How Yoga Creates Perfect Conditions For Sexual Abuse
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- There have been dozens upon dozens sexual abuse allegations in the Yoga world. But by far not everyone, including the Yoga practitioners know it. There is an inherent reason in how Yoga is conducted, which creates the perfect conditions for sexual abuse. In order to understand why it is so and what we could do about it, we’ll start by looking at some prominent, high profile sexual abusers and what created those conditions.
For more videos exposing the flaws behind Yoga check this playlist: • Critical Thinking In Yoga
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Sources used in the video:
- Bikram allegations article #1: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/18/bikram-hot-yoga-scandal-choudhury-what-he-wanted
- Bikram allegations article #2: www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/yoga-reconsiders-the-role-of-the-guru-in-the-age-of-metoo
- Bikram charged by court: www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/us/california-dollar6-5-million-judgment-against-founder-of-bikram-yoga.html
- 9 women speak up about Pattabhi Jois: thewalrus.ca/yogas-culture-of-sexual-abuse-nine-women-tell-their-stories/
- Pattabhi Jois sexually assaults men (photos and article): matthewremski.com/wordpress/pattabhi-jois-sexually-assaulted-men-photo-evidence/
- Karen Rains' article on Jois: gen.medium.com/yoga-guru-pattabhi-jois-sexually-assaulted-me-for-years-48b3d04c9456
- "Trust your guru" article: www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/spirituality/2018/may/05/trust-your-guru-1809817.html
- Guru Sex: Charisma, Proxemic Desire, and the Haptic Logics of the Guru-Disciple Relationship: academic.oup.com/jaar/article/86/4/953/5053747
- Sexual abuse allegations in Yoga: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_abuse_by_yoga_gurus
Worst is how people treat yoga and meditation as an instant cure for their own problems without figuring out them for themselves.
If actual yoga was practiced in these places, you wouldn't see these things happen.
You are right, people looking for a quick distraction from their problems can easily land them in a bad spot. It's to such an extent that they can't recognize people that look extremely phony from a mile away. I suppose it's not that easy when you don't know what to look for, same with martial arts. If someone is completely ignorant they often are too quick to blindly accept everything from the authority figure. As they have no idea what is appropriate, correct etc.
I've literally seen people say "I don't know anything about this so i believe everything you say".( was on medieval arms and combat topic)
Many also just see it as a healthy hobby.
I think being educated enough to understand at least the basics of what works and what doesn't is really important when taking on any practice. Unfortunately most people just go to places and take what is given without doing any background checking on the practice or the instructor before hand.
My gf was about to by an online course by a Lithuanian SG (self help guru) on how to deal with your family. I did a background check on that SG in 10 minutes and by the end of it me and my gf were both laughing on how ridiculous the situation was. The SG had 0 formal education and the whole course was basically based on her own personal ideas (including karma stuff). Granted my gf didn't join the course anymore, but it only shows how easy it is to trick people.
Wow, very informative. I hate to go here but sounds like a percentage of priest in catholicism. These authority positions attract those that would manipulate.
I don't have enough data to back that claim up, but I personally suspect something similar. I think that various predators who seek sexual victims perceive the suitable conditions of power and accessibility created by practices such as yoga or catholicism. That is why I think the focus should be not only on calling out these individuals but also in changing the structures which give way for these misdoings.
@@OverDoseAdrenaline well that just makes it all the more terrible when in does happen in the church.
@@OverDoseAdrenaline Well there you go Exhibit A
@@OverDoseAdrenaline More like it's a widely encompassing problem with society creating people like that. Though still when it's far more prevalent in certain circles than others, those should take more focus.
"Purging" people won't solve the underlying problem though. Others will replace them.
