path to Nirvana. It's perhaps the latest incarnation of an old fashioned "meat market."
24
@Jay
Cultural appropriation is the term du jour that people use in order to shame others and feel superior themselves. Cultural appropriation is in the eye and interpretation of the beholders, who doe't realize that they themselves are a mosaic of other cultures. No one lives in a vacuum or isolation.
People have shared their cultures and adopted aspects of other cultures for thousands of years. It's how things change and evolve.
The English language is not a root language; it comes from other languages. Would you call that cultural appropriation?
Food from all over the world is in my city. I like to cook some of that food myself. Is that cultural appropriation?
Music from all over the world is in my city, and there are musicians who use that music in their own compositions. Is that cultural appropriation?
If you learn and speak another language other than that of your country, is that cultural appropriation?
If I practice tai chi and I'm not Chinese, is that cultural appropriation?
"Cultural appropriation" is a way to stifle freedom of expression, something that we used to value.
12
@Jay And don't forget you must be dressed in the "correct" yoga outfit as well. God help anyone who shows up in some old shorts.
I agree with you completely. Yoga has become to enlightenment what mega-churches have become to religion.
8
@Jay
Oh come on. Whatever valid critiques of the westernization of yoga exist (and those valid critiques are legion), the yoga mat as a “status symbol” is not one of them.
Have you ever actually talked to a person who does yoga, seen a yoga mat, or gone to a yoga class?
5
No. Stop, Don't do that, These are words that put an end to any unwanted touching by the vast majority of people, especially in a public or group setting.
Americans, especially Americans, have been conditioned to avoid touching, avoid anybody's contact whether it is by eyes or hands.
So now we have a deceased person who is being outed for perceived sexual advances. He is like others, not alive to defend himself but the "victims" are coming out of the woodwork. All of them could have been averted by the words No. Stop that,
This article now, by raising this dead man, puts yoga instructors on notice, don't use your hands in teaching.
4
People should speak up. Yes, the instructor should ask, and in my experience over 20 odd years as a practitioner, it was only the instructor with whom I was very familiar that did not ask me anymore.
That being said, I have seen others who touch (appropriately) without asking.
But it also does depend on the individual. E.g., my wife simply does not want to be adjusted, touch, much less noticed. She does her thing and wishes to be left alone. Myself, though, I was once patted on the butt when in a standing fold asana by an instructor with whom I was very familiar (professionally). She immediately apologized and was truly shocked by her lack of thought. I assured her I simply did not care, and actually made a joke out of it, which today, I'd imagine someone would say I thus "did wrong". (I believe I called her 'Mistress' or something.)
But as we are all different, as we all are in varying states of knowing or intimacy, so to speak, with others, instructors, and everyone for that matter, we all must learn to speak up.
Saying 'no' is not that difficult. Perhaps at first, but the alternative is to tacitly accept that which you do not want.
And yes, it really is that easy, guru, acquaintance, lover, employers, etc.
It is your personal right to say NO.
And to not say it *is* your fault, at least to some extent (if not wholly).
11
i don't doubt or blame victims, as a rule. i've been abused, and as a child, as a teen, and felt humiliated upon the realization after the fact how naive i'd been to permit, to not report, to not fight back. and i've done yoga and been very lightly "corrected", but of course nowhere near my private parts. that wouldn't have made any rational sense at any level/would have been bizarrre.
however, some of these reports, and especially the photos here, strike me as way beyond the pale of the deepest naivetee, especially among grown adults (ostensibly of yoga-heightened awareness?).
c'mon.. lying upon/grinding into an adult, both parties very lightly dressed....? even when i was 10 or 12, THIS i would have figured out.
is there a cultish mass hypnotic effect in play here? and the whole group has to buy in to more and more intrusion, bordering on ridiculousness? i think the yoga experience along these lines needs a mental recalibration.
in the end i was a little embarassed and ashamed to have even read this article. the style and content started feeling salacious, very 50 shades of gray. i know it is just reporting, maybe needed to be graphic (eh, i dunno...). but it began reading like an offcolor novel.
i want to show respect, but this story and the reporting felt quite peculiar to me...like adults ought to be able to figure this one out for themselves without raising a journalistic flag.
14
Oh, please.
That it's a yoga class and you supposedly need "adjustment" doesn't excuse intrusive and unwanted touching.
Someone puts his/her hands on you in a way that you do not like you tell them to back off, forcefully if need be.
Respect yourself- don't accept what you don't want.
14
I'll never forget attempting a yoga class on the Upper West Side in Manhattan and definitely getting groped by the male instructor. I not only never returned to that class, but neither did I return to any yoga class. I was a figure skater and had my positions adjusted all the time in that sport: believe women when they report abuse.
11
I practice regularly at CorePower Yoga, which has studios all over the United States. No matter which studio I’ve visited in my home city or on my travels, instructors at CPY always announce at the start of class that they may offer physical touch and adjustments, and ask students, usually while our eyes are closed for a few moments, to raise a hand if we would prefer not to be touched. It’s incredibly simple and upfront, and I can’t imagine why any studio anywhere wouldn’t follow this same procedure.
29
Many years ago I lived in Bombay (Mumbai) and frequently traveled to Pune where, for a time, Sri Rajneesh had a center. It catered primarily to Europeans and Americans who could pay. They used to engage in "pillow fights" and other physical contact that sometimes became violent. Rajneesh and his lieutenant Sheila Anand decamped to eastern Oregon thanks to an incautious U.S. consular official. Anyway, he and his ilk practiced a kind of yoga and other so-called Indian physical exercises in a cult-like environment. It was all about money.
I have been practicing yoga for several years since bypass surgery and it has been wonderful. There is no physical contact. I am one of a few men in a class mostly of women. Our teacher is a woman and she is very knowledgeable and helpful. She demonstrates and then lets us do our best to imitate the positions and movements. Each of us is competing against herself/himself and our work-out environment is not competitive. Over time, I have gradually been able to assume ever more demanding positions and movements - Vinyasa flow.
I find the practice of yoga to be physically and mentally healthy and exhilarating. I have no desire to touch another person. We maintain a fair distance from one another so that we can feel free to move. This gives us a sense of spaciousness that is liberating. Each of us must engage in the physical movements and find his or her own spiritual or mental well-being.
7
Yoga is very popular for a number of beneficial health reasons. I do not practice yoga but I would suggest to those who wish to participate in a yoga class or session, discuss boundaries with an instructor prior to joining the class. If the instructor is not in agreement, find another class.
6
I wish some yoga teachers would respond to this article. The majority of responses seem to be from people who have had bad experiences. I've never felt uncomfortable by any adjustment done by a yoga teacher or the assistant. Adjustments are part of a yoga class and are welcomed. Your body is placed in the correct alignment which is sometimes difficult to achieve without a little help. Before class, the teachers at my studio tell the students that if they don't want an adjustment to just wave them off when they come by.
12
Another basic form of exercise plundered and packaged into group settings to create a giant billion dollar industry. I use some of the basic yoga movements because they really help with my running, swimming and weight lifting. But I do these on my own at home or in the gym. I don’t need to use them for a social get together.
5
Over the years, I attended yoga sessions with other people thinking the sessions would be a good way to meet other yoga practitioners, but the sessions seemed more like competitions and show boating than community building.
But to each her or his own.
Now I do yoga alone at home in a quiet room and look forward to it every day.
23
Part of yoga (the meditative part) are very old, but the physical aspect we know isn't. Pher Ling in Sweden invented a flowing calisthenics* in late 1700/early 1800. His techniques, along with exercises developed in Germany, were picked up by the British Army. Eventually the techniques were taken to India by the army where they influenced a generation of Indians. Along with world wide health movements (such as the America book Building the Body Beautiful), calisthenics, et al were taken, adapted, and modified by the teachers/yogis in the 1920's and 30's into the system of yoga we know today. It was then exported back to Europe and America. Very interesting story.
*he also invented Swedish massage to help people recover from calisthenics
5
The “yoga is dead” podcast presents an eye-opening view on this bit of cultural appropriation.
I trained for 5 years under a graduate of 12 years under B.K.S. Iyengar. Iyengar uses props to achieve better form.
During those 5 years, beginner/basic asana instruction moved to intermediate ability after 2 years. My instructor would assist us by physical touch with degrees of weight/pressure to the body so we could experience/achieve improved form. For example, in order to shift your weight back towards your feet in 'downward facing dog' (Adho Mukha Shvanasana) with the goal of equal weight on hands and feet, a belt/strap is run under the hips and then lightly pulled behind you after we'd held that pose for a minute or so. The release/relaxation feeling was nice. Advanced students can hold an asana for 15 minutes. He would ask to assist anyone before touching and a student feeling uncomfortable could refuse.
