The Yoga Community Has a Sexual Misconduct Problem

The #MeToo era continues to shed a light on the sexual misconduct taking place behind closed doors (or sometimes in plain sight) across many industries and communities. Now it’s yoga’s turn.

After Sharath Jois, a grandson of Pattabhi Jois, the late founder of Ashtanga yoga, took to Instagram to address the long-ignored allegations against his grandgather, Eliza Grizwold explored the various sexual scandals and allegations that have plagued the yoga community for decades in a recent New Yorker feature.

Since Jois’s death in 2009, more than a dozen of his former students have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, accusing the once-esteemed guru of assaulting them in his studio in India and during workshops he held in the United States. Former students have accused Jois of rubbing his genitals against them while they were in vulnerable poses, laying on top of them and manually penetrating them — a practice some have excused as an adjustment to the body’s lowest chakra.

“It brings me immense pain that I also witness him giving improper adjustments,” Jois’s grandson wrote in an Instagram post last week. “I am sorry it caused pain for any of his students. After all these years I still feel pain from my grandfather’s actions.”

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Growing up I was very close to my grandparents. When I recall learning asana from my grandfather it brings me immense pain that I also witnessed him giving improper adjustments. I did not understand and felt helpless. I am sorry that it caused pain for any of his students. After all these years I still feel the pain from my grandfather’s actions. We must have zero tolerance towards abuse, mishandling, or touching students inappropriately. Teachers should respect students at all times. We all have a responsibility to govern the teachings and protect against wrongs. Many times I have wondered why the senior students (who were 15-20 years older then me) at the Lakshmipuram shala did not support the other students when they saw these things occur? They have moved on to become famous teachers worldwide. Why did they not act in support of their fellow students, peers, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, husbands, friends and speak against this? My grandfather was my guru. He taught me everything I know about Asana, and I loved him, but I'm extremely sorry for those students who are going through this trauma. I understand your pain. It is my humble request to all those students harmed to forgive him for his actions. By acknowledging the past wrongs I hope you will be relieved from this terrible burden. It is my sincere hope that we can prevent abuse from ever happening again. Namaskara 🙏🙏🙏

A post shared by Sharath Jois, PARAMAGURU (@sharathjoisr) on Jul 9, 2019 at 8:33pm PDT

As Grizwold notes, Jois’s misconduct was far from the first sex scandal to rock the yoga community, with similar allegations against other powerful gurus dating back decades. In 1991, Swami Satchidananda was accused of molesting his students, leading to protests. Bikram Choudhury, the founder of hot yoga, has faced a string of civil suits related to sexual misconduct allegations, including one filed by his own lawyer in 2013.

As is the case in many manifestations of the toxic sexual culture that plagues society, the yoga community’s sexual misconduct problem stems, in part, from a misuse (and potentially a misapplication) of power. While devotion to the guru in traditional yoga practice is meant to symbolize devotion to the teachings, Grizwold notes that Western practice has largely perverted the role of the guru, turning him into a kind of celebrity to be idolized. As the #MeToo era has made glaringly clear, this kind of power is ripe for abuse.

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