Mental health issues is something that needs to be addressed. People needs to take a look at themselves
Yoga is essentially a scam. It's not traditional or from a long line of ancient gurus at all. "Dr Mark Singleton of Cambridge, wrote in Yoga Body - The Origins Of Modern Posture Practice, that the influence of Scandinavian gymnastics in modern yoga was significant, and that a new emphasis on body image and physical strength (especially as India was preparing to test British resolve in continuing its colonization), was the inspiration for the new style of physical yoga - an idea that helps explain why such a peaceful discipline has postures named “warrior.” There are some who go a step further and think that yoga poses were developed as a way to get locals physically conditioned for war." That's interesting, but is it an ancient practice of which bearded gurus are the custodians? No. Not at all. It's not some "ancient holy practice". Yoga is new. That's fine, but all the "Om Shanti" and beads and chanting: is it really passed down from antiquity? Nope. British military calisthenics is also an influence on it, apparently and you can devise your own Rokas Yoga line from a set of movements you invent next weekend with total legitimacy. People need illusions. --> bodybyyoga.training/yoga-living/yoga-history/
It really makes sense what you are saying and that's the suspicion I had about Yoga and its heritage too. Thanks for sharing the article and your knowledge. I'll most likely make a video about it later in the future to address this subject.
Very informative article .
Wow.....so you read the whole article and your only useful takeaway was that it's a scam?????🙄
Ok.....whatever rocks your boat buddy.....
@@irb911 Yeah. Modern yoga is a scam - a mix of religous dogma, gymnastic hyper-extensions which destroy the body, magic tricks and cult worship. The teachers have no idea what the roots of the practice are; no idea what the efficacy of the poses are; the origin of the poses; whether the claims for medical benefits are backed by empirical evidence. What are the chakras? Any evidence to back it? Nope. What about Kundalini energy? Nope. Where does downward dog originate? Don't know. Is shoulder-stand good for your health? Hell no. Why do we do it? Because some guru said. Why should I believe him? Because you should trust your guru. It's not some ancient Indian tradition. It is new, like Scientology is new. You should continue. I don't want to destroy your illusion. Om shanti, brethren.
@@BlackPrimeMinister like I said sir, whatever rocks your boat.....it works for me (the yogic poses).....if it doesn't work for you, hope you're doing what you enjoy to keep fit and more power to you....take care......
Hi, it is a very informative and important video on this topic. A topic, that is more or less hidden from all. I had a very bad experience with 2 "gurus" in India, who did not only tried to sexually abused me, but also wanted my money and energy... I do not intent to get deeper here, but I wanted to share that I think it will be good to share in these videos both sides, because if it is viewed by a person who doesn't have a lot of knowledge in the field, can get the wrong idea about yoga. Because I still believe there are 2 sides of everything - like the yin yang: the more white sides you find there are same black... Thus, as a critical thinker in order to create a complete picture it is right to represent it as one!
Hi Kristina! Thank you for your comment. I'm really sorry to hear about your bad experience with the 2 gurus. I was also surprised to find that there are almost no videos on sexual abuse in yoga on UA-cam which is crazy given how big of a problem it is.
I also appreciate and hear your feedback about presenting both the bad and the good side. I think you are right.
So, guys, when are you going to evolve beyond the instinctual behaviours? Yoga is not a problem, the problem is the same in every industry. Holywood, fashion, music, banking, I mean everywhere. You are staring at the finger darling and missing the moon.... Every single one of you are responsible for this. You do it. By action or inaction. So what are you going to do about it?
Really interesting mate, are you planning on talking about similar stuff happening in martial arts? Recently in France some sexual harassment accusations have been made against some Judo teachers. Do you think martial arts provide similar conditions as the one you describe here for yoga?
Keep up the great work!
That's a good question Paul. I was thinking about addressing this subject in martial arts too. I don't have enough data yet to cover it, but I should probably do some investigations. I personally don't think the situation is as bad in martial arts as in Yoga. Partly because it's not As mystical as Yoga and also Yoga is much more physical, hands on approach than many martial arts. But I did hear and know about some martial arts instructors abusing their power as an authority figure to woo younger women (sometimes underaged). There is also the case of Team Lloyd which I covered in this video: ua-cam.com/video/t8bIJYN1IY4/v-deo.html which covers this article: www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/3/5/4066506/team-lloyd-irvin-sex-abuse-cult-power-medal-chasers-exodus
@@Rokasleo Mcdojolife has covered various cases like that in MAs. Released a video with various news reports covering a bunch of cases, i think.