Certainly an unscrupulous yoga instructor can have unacceptable touching while assisting a student in proper form. Those instructors should be harshly reprimanded and possibly banished from leading classes. Are these unethical instructors in the majority, I hope not.
I've been practicing for 15 years on my own since my instructor moved from USA's East Coast to the West Coast and other international locations. His instruction was very helpful and couldn't be learned from books or watching videos. I've not had another teacher with his asana and pranayama knowledge.
Learning and regularly practicing any amount of yoga is good for everyone. Namaste.
3
I tried yoga several times, its never appealed to me. I wanted the class over with as fast as possable. I worked with many physical therapists and massage therapists - experts on the human body's muscles system - and its striking is how luke warm they are about yoga. Most know the major poses, but not one of them has a regular practice.
Hot yoga is really awful, I sat out in the snow for 20 minutes to cool off. People ski and ice climb in very cold weather; those sports require the same strength and flexibility. But to mention "snow yoga" in cool weather, I got strange looks.
Its not for me.
4
@H Smith Thanks for sharing, H Smith. What a fascinating life you lead. The rest of us can only imagine. Thanks again.
1
If you know how he does his classes, and you continue to attend them, then you are consenting.
If these are such large classes, it seems unlikely that hands-on can happen to any one person in the class by total surprise. It certainly can't happen more than once.
If you don't like it, then don't do it.
I wouldn't, nor would I encourage my wife or daughter to do it. However, my objection would not be "consent." It would be "bad choice."
When you know, and you do it anyway, an adult must own what happens.
4
I have been a Kripalu Yoga teacher. In actuality there is no need to physically touch your student as demonstration and vocal cues can do the job. yoga is about awareness of your state of mind and body. Touching can bring your student out of that place. In addition to obtain benefit from Yoga you do not need to obtain a 'perfect' position or state as awareness is more important than any sense of perfection. We are all different in our level of practice and who we are and noticing those differences and accepting them is really crucial.
One note, Amrit Desai, the founder of Kripalu Yoga was rightly kicked out of his own Ashram for inappropriate sexual contacts But Kripalu yoga survived because it is not about one person but the practice itself which honors the student and does not allow dishonoring the student. through inappropriate touching.
11
@just Robert
Thanks for this comment
It invites in the deeper discussion on yogasana:
Awareness of your mind and body and not a perfect pose.
dare I add, not an extreme pose pushing you to your limits of flexibility or endurance...
Inviting in the secondary discussion that Westerners grapple with for many reasons (one I would claim being a lack of knowledge on the history of India as a British colony and the way that shaped Yoga.)
Is Yogasana just exercise or is it spirituality?
Is Yogasana a drop back wheel or is it ahimsa?
Can it be both?
Thank you for your beautiful note about the Kripalu community repaired and recentered their practice. How we repair what is broken is everything.
3
@just Robert
As stated in the Yoga Sutras compiled in approx. 400 CE by Patanjali, the primary objective of yoga (union) is to calm the fluctuations of the soma and philosophically live the premises of the Yamas and Niyamas, the universal and personal principles (the golden rule).
Yoga is something we become not something we do.
Over thousands of years there are multiple iterations of yoga, ancient and contemporary some secular other more religious. It has a very rich, complex and sometimes mysterious history worthy of a life time study. It is part of ancient Ayurvedic medicine. In the end whatever aspect of the practice you embrace it is a success if you are more loving.
From someone involved in the yoga world for the past 50 years ( long before yoga mats etc were even a figment of someone's imagination) as student and teacher for 30 years:
Invest in yourself and engage a private teacher for a few sessions, then go home create a small place to devote your endeavor, a few good books on the topic and get to work on your own. Create your own yoga, not someone else's.
This is a solitary endeavor where consistency and quality over quantity take precedence; in other words 15 minutes consistently is better than an hour here and there.
Remember the real work begins when you leave the mat.
4
Thank you for both of these thoughtful comments. The yoga based on the ancient teachings of Putanjuli is indeed deep and powerful as it involves four or five limbs of which hatha is only one and perhaps an entry level practice for some. But here in the west we like to reduce things to areas we think we understand. It is a sad statement when something as deep as this practice is misunderstood because of fear or the misbehavior of some so called leaders.
No way would I practice yoga with a teacher. As a teen, I briefly lived in an ashram in Boulder, CO. Sexual control and abuse by the ashram’s well-known yogi and his minions was the norm. There was no #metoo consciousness then, but even as a young person I recognized it as coercive - and creepy! I am lucky I got out unscathed. My experience, shared by others I knew in other yoga disciplines, left me with a cynical and cautious attitude about yoga practice. I think that famous yogis can contribute to a culture in the yoga “community”
that is money and power centric. I do not see yoga as some path to enlightenment - just another form of exercise that I would rather use a DVD or a book to practice.
21
@Theo
Part of yoga (the meditative part) are very old, but the physical aspect we know isn't. Pher Ling in Sweden invented a flowing calisthenics* in late 1700/early 1800. His techniques, along with exercises developed in Germany, were picked up by the British Army Eventually the techniques were taken to India by the army where they influenced a generation of Indians. Along with world wide health movements (such as the America book Building the Body Beautiful), calisthenics, et al were taken, adapted, and modified by the teachers/yogis in the 1920's and 30's into the system of yoga we know today. It was then exported back to Europe and America. Very interesting story.
*he also invented Swedish massage to help people recover from calisthenics
3
@sjs Yoga´s physical aspects are very old. Very, very old. As old as Yoga as a practice.
1
@sjs Sure, the fact that Indians practiced Yoga before all the calisthenics can just be wished away. Sad when people believe that anything that is useful couldn't have originated in the east. British Army teaching Indian mystics Yoga is the funniest joke I have heard in a while.
2
The several yoga studios I have attended seem to be either fronts or victims of extortion.
This implies they will often employ the creepy who may use unwanted and inappropriate touching to get rid of people they do not want around without being obvious to everyone else. This has happened to me several times.
There are lots of ways to exercise or meditate that do not have this unfortunate dynamic. Yoga is terrific, but yoga studios tend to be the opposite.
7
I've never had a problem with an instructor touching me inappropriately. I do dislike partner yoga where I have to pair up with another person and be responsible for guiding them and vice versa. Really dislike that.
10
I'd rather be a yogi than an alter boy...all things considered. At least you can say no and find another studio, a safe place to practice mindfulness.
20
The headline should have been "The dark side of yoga teachers/classes". Traditionally, women were advised to seek spiritual initiation from an older female or father, older brother or husband. Same for yoga. Now it has been monetized tremendously. Bad behavior follows the money.
10
@Jana bad behavior follows "seeking spiritual initiation."
1
I spent several summers working at a New Age, Holistic summer camp for adults in Upstate NY. Yoga, in all its modalities, is offered thru out the spring thru fall season. Most are taught by well meaning, and often newer instructors. In reality, they just make a lot of touch mistakes. I sat-in on their classes or had freebie one-on-one sessions, and lets say...people make mistakes. Often out of simply wanting to help a struggling student, or to prevent injury. Body movement instruction of any kind is ripe for injury for the novices and the over-eager students, which can result in lawsuits.
BUT - then there's the alleged Masters, the Pro's, mostly male, who, to be nice, are way too full of themselves. Plus, many of them are simply predators. Its that simple. Teaching yoga, body movement of all types, often attracts predatory males. Its rampant among body centric "professions". Be it yoga, massage therapy, and very much among personal trainers at the local gyms. But male yogi's get that extra special perk; followers. Very dedicated students, who often fall in love with their yogi. Even from the back of the class.
Predators sniff that out like raccoons to a dumpster. I've seen it in action, even intervened, or tried on many occasions, but its not easy. Too often the student, female, might be suffering from pain (caused by emotional, physical abuses) thinks the relief is caused by the teacher, not their own work. And should the teacher be attentive. Wholly toxic!
39
The lack of compassion and balance in these comments is sad. It does not have to be either or. We can appreciate yoga and still realize there are some men in positions of power doing inappropriate things. Comments like “ snowflakes, overly-sensitive, uptight, you don’t understand the culture, if you don’t want to be touched don’t do yoga and this will ruin the culture of yoga” only serve to keep women quiet.
96
I practice hatha yoga at home using youtube videos as guides. I recommend home practice if you aren't comfortable with crowded classes or handsy instructors, and you aren't doing headstands and complicated poses. Local studios don't even offer hatha classes so in-studio yoga is not an option for me.
The yoga class shown in the picture with too many people and minimal space between the mats seems stress inducing.
