Should we be surprised? As it turns out, the power dynamics that exist in other places in our society are being seen playing out in Yoga. With the advent of articles, online videos and documentaries regarding the abuse of power in yoga, I felt the compunction to write this short commentary. It may not seem surprising when we think of the general state of our socio-cultural environment and the news we hear about priests, coaches, Hollywood producers, politicians and others. It is surprising and disturbing when we think of yoga as a sanctuary of higher values and higher sensitivity. Not only is it inappropriate in our larger society, but for many of us, who think of our yoga communities as safe havens where ethical behavior is held high, along with values of commitment to personal growth and empowerment, it feels like even more of a violation.
The stories of Gurus taking advantage of their students have been part of our modern yoga reality for a while now. Maybe you thought that it was isolated to the spiritual Gurus and that the Hatha Yoga Gurus were less susceptible to these dynamics. But, especially with the latest documentary about Bikram, that assumption should be questioned! There are different levels of violation or abuse of power and the one spoken about in Bikram’s case is an obvious abuse and should never be tolerated. Fundamentally, it seems to be a matter of how to effectively address the abuse. I don’t have all the answers, but an important one is to take a stand against it.
Inappropriate touch and the need for consent to be adjusted in Yoga has also come up lately. One would think in this time of heightened sensitivity, that yoga teachers would be well informed and approach people carefully as to get consent, try not to hurt anyone or violate appropriate boundaries. When I was studying with Pattabhi Jois, the Guru of Ashtanga, I recall seeing him be forceful in his adjustments (causing some injuries) and touch inappropriately. The strong adjustments in Ashtanga were considered part of how Jois helped people in class and generally seemed to be reserved for the more flexible people and injuries were an exception. I personally have changed my way of adjusting over my years of teaching because of seeing the potential risks involved with stronger adjustments.
The one occasion I saw inappropriate touch was Jois putting his hand over a woman’s pelvic floor during a straddle forward bend as an “adjustment”. At the time, several women addressed the issue directly with some of the senior students and we all thought Jois had agreed to stop that type of “adjustment” completely. However, in the last few years, some women’s reports have been that these behaviors actually continued for some time. Although it may not be as extreme as allegations against Bikram, this kind of “adjusting” should never be considered acceptable.
Subtler levels of abuse of power should not be acceptable either, but may at times be harder to discern the boundary lines. It becomes less a matter of the violation of physical boundaries and more of emotional and psychological ones. These kinds of abuse have been fairly common as a socio-cultural phenomenon in a number of contexts. One would think that anyone who engages in obvious power-over behaviors would suffer the consequence of the students not coming back. This is not always the case, for various reasons (which I won’t get into here). Abusive behavior has historically been normalized in certain circumstances and it is not considered normal to stand up against it. Primarily, because it may lead to more abuse. It takes courage to stand up against it.
My last blog was a brief discussion of the key ethical principle in yoga – nonviolence (Ahimsa). All of the situations mentioned above pertain to this basic principle. Yoga teachers should be compassionate and sensitized to appropriate action and speech. When it comes to adjusting yoga postures, yoga teacher trainings should be telling their trainees: first, get permission (consent), second, only use appropriate touch and non-aggressive assists, if at all. Teachers need to understand their role and responsibility in a different way than some of the normal historical interpretations of the teacher student-relationship. Traditional yoga culture can finally learn from a modern social egalitarian ideal of the empowerment of all individuals. This change in yoga in the new era of multiplying yoga studios will be important. Yoga communities can actually become exemplary sanctuaries of a higher standard of behavior. Power-over dynamics can be avoided if we all make our voices heard.