19
my girlfriend and I have noticed a particular female instructor get very hands on with some of the class participants. She actually laid down on a young lady in one class (her back to students back). Why did she get away with it? Because she's female we figure. No way a guy does something like that.
4
A yoga studio is a place where you put your body into positions that can be very compromising to your body if done incorrectly. I tend to favor teachers who are able to identify these situations and help when they see something. There are also a lot of exercises that require a partner, usually a stranger, to assist you by pulling or holding some body part, and the teacher needs to demonstrate things. Yes it is a place of trust where things happen that could be weird out of context but so is your proctologist’s office if you think about it. The NYT has a history of articles that single out yoga as being dangerous or creepy and while they are no doubt fun for non-yogis to read they aren’t really fair. I’m sorry to hear that about Jois, I always thought Guruji was one of the good ones.
11
I’m an agnostic/secularist who also practices yoga for health reasons in that a well executed stretching regime has greatly improved my overall physical well being. It also facilitates greater levels a relaxation.
And probably because I’m not drawn into it’s spirituality, I’ve never had a problem with subtly setting strict boundaries on my relationships with the yoga teachers. And I’m very particular about the studios where I go. And the ones I patronize have highly professional teachers who ask in advance if they can touch and, yes, I do allow several of them to do so either for slight adjustments or for the occasional essential oils on forehead or pressure points on hands.
As with everything, especially when it comes into the blurry areas of spirituality or religion, one must be ever vigilant to not allowing oneself to be manipulated into uncomfortable situations.
If you are ever made to feel uncomfortable, leave that studio and find another. With the explosion of yoga’s popularity, there are many to choose from.
22
I understand the dilemma. As a ballet instructor, physical corrections can make huge difference in a dancer’s success, whereas trying to explain the adjustment is much less effective. Yoga class is no different.
45
I took a yoga teacher-training series and was one of 2 guys among 30 or so women. I could often sense the apprehension of women classmates when we would "partner up."
Given what a minefield the "adjustments" issue was, I decided that as a teacher, I could do best by standing near a student and physically demonstrating with my own body, the adjustment I believed would help and then further correcting and teaching verbally.
It wasn't perfect, but I believe it was the best way I could serve.
28
I wish my yoga instructors would do more hands-on adjustments since I know my form still needs work in many poses, especially as I try to get back into practice. It was definitely more common just a few years ago. The growing fear of basic human contact is a harbinger of bad things to come society-wide.
64
@Andy Childhood abuse is much more prevalent than most people realize. That can leave a permanent discomfort with being touched. It's quite understandable.
10
@Andy - You are a man, no? I don't think you quite understand the vulnerability that women have in relation to bodily touch.
6
@Andy I really have to add that your attitude towards people who dislike being touched is at best unsympathetic. I fear for the people in your life, especially your children, with this attitude. And I'm quite surprised and disheartened that 62 people agree with you.
Yoga is a mirror that reveals oneself. It's a discipline that allows us to mentally and physically live in ease moment to moment. Achievement of such ease is an internal progressive process of learning how to handle stress, the fruit of applying the mind to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. All aspects of this process, including what may be considered inappropriate touching, are content for progress. The more that is revealed about oneself, the closer we approach our common universality, the essence of treating others as we would be treated. We are guided by the revelations of self we all engage daily.
I'm retired now after 35 years as a chiropractic physician and two decades of teaching yoga privately in practice and publicly.
4
A very different view of Astanga Yoga with P. Jois:
Although I spent several weeks in Mysore, India, studying with P. Jois in the 90s, my perception and experience with him was entirely different. True, he typically put his body weight on practitioners, male and female, during the final asana of the practice, for the specific purpose of increasing the extension of various muscles. He moved from student to student, doing so in fairly neutral, matter of fact manner. I found him respectful and respected, a gentle grandfatherly man in his eighties. His English vocabulary was limited; his adjustments were invariably helpful. He taught adults -- all of whom were free to either express their objection or leave the class if they did not approve of his style. None of the 20 or so students in our class founded his behavior offensive in any way. He had been devoted to his wife for over 50 years. Was he perfect? No. But it makes me sad to think that his being maligned in this way. He was an extraordinarily good teacher.
25
@loyal follower
This comment reflects the attitude that a serious student brings to yoga class. Thank you.
1
@loyal follower a number of Jois’ victims have gone public with their accounts well before this article was published. This is not news. Listen to Karen Rain, Jubilee Cooke, Anneke Leucas and others. Your experience was not everyone’s experience. Many Ashtangis, some of who are very high profile teachers, have witnessed and denounced this behavior even though they did not personally experience it. To say that this did not happen, to say that everyone’s experience was just like your own, is gaslighting and this incredibly harmful.
12
@KAMS
As a general principle, it would be helpful if individuals spoke from their own direct experience. Since I did not claim to speak for everyone, my statements do not deserve to dismissed as "gaslighting, incredibly harmful," etc. Sorry....but my experience, and that of my fellow students, simply does not reflect what your claims suggest.
1
BKS Iyengar introduced yoga to to most of the world, including "the west." I have never heard of Jois. The Iyengar system uses props so that one can hold positions for a long time to get the maximum benefit, even if one cannot do the full classical pose. Yes, in this style of class I've had many adjustments. Thank God none were inappropriate. And none were from a "yogalebrity." I feel terrible for anyone who has had a negative experience and been violated. Power corrupts. If one's teacher is more concerned with followers, money, and notoriety as opposed to facilitating asana practice, that is something to pay attention to, and avoid.
9
@LJIS BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi (a Latvian Eugenie Peterson) and Pattabi Jois were the accomplished students of T. Krishnamacharya. The original legacy was continued by the son and grandson of Krishnamacharya at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram https://www.kym.org/ which is based in Chennai. BKS was Krishnamacharya's younger brother-in-law who established his school in Pune, Jois did so in Mysore and Indra Devi in Hollywood.
1
@VC Right on.
There are no doubt many styles of yoga and I would caution people to make assumptions about one type of yoga and consider it the same for all other forms.
When I was taking yoga classes regularly, our experienced teacher rarely corrected our form physically or verbally except when it was clearly/ potentially dangerous. I once asked her why -- having taken a variety of sports classes like swimming and tennis where form was important -- and she said that her philosophy about yoga was less about strict bodily alignment and just as much a spiritual practice. There were also no mirrors in her studio compared to other places. She wanted us to concentrate on what we were doing rather than how we looked. She did note other teachers and styles are emphasize the physical aspects more.
6
I have been doing yoga 2x a wk for the last year and half and doing so at the Y, the classes are really too big for individual instruction and so adjustments don't happen when they should. I did a class in Denver Y were I was visiting, it was with Susan and she was excellent all around, she used a yoga block and would ask if she could make an adjustment. It was really thoughtful work around I thought.
2
Yoga in its original form should be an individual quest for spiritual and physical freedom. It's not meant to be a quick-fix and the search has to come from within. Real attainment cannot be taught, but has to be realized from within. Once it was institutionalized - thanks to commercialism, the West has a unique ability of doing so - Yoga lost its mooring and became both corrupted and contaminated. Blurry lines will continue to be crossed.
5
It saddens me to see so much victim blaming and dismissiveness in these comments. I'm a long time yoga-practitioner, and an "India trained" teacher. A few things: 1) just because you haven't experienced abuse, doesn't mean others haven't. Just because Jois never abused you, doesn't mean he didn't abuse others. 2) the reason teachers now ask if you want adjustments comes out of this history of abuse. It's not "traditional" and is a fairly new way of teaching. 3) as a teacher, I never know my students personal histories (unless they decide to share). I make no assumptions about how comfortable people are with touch. I'm trained, and train others, in trauma-informed yoga. Many people come to the physical practice of yoga for healing, and unexpected or unwanted touch, being asked to close eyes, and other practices that may be "traditional" in yoga can my harmful and feel dangerous to students. A good teacher respect their student's boundaries, experiences and needs. It's not hard to model adjustements, and to ask before touching. The yoga industry suffers from Orientalism, and worship of "tradition." There is no need to hold onto harmful practices. No gods, no masters, no gurus.
135
this feels like an uninformed comment because i have yet to watch this episode (it hasn't been posted on either platform), but i do want to weigh in briefly.
i empathize with anyone who has suffered sexual misconduct and abuse of power under a teacher or mentor. taking advantage of students (whether physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially) is a blatant violation of most ethical codes, including that of yoga.
i don't think this is a matter of "all and any touch" or "no touch at all," and that focusing on polarities is just a way to avoid the more difficult, knotty, nuanced aspects of this issue. i think what we have here is an opportunity for teachers to look closely at our own preferences, beliefs, motivations, and assumptions, and to get clear on how we are or are not compassionately supporting processes of inquiry and care for students.
i also think it's an opportunity for us all to examine how we (mostly women, but also men) are socially conditioned to ignore our intuition and to accept things that feel wrong to us. yoga can actually help us develop critical thinking and refine our power of discernment; i believe it's important that teachers emphasize and actively encourage these capacities in order to further a collaborative and conversational culture rather than perpetuate a potentially authoritarian one.
6
@mjp as a daily practitioner, my relationship to physical adjustments changes depending on the circumstance. i have never been touched in a sexually inappropriate way in a yoga class, but i have dealt with aggressive, annoying, and sometimes just plain pointless hands-on interventions.
for example, i am quite flexible, which some teachers interpret as something to be exploited, i.e., pushing me further into a forward-fold, even when there's nowhere left to go, or encouraging me to do a posture to the nth degree, even though i am making a conscious decision not to go to the full extent of my range. so i've had experiences where it felt like the teacher is offering an adjustment or a cue less for my benefit and more because they want to assert themselves, or because they are focused on the textbook/aesthetic ideal of the posture and not the individual.
i've also practiced with kind, respectful and discerning teachers who provide purposeful, clear adjustments—and still, i don't necessarily feel like being assisted by them in every class. these fluctuations in level of comfort/desire can happen even when you trust someone and their intentions. as a teacher, i try to never assume that a regular student will be comfortable with my touch today just because they were comfortable with my touch yesterday.
1
Mastering the art of teaching yoga's physical poses without touching students requires many skills, including: precise verbal cuing; effective mirror-imaging techniques; robust mental focus; in-depth anatomy knowledge; variety of alignment assists that involve minimalistic or no touching; ability to engender an aura of confidence, compassion, and safety; and a calming, perhaps imaginative, even poetic, voiceover that blends oral instruction with pauses of silence.
Wow, that's a lot to embody! But great teachers do just that.
It is far easier, however, for a teacher to talk/chat as he/she walks around looking to 'adjust/touch' students than it is to muster up the energy required, class after class, to actually TEACH. Many instructors today, male and female, prefer to use, and perhaps were role-modeled in their trainings, a rather effortless walkabout approach, in which there are no boundaries. Call out a pose. Then, touch here. Tell your life story there. Call out another pose. Give a bit of instruction. Then, touch here. Maybe flirt. Then, walk over to adjust/touch that one there. In such classes, the aura may be one of theatrics not mindfulness, inappropriateness not ethical professionalism. And it's foder for abuse.
IAYT requires its Certified Yoga Therapists (I am one) to pass an Ethics and Scope of Practice review and quiz. It's a move in the right direction.
10
@Camille Kittrell
This is one of the best comments that I have read here. I have done very little yoga in my lifetime. Due to old age and painful joints it often hurts more than it helps. But my best teacher-who left the state to work elsewhere -was wonderful with the narrative part of the practice. She was able to help us all into a mindful and conscientious level of effort. She demonstrated everything slowly and carefully and was quite clear about how body parts should be positioned. She would model modifications for those who needed them. During the last, resting part of the session she would come around with oil for your forehead which you were given the opportunity to decline. I hate to think of so many good teachers being looked at askance because of the few. I've never been around any advanced practitioners for obvious reasons. Maybe it is very different at that level .
I was in studio as student for 20 years. I do not recall any male instructor doing anything physically inappropriate to a female student. Perhaps holding a hand higher in triangle pose which does involve the sense of touch. Students were very loath to sit even close to one another in our culture. It was Iyengar Yoga which has a code of conduct and strict teacher instruction certification. I am sorry to read that some teachers violated the unwritten code that applies to any legitimate teacher. A student should never put up with groping- find another teacher or another class. Now I do it on my own. But I gained much value from intelligent committed gurus.
3
Of course one should always follow their intuition, and if someone crosses a line, let them know, leave or do what is appropriate.
Looking more deeply at the topic, Yoga is any practice that over time effectively unites you with that level of life that ties all life together.
Many practices in the west are at best secular versions of the ancient Vedic teachings of India. Most are devoid of the deeper Vedic knowledge.
The word Veda means knowledge, ultimately the highest knowledge a human can know. It refers to that level of consciousness at the junction point of the Absolute phase & Relative phase of the ultimate Principle or Reality (Brahman in Sanskrit).
The enlightened seers or Rishis of old heard with intuition the silent sounds or vibrations eternally generated by the Veda phase of consciousness, and those sounds were (and are) what we call Sanskrit verses today.
These were passed down orally for centuries and ultimately written down as the four classical Vedas, and these 4 and their teachings are further elaborated on in the Upanishads, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic writings.
Nothing wrong with most basic forms of Hatha yoga (physical poses) that are common today. They can help a person become healthier and more integrated.
But one can go much deeper, with other forms of Vedic meditation if one is inclined to investigate. The Yoga Vasistha is a great read for those who really wanting to delve in at a deep level.
Best to everyone on their journey.
7
Why does the NYT make us wait to watch the video on HULU. We hope to watch it when we see the new episode posted but it is not available on the HULU platform.
:(
21
Please stop being so sensitive. So what if an instructor touches you to reposition or whatever. Don't be so overly sensitive.
57
@DRS I can't believe this comment has gotten 12 upticks. Do you really believe that the things described in this article are something it's possible to be "too sensitive about?" Women are being assaulted by someone in a position of power; someone they trust. Clearly people aren't sensitive enough about the issue yet.
52
At first I also thought that people were being too sensitive and it’s only touch to reposition.
But I’m a heterosexual man and I thought, what if a man was the instructor and touched me in a way or place that felt like it wasn’t just repositioning, but rather was taking advantage of being an instructor to do something I thought was sexual. I’d be very uncomfortable and might even give him a solid smack. I wouldn’t even want to see him doing that to another guy or woman. I’d feel bad for them and wonder when he was coming for me.
Perhaps that’s how women feel when instructors do it to them.
18
@DRS
The image of the man (Jois?) putting his full body weight on a woman lying on her back didn't look like yoga to me. A well-placed knee would have straightened him out.
8
Keep yer paws off my Mula Bandha or I'm blasting you with a prana beam.
80
If you're yoga instructor is humping you or grinding you, then you are in the wrong studio. You can't make this stuff up.
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@Brian
AND that instructor needs to be reported and his (mostly) studio shut down. Otherwise, the powerful can continue their abuses.
16
At the beginning of class, the teacher would have us come into child's pose and ask if anyone didn't want to be adjusted, to put one hand on their back. That way, only the teacher could see who didn't want adjustments.
At the beginning of sivasana (final relaxation pose), the teacher would ask us to put one hand on our belly if we didn't want an adjustment. Again, nobody else in the room besides the teacher could see who didn't want the adjustments.
I thought these were excellent ideas.
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@Ashley There is a difference between a helpful, professional adjustment touch and a full on genital-related body-to-body contact or breast groping. Getting the former should be part of any excellent class (for those who don't dislike touch). The latter should be reserved for those in intimate relationships in private settings.
The article here is not talking about the neutral, professional touch for deft and helpful adjustments. It's talking about the groping, the genital touching, the full-body involvement.
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@Ashley
I think you meant Shava asana (corpse pose) not Sivasana. It means, seated like Shiva.
4
@mich phil I think Ashley probably knows the difference. I'm sure there have been awful transgressions because there's always a jerk in any community but there are people who just don't want to be touched, no matter what. Yoga is a very touchy feely teaching, so if you don't want to be touched, just voice it. If you were touched inappropriately, REPORT IT! women have to stop being afraid of "getting someone in trouble."
7
I have a 29 year yogi practice. The first 11 years of my practice were classic Astanga, six of those years with a teacher who studied uder P. Jois. We practiced first and second series daily except on new and full moons opting for meditation and rest on moon cycles. My teacher, a woman, did adjustments but very limited mostly for proper hip and or shoulder placement. With neither a man or woman did I ever see her place her hands in any inappropriate area of ones body. After she left NJ to travel to South American my practice became my own. The years of discipline from a daily Astanga practice prepared me to formulate my own practice and adjust my asanas as my body aged and I moved away from repetitive vinyasa to a more relaxed practice working on more elongation and breath as well as meditation. One day on a request I attended a local yoga class a friend asked me to critique. Yoga was now mainstream and the class was being offrred at a local health club. Well, the young woman teaching this class made more odd adjustments to the 30 or so people attending than I saw in six years with my experienced astanga teacher. When she went to adjust me in downward dog, I politely told her "hands off." Following the class I asked her background for teaching and how long had she been practicing
She was very proud when she told me, "Six very long and difficult months."
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@Jay Amberg
Lol. Those "six very long and difficult months" speaks to my falling out with 'contemporary' yoga after I went through instructor training myself. In short, I found the training somewhat (glaringly) lacking; and as the guy who had practiced for about 13 years prior to the training, being certified along with some who were close to that "level" of practice (most were 2-3 years), yeah, I saw some big issues with that. So I practice on my own.
Ironically, I miss group yoga, though, because I do miss the energy that can be found in a class, as well as the camaraderie, but also, yes, the human contact.
It is important to yoga, I believe, but yes (of course!), it must be consensual, and wholly appropriate.
But touch is powerful when done thoughtfully.
6
@DKM I call it McYoga. There are so many yoga teachers now and too many do vinyasa or flow yoga so that they don't have to teach you anything. It's just sloppy movements with no correction. There is a young teacher near me who only leads the class. There is no teaching involved. She is now doing teacher trainings!!
I mostly practice alone too and also miss a good group experience.
6
@Jay Amberg Unfortunately, this is the state of much of the yoga in American today. It's just "exercise"!
3
Whether it is yoga or something, woman or man- please speak up if you are not comfortable. Indian culture does consider the guru as part of the holy quartet , infact we have a saying-"mata, pita, guru, daivam in that order. Simply put it means mother, father, guru and god.
This does not preclude your responsibility to be honest and true to yourself . As a woman , i feel terrible for each of the affected individuals but by keeping quiet for so long they have "normalized" what would have potentially saved future victims.
Be your own champion and never let someone else diminish your self-worth.
27
@Tara, you are (indirectly) blaming the victims. Stop it. Did you read the accompanying article? The point is that the women were confused about the touching (and worse) at the time it occurred. The same thing happened to me, and I am an intelligent, strong woman who is not afraid to stand up to anyone. The whole structure of yoga practice is diminishing. Students are trained to be compliant. Now that I am well away from that world I can see it for what it is. It’s full of predators.
7
@Tara thanks.
You can tell a subject -- yoga -- has made the mainstream when big media start elaborating scandals. Fancy word: scandalmongering.
Read between the lines. This is prudery.
I stopped trusting NYT around the same time as NPR: articles superficially appear balanced but deep inside the writers and publishers have their own agenda.
A student is LUCKY to have a skilled, knowledgeable, experienced teacher who is able and willing to make adjustments.
The yoga ashtanga of Patanjali -- the real thing -- denotes that this is not a problem; it is MAYA, as false construct. Soon comes SHIVA, the deconstructor and Lord of Yoga, who through the teachings and practice brings the true student to a place of understanding and chittavrtti/ sattchitananda.
If this article turns you on, you're part of the problem. If it turns you off, simply announce that you don't want to be touched. But don't be a passive-aggressive creep about it. That's not yoga.
|
Careful what you ask for.
2
@Tara Stop deifying man regardless of where they come from or what they do. They are opportunists and have no qualms about it.
As a long-time practitioner of Ashtanga yoga, I witnessed first-hand Mr. Jois's appalling, insidious behavior. He had a racket and he knew it. He could basically grope attractive young women to his heart's content—in full view of numerous onlookers—and no one would say boo. He was "Guruji." He was above the vulgar attraction of mere flesh. He was spiritually pure. As a jaded, atheistic, cynical New Yorker, who loves yoga purely as a form of exercise, I did not buy this obvious nonsense He was a dirty old man feeling up naive girls. I brought up the issue of the man's flagrant abuse, and the apparent brainwashed willingness of his victims, with more than one of his notable disciples—names any Ashtangi would immediately recognize. Each time I was smacked down—more than once in public. Disgusted by this and countless other hypocricies in the world of yoga, I decided to practice on my own. I am thrilled this issue is finally coming to the fore. May there be no more "Gurujis." Wonderful yoga. Terrible man.
I found this
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@APH
Although I spent several weeks in Mysore, India, studying with Jois in the 90s, my perception and experience with him was entirely different. True, he typically put his body weight on practitioners, male and female, during the final asana of the practice, for the specific purpose of increasing the extension of various muscles. He moved from student to student, doing so in fairly neutral, matter of fact manner. I found him respectful and respected, a gentle grandfatherly man in his eighties. His English vocabulary was limited; his adjustments were invariably helpful. He taught adults -- all of whom were free to either express their objection or leave the class if they did not approve of his style. None of the 20 or so students in our class founded his behavior offensive in any way. He had been devoted to his wife for over 50 years. Was he perfect? No. But it makes me sad to think that his being maligned in this way. He was an extraordinarily good teacher.
4
@loyal follower
The issue here is consent. The issue here is boundaries. You are in no position to judge whether others felt violated. You also are in no position to KNOW what Jois was experiencing with his actions (I.E., impartial, "matter of fact."). You are only in a position to state what YOU did or did not experience or interpret as your experience of Jois.
You write here: "He taught adults -- all of whom were free to either express their objection or leave the class if they did not approve of his style."
No. It is just not that simple. The problem with this statement is that it ignores the context in which "gurus" operate, and the context of the conditioning of both women and men, as well as the pressures to conform. People are saying that they NOW, in retrospect, have reflected on the dynamic, and have sorted out their discomfort at the time, and that they see both their contribution and his.
You write: "None of the 20 or so students in our class founded his behavior offensive in any way."
I'm guessing you did not contact each of those 20 to ask them if, in retrospect or even at the time, they had any discomfort. You simply don't know this to be a true statement, unless you ARE them.
If you don't want anyone's hands on you you shouldn't do yoga.
3
@Michael Livingston’s
get real- have you even ever taken a yoga class? most yoga classes are not doing a lot of "hands on you" instruction. so don't say you shouldn't do yoga.
EVERYONE SHOULD DO YOGA-
we're all adults here (well most of us anyway) so if you enjoy being in a group yoga studio for practice (instead of only practicing only on your own, which is ok too & maybe even preferable) but don't say you shouldn't do yoga - when you don't know what is involved.
as many practitioners here have said, & I as a Yoga Therapist for many years believe, if you don't like something -(there are different degrees of touching for proper alignment BUT if you're not comfortable with ANY touching go elsewhere. it's complicated.
the practice of Yoga is a personal journey so find the Path and Enjoy the ride!!
1
Oh, that’s the answer? The implication here is that yoga is handsy and it’s all innocent, and women should stop being so sensitive. Did you read the article? It isn’t about people disliking being touched. It’s about sexual assault, and attitudes like yours that suggest any touching in yoga is to be expected.
6
@Katvdbg
there is NO implication from what I wrote that it's all innocent and about "sexual assault".
You are mistaken= "attitude like yours suggests any touching in yoga is to be expected.
Yes I did read the article. did YOU really read & understand what I wrote??
I'm a woman so obviously inappropriate "touching" is understandably off limits but an appropriate way of correcting with alignment adjustments is NOT sexual assault.
A good yoga teacher practices Ahimsa -do no harm - they correct students so they are not injured & do not continue a practice with incorrect alignment=
Adjustments are an integral part of Astanga Yoga. Alignment is taught through sense memory and I, for one, have greatly benefited from them.
If you think your teacher is creepy, find another teacher. If adjustments make you feel uncomfortable, then find a practice where the teacher verbally explains every minute detail. Or watch a yoga streaming service online.
It would be a great pity if this long-established facet of yoga is recast as something slimy and untoward.
24
"Gurus" are famous for sex scandals. Now "Yoga Gurus" join the pantheon.
This comes as no surprise to me. I have watched for 15 years as Americans have commercialized and "consumerized" yoga and meditation: yoga clothing, yoga jewelry, yoga mat wipes, yoga socks, meditation apps...the list goes on.
The ancients who created these powerful healing modalities...are rolling over in their graves.
More dangerous still is the way many people are using yoga and meditation for mind control or to subvert and subjugate their physical and emotional pain and unresolved life challenges.
The purpose of yoga and meditation is to support you to see clearly what there is to address and resolve, where you are in pain, what there is to communicate...and then for you to be a mature adult and tend wisely and well to those issues.
Instead, folks are using these healing practices to jump aboard the "woo-woo-train-to-airy-fairy-land-and-dysfunction-junction" and thus repress, suppress and ignore critical health, mental health, family, and relationship issues!
We "Boomers," have failed to face our failings and flaws head-on and instead normalize more and more dysfunction. (Hence, our President).
I am sometimes asked "What is the difference between a Guide and a Guru?"
A Guide asks, "Where would you like to go and how may I assist you on your journey?"
A Guru simply says, "Follow me."
We've become a nation of "followers" and "allowers"...and now we even use meditation and yoga to do so.
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@Kelly Grace Smith some of what you are saying is true but how can you fault anyone who wants to further their mental and physical health? the US already suffers from high rates of obesity and lack of physical fitness, so let's all jump on the bandwagon. I remember my mother doing yoga in the early 60s. I started doing it 30 years ago and am so happy to say that in my mid-60s, i can stand on my head, jump, twirl, stretch and don't suffer from any neck, back or leg pain. Thanks all to yoga. I have no gurus, just guides.
5
@acadiagal
I think yoga and meditation are wonderful, supportive, healthy tools! I have been a practitioner of both for almost 20 years myself.
What is not supportive is folks using meditation or yoga like alcohol or meds...as a way to avoid seeing, addressing, and working on the dysfunctional issues in their lives and relationships.
Yoga and meditation are tools to help support you to enjoy a healthy, balanced, evolving life...not a way to avoid what's not working.
And sometimes when vulnerable people come to yoga and meditation they are taken advantage of by "gurus" pursuing the love of power...rather than the power of love.
Good for you for your pursuit of a healthier, happier...you!
@acadiagal I'm glad you learned to do a headstand! So many teachers now do not include it in their teachings. One teacher told me I was not allowed to do a headstand. "We don't do that in this class." He was Iyengar trained. I'm 67 and have never hurt myself doing a headstand. I was taught properly.
1
Yes, granted even as far back as the Beatles rejection of the Maharishi in the 1970's due to the guru's alleged inappropriate advances toward women during their ashram retreat together, yoga has had problems with an image as a free-wheeling license to get jiggy with members of the opposite sex.
For myself though, I'm still not quite sure why anyone (man or woman) would feel that its alright to be touched in an inappropriate way during a yoga class, but when seeing their physical therapist or chiropractor for instance, it is not alright. I think that much of the problem relates, in fact, more to the long ingrained imbalance of power between men and women then it does to an unusual number of sleazy yoginis lurking around ones yoga mats. And that in the minds of everyone who practices or teaches yoga this is simply yet another area in society that needs to catch-up to the 'Woke' movement. Namaste.
8
Can we just take an ujjayi breath here. I take yoga all the time. The instructor always asks if someone does not want to be adjusted prior to the class starting. This snowflake professionally triggered woke class is really starting to ruin things for the normals.
15
Yoga, an exploration of mind, body, spirit is a personal, physical, emotional, and spiritual journey, for others, it is exercise and an opportunity to stretch. An excellent yoga teacher will at the beginning of class, say to listen to your own body, make any modifications you need, take child’s pose and rest as needed, and will use verbal cues, not touching to adjust you. In the West, we all get to follow our bliss in our practice, and I am grateful for the practice, my favorite pose, shavasanna, or corpse pose, at the end of class, where we lie on our backs and let it all go.
6
I'm a male yogi who has been practicing yoga for almost 30 years now and want to be corrected in my positions. If done right, it makes you better and receive the benefits of the position. I've been groped by a female teachers and witnessed male teachers who consistently 'correct' the youngest, hottest, least clothed female yogis; never 'correcting' males. Like many American imports, it has been Americanized with high-end fashion and pumping hip-hop music (I doubt they do that in India). It's still fun and healthy.
5
I took yoga for years with male and female teachers. The only time I was "touched" was to correct my position. Which was rare! The teacher would first demonstrate how the position should be and if I could not "get it", they moved me. If a teacher is rubbing, caressing, etc., that is NOT yoga teaching. So quit that class and find another!
49
Oh please. How difficult is it to softly ask "May I adjust your pose?" No one need be touched without consent.
63
@Donna V Better yet --- There are ways to ask or indicate consent when it is not in front of an entire class. Abuse victims might have a harder time with public response.
Yoga, in America is taken beyond what it is, everything in America get to level, that creates its own problems, and the subject is Blamed, and not the doers. Yoga is Spiritual, and an exercise, the teacher suppose to instruct not touch anyone or hold anyone, your dress code should be to protect you body, and not dress as a sexist, or like you looking, for someone, and I see some place they drink beer and do yoga, the disrespect in America is to the blame on the individuals who does it and who indulge in it, don't blame the Yoga. Respect your self, and others.
Ram Jodha
NYC
USA
17
I'll make this simple. Touching during a regular session is nonsense. If it is in a learning situation where the student is learning poses and the teacher is correcting something, then - with verbal consent - it is probably fine. However, beyond that, don't give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself.
1
@Michael Kennedy
off topic but
"...don't give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself."
Love Dan Baird & the Georgia Satellites who did this song!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vnHagLfdisg
http://www.thegeorgiasatellites.com/
1
I trained for many years as an adolescent to be a professional ballet dancer. It was common and expected to have ballet masters and mistresses poke, prod and pinch you to achieve the desired aesthetic. I remember thinking once how inappropriate it would be to have this happen in any other context but it was just accepted. In some cases these people were essentially celebrities, even Knights of the British Kingdom.
I always remember one instance where I was stretching before class with my legs to each side in a straddle. Our ballet master, who had won the National Medal of Freedom in Cuba, came up behind me and told me to exhale before leaning with all his weight on my back. Im not sure Id ever been in such pain. Could I have complained? Perhaps. Would anything have been done. No way. Thats just the way he was taught and the way he taught. If you couldnt handle it, then being a professional ballet dancer wasnt for you.
I can only imagine how much worse it could be to be a female dancer, with the competition so much stiffer and the likelihood of predatory behavior so much greater.
17
I’ve taught for several years. There’s really no compelling reason for a teacher to touch fellow yogis. Students should be having their own experiences in their own bodies. With 7 billion people in the world, there is really no such thing as “proper alignment”. All bodies are different. Hands on adjustments are usually all about ego...
20
Despite asking not to be touched at the start of my yoga class, the newbie instructor nonetheless gave me what I can only describe as a rude shove (eg an “adjustment”). She seemed morally offended that I wasn’t going “deep enough” into the pose. I never took another class at that studio - or any other. Haven’t missed it. I work out with well paid personal trainers who always ask before helping me stretch. Perhaps because yoga instructors are often poorly paid, this leads to power trips, because that’s all they’re getting from teaching.
4
@Julie
I beg to differ - yoga teachers are mostly well paid AND have experience. and most are NOT on power trips -that's "what they're getting from teaching"...
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with an inexperienced teacher. But don't put blame the whole beautiful & unique practice of yoga and demean the ancient scriptures which are the basis of Yoga on one person.
(it is NOT about lifting weights or using a personal trainer)
A yoga practice is primarily a personal practice/a journey of developing your Inner Self & Awakened Consciousness which has spiritual and mental/physical benefits - NOT just training the BODY.
what a shame that one episode turned you against yoga - which, unlike personal training is about Self-Realization & elevated Consciousness which we all need esp. now
1
I did not watch the video but I read the article. I found it imbalanced. I wish they had interviewed yoga instructors who faithfully adhere to the intended ethics of yoga (yama and niyamas), the first of which is ahimsa - do no harm. These are the yoga teachers I have experienced time and again, mostly in NYC (Brooklyn and Manhattan), and across this nation, in Mexico, in Bali. I have never been touched inappropriately in a yoga class. I have been through three yoga teacher trainings and in every single one, the instruction is "ask before you touch" and there are countless details about how to lay your hands on someone's body appropriately. This article gives one side of the story - the sensationalist side - and does not present both sides of the story. Shame on you, NYTimes.
34
@Kristen I completely agree on this. As a yoga instructor and student of the practice for over 20 years now, I find this blanket blaming and over the top sensationalism ruinous to a much beneficial and incredibly wise practice. Countless teachers have never EVER touched me inappropriately including Pattabhi Jois. So really get a grip people.
19
@Kristen No one is saying that this egregious behavior occurs with every instructor. Do you write in about stories of murders or robberies, and insist that mention be made of the millions of people who DIDN'T murder anyone that day?
11
I hope this documentary covers Bikram Yoga. It could't get any worse than what their leader did/does.
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@Julie
One day, Bikram the Fraud will perform a headstand that goes on just a bit too long. The coroner can then do as many adjustments as he or she feels comfortable doing.
1
When I give consent to be touched in a yoga class, which I always have, I’m not giving consent to be touched inappropriately. The use of “consent cards” doesn’t stop abuse. After reading this article, I realize it might enable it.
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I refuse to watch these videos. Linear media like video is inefficient and stultifying. Reading is non-linear and edifying.
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@Mexico Mike
“I refuse to watch these videos. Linear media like video is inefficient and stultifying. Reading is non-linear and edifying.”
How is reading not linear unless you choose to jump around whatever you are reading. You can do that with film or video too. It’s called fast forward, rewind, have multiple video sources on one screen, and you can even pause it to take a break. Film and video images, and how they are utilized, can be much more powerful (notice how I say “can be” not “are”) than something that is read.
As for “edifying” film or video can be quite instructive and intellectual. Watch NOVA, Closer to Truth, Frontline, Nature, American Experience, POV, America Reframed, Articulate, and Independent Lens to name a few on PBS. As for films, there are a plethora out there that are edifying. You just have to know what to look for and where to look.
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How are topics chosen? Nineteen episodes in and there hasn't been an episode about the state of the planet? Can we have coverage in The Weekly of the complicated issue of palm oil or the push toward extinction of orangutans or tigers?
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Or climate change, perchance?
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@Cindy My God is inappropriate touching in yoga studios really a big issue...an issue that deserves this kind of attention? I've taken yoga classes led by men and women. I've never witnessed anything but kindness, positivity, & professionalism. I don't need or want a discussion about consent. My presence in the class gives my instructors consent to make the appropriate adjustments. How else am I suppose to learn? This is an issue that has been manufactured by hyper-sensitive progressive fanatics who ruin everything they touch. Another reason they will NEVER gain any traction in this country.
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this episode makes me think of other articles such as opioid abuse hitting the suburbs hence becoming a disease that should be medically treated and not a crime as in less affluent areas.
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Sadly, no place is safe from preditors, especially when the preyed on are so vulnerable: be it church, school, the gym or a yoga studio.
And more sadly, many times the preditor is shielded by their star struck admirers (and often former prey).
I'm a cradle Catholic and share the community shame of the rampant abuse in the Church. Yoga became for me an alternate spiritual practice. The dirty secrets of the practice need to come to the light, even though it is painful to share in more community shame.
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A quality yoga teacher doesn't need to touch their students with anything other than their voice, their experience and their caring. Having taught 12 years, I know this is true. Pulling and pushing on a student doesn't "yoke them to God", which is the definition of "yoga". Teaching them about silence, stillness, limits, breath does. When a teacher touched me I always let them know it wasn't necessary. Speak up in class.
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@RCJCHC I had one actually looking a little too long at a pose where my crotch was pointing upwards. I stopped going to that class.
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@RCJCHC “ Teaching them about silence, stillness, limits, breath does”
No, it doesn’t either.
And it’s easy to day “speak up in class” but it doesn’t appreciate the dynamics. A better rule is “keep your hands off people unless you ask first and they explicitly consent to your touching them.”
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This is mostly true. However I have had minor hands on adjustments in class that completely altered how the pose felt. As a younger student it improved my understanding and awareness of alignment. It can be enlightening (for some). That said: obviously no one should be adjusted who doesn’t want to be touched. Everyone needs to feel comfortable and relaxed in yoga!
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i used to experience a lot of hands on adjustment while practicing yoga. it was needed and welcomed and made me better practitionet. also i learned proper habits and stands which made the whole practice much safer.
nowadays, unfortunately, teachers do not want to touch because they are aftaid of lawsuits or gossip (which might get you fired and ruin your career as yoga instructor). And what i see now in a studios are students with unsafe, inproper postures not corrected by the teachers. this made me stop practicing yoga, tbh.
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@mq I hope they post my comment. I am in agreement with you and I bet we will be in the minority of the comments.
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@mq Ashtanga studios still use hands on adjustments.
@mq agreed
I’ve been practicing yoga since 1997 and have never been touched in a way I would consider inappropriate. Of course, I avidly avoid celebrity yoga masters.
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I am looking forward to seeing this show.
The Iyengar world has had its MeToo moment over the past few years, and I've done quite a bit of reading about Pattabhi Jois. The two styles of yoga, Ashtanga and Iyengar, are cousins, although Mssrs. Jois and Iyengar went their own directions after studying together with Krishnamacharya in Mysore.
We've also seen the falls of Kripalu yogi Amrit Desai and Anusura rock star John Friend.
There's something about power that triggers a sense of sexual entitlement for some men. I don't get it.
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@Liz Pagan
There’s also something about power which triggers a sexual attraction of men for women. Beyond the fact that no one gets to touch anyone without permission let’s not lay that particular power dynamic solely at the feet of men.
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@Hugh CC She was talking about the men in her comment. Be a better listener.
Whether a yogi or a doctor or whomever, if they touch you in a way that makes you uncomfortable then you have to speak up or remove yourself from that situation. In all but the most egregious cases it may be difficult to know what the toucher's true intent is, but the important thing is how it makes you feel. Take responsibility for yourself because nobody else will do it for you.
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@Pat So back away during the prostate exam?
@Pat The neurosurgeon who saved my teen daughter's life following a devastating head injury didn't abuse her in any way, perhaps because nursing staff my husband and I were attentive and present in the ICU much of the time. However, two years later we read in the newspaper that he had been arrested for sexually abusing several female patients visiting in his office. One woman said that at first she hadn't been sure he was doing anything wrong, because she'd become so dependent on him, she couldn't allow herself to accept that his touching her was inappropriate, not until the day he dropped his pants. Doctors are not above reproach. They can be sick predators. Always have someone else present during any hands on treatments.
Just wondering, how about Latin dancing, salsa, bachata etc? Is it also a sort of different dynamic? Latin dancing like salsa, as the writer might know, can get quite close. Bachata these days is even more so, and this has, if anything, seemingly made it even more popular in the Latin dance world.
There’s a somewhat newer version of bachata, called “sensual bachata,” as opposed to the “original” Dominican bachata. Sensual bachata, as the word sensual implies, can and in fact is that, sensual. It emphasizes sensuality and sensual contact and turns and bends and motion between partners. It’s all about love and passion etc on the dance floor. and it has become really really popular around the world, it’s all but drowned out the original version, Dominican bachata. Its rooms and dance spots at dance festivals or around cities, including New York, are often quite packed with dancers, and it even has its own specialized festivals and events, and it’s professionals are stars. And, what’s also very interesting about it, from what I’ve seen, women absolutely love it to bits! It always intrigues me how much women in the Latin dance community seem to love it so much! Guys, too, love it, but it’s females who seem to really like it! As a guy I’ve often been nearly shocked at how much some dance partners have been willing to get close while dancing bachata, it’s me who often has to pump the brakes a bit! I am not complaining by any stretch! I just find it quite interesting!
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I tried yoga only once, and the yoga instructor demanded intimate personal details in front of everyone. I have been sexually assaulted too much not to understand what would happen next. I got up and left.
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I’ve been professionally teaching and practicing yoga, meditation and bodywork for over two decades as well as being a part of the psychedelic community. NEVER trust anyone who doesn’t talk and act like a regular person. Anyone playing up the role of Guide, Guru, Teacher with a capital T, Rinpoche, Yogi, Roshi, holder of rarefied knowledge, etc... should be held with an abundance of caution. Further, if you have a deep-seated need for approval, attention and acknowledgment or a desire to be good or pure then you are especially at risk to be the victim of predatory behavior. Lastly, if you ever feel creeped out it is never something that is wrong or deficient within you.
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@Ananda Exactly. This phobia has nothing to do specifically with a yoga studio. A person who has it has it everywhere. Such persons, and there are so many now, need to set their own boundaries.
Indeed, Reiki is totally touch oriented, yoga is not. Vilifying yoga on this count helps no one.
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@Ananda Well said. Totally agree.
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@Ananda LOL. I just wrote pretty much what you did. Funny how, given time and experience, we come to the same conclusions.
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In Hinduism and more specifically, Vedanta, yoga is not primarily a physical practice. It is mental and spiritual, a disciplining of the mind that is related in the Bhagavad Gita:
When, through the practice of yoga,
the mind ceases its restless movements,
and becomes still,
the aspirant realizes the Atman,
Atman being a kind of unity with others and the universe.
Yoga in this country is indeed commodified; it's part of the wellness industry, and it is a bundle of culturally appropriated terms and ideas devoid of context. Students in yoga class routinely say "om" but have no idea what it means, and the same with "namaste." Feel-good, but meaningless.
Of course, a rigorous mental practice is much harder to sell. You don't need mats or workout gear for meditation, though it is fast following in the yogalebrity path with meditation apps, bowls, and bells. The yogis who gave us the Vedas were forest sages who chanted the verse so that we could divine their wisdom two thousand years later. The texts were preserved by minds and expressed in breath. Breath and mind; that's it. We would do well to sit, study, think, and most of all, remember that.
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@Melanie True, but not always true. There are yoga teachers and communities out there who teach all 8 limbs of yoga. One must look for them and not assume that all yoga studios are equal.
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@Melanie Really underrated comment.
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It must be interesting to anthropologist to see the development of the US mind away from its roots in western society. And I don't mean the acceptance of yoga. That is common everywhere. I mean the emphasis of sexuality in its two extremes. The US is the home of the x-rated industry and of the sensitivity towards personal contact between sexes.
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I have practiced yoga for over ten years. All my teachers have asked me permission to touch my body to help with maintaining proper body alignment. I even had one teacher issue a wood coin to all - heads up meant that it was okay to touch; tails meant no... All of my teachers from various forms of yoga have been professional in their contact with me and their students.
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I taught yoga at a local state university for12 years. Yoga means to "yoke yourself to God". When it is taught in a competitive, hurried atmosphere, like a university setting, the more subtle, yet crucially important aspects can get lost. "I have to hurry up and get my yoga in." Couple that with the commodification of the practice, and the spiritual part is obfuscated. Yoga is best practiced alone, in quiet. If silence and meditation are not part of the practice, then you're not doing yoga. When we ask the question "who am I" the answer has nothing to do with money, status, race, class, power, etc...Touching a student is not necessary if a yoga teacher is really practiced with his/her voice and able to demonstrate accurately. Touching comes from impatience in yoga.
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@RCJCHC I agree with a lot of what you say but not "touching comes from impatience in yoga." There are physical adjustments that are extremely helpful that would not transmit only via voice. To use a fairly benign example, in savasana, when an instructor carefully adjusts your head to make sure the neck is not unnecessarily "working" and then gently pushes down on the front of your shoulders to remind those of us (most Westerners) that we don't have to hunch all the time, the pleasurable feeling of having all nonfunctional tension in your neck and shoulders released is deeply satisfying. This can't be done without touch.
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Yoga class isn’t the only place this is a concern. My children have taken several dance and martial arts classes over time. Some instructors are more hands-on than others. I seek out the latter.
It isn’t always a question of sexual harassment. But it IS always about who controls access to one’s own body and what we’re teaching the kids (and adult students) about consent. I understand, going in to the class, that there is a baseline of implied consent. But often there is an instructor or student assistant who takes that implied consent and overruns students with it. Denial of consent can be treated as insubordination.
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All of my best and most sincere yoga instructors, throughout my decade-plus of practice, ask at the beginning of class if anyone is new to yoga. Then once everyone is in child's pose, so students can't see each other, will have people raise their hands if they have an injury and then again if they do NOT want to have adjustments, i.e. be touched. In addition to some other things (please don't assume that the entire class wants to spend half the time practicing inversions), these are teaching patterns that will bring me back. I usually choose adjustments, but it's offering the choice that's key. It's pretty simple, just like yoga.
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Ashtanga is a very small subset of the wider yoga community, also much more strict and traditional compared to what most Americans experience as yoga. The depth and discipline of the practice should not be confused with more westernized forms of yoga. Historically, Jois and his teacher performed adjustments that today would seem radical. This is in no way similar to the types of adjustments you experience in current yoga classes where there is always an opportunity for students to opt out of adjustments. Sensationalizing these experiences and insinuating that this is happening across the wider yoga community is flat out wrong.
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@Ali Kress Amen. Shame on NYT for presenting such an imbalanced view of yoga.
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I have never seen the extent of comodification of yoga, as it is practiced in America. Its an ancient tradition and doesn't come with the bells and whistles as it does here with all the different types of yoga that are practiced here which frankly no one in India has heard about. We were taught yoga in India, but no one touched us inappropriately as the article suggested. I am worried because yoga is given an esoteric and new agey vibe in the west, its benefits both physical and spiritual will be lost as a fad if its reputation suffers due to the commercialization of the practice , and perhaps some of the inappropriate ways it might be getting practiced, in the west.
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There is an obvious gap between touching for support and pure groping. The difference is probably impossible to discern until after the fact.
Yoga coaches who trespass repeatedly should be barred from further coaching practice, the problem is of course in the proving of the misdeed. I suppose people talk, and such matters will come to the surface eventually, and consequences should materialize.
But, if someone is totally averse to any touching by the coach, he or she should make this clear to the coach beforhand, - or find som other pastime.
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In yoga classes with high level instructors I have had to speak to the owner of the studio. During a two day yoga retreat in the Hamptons one well known guest instructor, a man in his 30's, picked the prettiest girl in the class to demonstrate the poses and ran his hands all over her while barking at the rest of us. Was he trading on his prestige to take advantage, perhaps so that is what predators do. When I discussed this with the gentleman whom ran the studio he looked at me as if I was the problem but I was not the only woman to notice what was going on. Not to mention the young woman doing the demonstration. She was visibly uncomfortable but some how did not know how to speak up.
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"Our reporter Katherine Rosman, an avid yogi herself,..."
In India -- where the practice of yoga originated -- a yogi is a person who has attained a level of mastery not only of the physical aspects of the practice, but also has attained a certain spiritual realization through may years of diligent practice. A much better word to use to describe the reporter is yogin.
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@David, actually, yogi is inappropriate for females in the first place, the term is yogini. They are Sanskrit terms, not English terms, and Sanskrit is a gendered language.
As for the distinction you are making, I have a good friend who practices yoga and is from India, and studied Sanskrit growing up and tried going to an ashram while in college there. She makes no such distinction, anyone who practices yoga can refer to themselves as a yogi or yogini. The term for a master is usually guru (if a teacher) or siddha (siddhi for women). The latter term means someone with special skills (in Sanskrit).
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Thank you for bringing attention to the Wellness Industrial Complex and it's problems. As a meditation teacher, I find the commodification, whitewashing, and spiritual bypassing of much of the industry to be heartbreaking.
There is gold in these teachings! We should not ignore them because of the bad apples / predators. But we definitely need more transparency and accountability. So: thank you!
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This is an interesting but delicate issue. A practice that is growing fast because it does offer real benefits, also has elements that don't fit with today's western norms - and may indeed allow instances of abuse. What is especially delicate is how to separate true abuse from apparent abuse but differently intended and with unspoken consent. Let's not blow it out of proportion. In particular, let's not assume it is comparable to the problems the Catholic church is facing about child abuse. In this case, the participants are the best to judge.
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@PT There are thousands of pending lawsuits for sexual abuse in the Protestant and diverse churches.
I started practicing in 2001. In a short time I was devoted to a regular practice at the most popular yoga studio in Oakland county. The practice itself was seductive a combination of a charismatic instructor and a spiritual and physical workout. Since then yoga has continued to evolve making wellness claims that are impossible. And yes the male instructor was hands on. Ironically the mostly female class clamored for his attentions.
I now practice at home and get the same benefits without all the drama and woo woo promises. Yoga is good for the body and a nice time out for the mind but the rest is rubbish.
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Perhaps this explains why my (female) yoga instructor does minimal touching to coach or correct. I have asked her to use touch if needed to help me do poses the right way. She mostly uses voice but sometimes my brain cannot translate instruction to motion. And doing things correctly can be key to avoiding injury.
I’ve never had a male instructor but if I did, and he crossed the line between coaching and fondling, I would be doing some correction of my own directed towards him.
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As much as we like to call Yoga a spiritual practice, for many it's another form of personal empowerment and sensual fulfillment. You can argue whether or not those are good things; but the actual spirit aspect is often overshadowed by a lot of well-dressed and toned ego indulgence—the very things it's ultimately designed to dissolve.
As humans we all too frequently surrender our autonomy to an authority figure in the hopes of gaining some kind of insight or enlightenment. Though well-intentioned, this abdication of discernment and personal responsibility can too easily lead us to powerful, charismatic figures who are just on some kind of ego trip themselves.
The path that leads to modern Yoga in America is strewn with sexual scandals and abuse stories: Bikram, John Friend, Jois, etc. etc. Likewise with meditation traditions: plenty of abuse if you look. It's not all that different than what's going on in politics right now.
I practiced Yoga religiously for 15+ years, and worked with a lot of powerful teachers. It was empowering and revealing, and ultimately it was right to let it g.
I'll always cherish dear friend who quotes Vivekenanda thusly: "It's wonderful to be born into a church, and it's terrible to die in one."
Words to live by.
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@Mark Holmes Find out just where Vivekananda "said that." It is definitely not what he lived by. ...
Except that - perhaps someone is alluding to being done with the eggshell of "church" and breaking out as a winged spirit in Moksha.
Sri Swami Vivekanandaji Maharaj was the first yogi to bring yoga in 1893 to the USA. His first words, which caused an instant, standing, and uproarious ovation, were: "Brothers and Sisters of America:"
He attributed all his yogic success to his beloved teacher, yes, his guru, Sri Ramakrishna.
It was Oscar Wilde, who, when asked what he thought of American culture, answered thusly: "I think that it would be a good idea."
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