It might not be as bad as "yoga" circles though. I don't really know much about these. And yeah, that crap about trusting the instructor 100% and blindly could make it more of a thing. Though that also exists heavily in traditional martial arts. As you know. Questioning is frowned upon.
Less so nowadays, especially with mma becoming more popular. But it's not unheard of there as well. (heck in other spheres as well, like medicine, authority figures don't like to be questioned or to even imply they might be wrong about something or not know something)
Y do u guys alwaz talk negative... talk something positive about it......everybody r nt same on earth....there millions of people getting benefitted from it....throw a light on how to be positive instead of spreading hatred.....bcoz of this hatred nature oly ...all the world is filling with this much of miseries
Answer is a definite yes.
These gurus are definitely sick people, but I wonder why so many of the practitioners watch this behavior or worse, suffer it directly, and stay there? Yoga should also be the vehicle through which you become self sufficient and not emotionally dependent. These students seem to be missing the point of practice, by staying within the guru culture. Be your own guru for once in your life.
I love this channel more than Martial Arts Journey
I’m a survivor of multiple sexual abuse experiences and this infuriates me. I’m taking that fury and putting it into fundraising to stop sexual exploitation, abuse, and trafficking.
I'm glad to know that you are channeling that fury in an empowering and constructive way. I'm thinking that there are a number of people, including myself, who had unfortunate experiences and found the strength, instead of being a victim, to take action and do something about it, so the same misfortune would happen to as few people as possible.
This was a great video! Good job, thank you for sharing.
Glad you liked it Tomas!
@@Rokasleo I haven't experienced abuse within the Yoga community. But I have seen cults emerge rapidly within the Buddhist community. So sad.
Thanks for bringing awareness to this situation! Check out the documentary Bikrham on netflix
It's on my watching list! Will probably check it out this weekend :)
Great job Rokas!
So basically like the 'martial arts community". Seems to be not too uncommon there as well(sexual abuse, molestation etc.). These types of people gravitate to such positions for a reason. In other circles as well. If they can get away with it, they'll do it.
Sadhguru though, he's not at all like "Believe everything i say" etc etc. Pretty much the opposite. And is fairly logical in general(based on various things i have seen). They have done a lot of great work with various initiatives like planting trees, providing education for poor areas in India etc. What's said in that article is pretty specific and i suppose there is nothing *inherently* wrong with it.
I suppose it comes down to charlatans taking various ideas and practices then distorting them to fit their purposes(i suppose almost everyone does that in one way or another, misinterpreting and misrepresenting things to fit their belief system and goals). That's why at large yoga has been reduced to gymnastics. Naturally having a dose of truth in your lie makes it seem much more convincing to people.
It's like fake BJJ schools by people who don't know even basic things.(that may do sexually abusive things as well). It doesn't reflect on BJJ being messed up or useless etc.
Cutting at every comma is kinda annoying man
😄😄 I was waiting for someone to say that. 👌 Note taken
I understand that this is a problem, that is why one should thoroughly research the "guru" under whom they are practicing yoga.....and besides there are some really good books on practicing yoga like 'path to holistic health' and 'light on yoga' by BKS Iyengar which I can guarantee are one of the most genuine and best books on yoga that I've come across. These books are extremely reader friendly and anyone can easily follow the books instructions on how to practice proper yoga. Self practitioners also save a lot of time any money by not going to a guru..
Iyengar is actually one of the most reported "gurus" for abuse too. For hurting, smacking and jumping onto his students while in very vulnerable positions. There are many videos of it.
How many of these women willingly let the "gurus" have sex with them, only to suddenly become "victims" when they realized that the guru was sleeping with bunch of other followers as well? This happens all the time, women build up unrealistic expectations of their yoga practice (thinking they will become enlightened or some other BS like that), but yet allow themselves to get easily sexually seduced by pretty words. There is nothing criminal in the fact that the leaders are sleeping with the followers as long as it is consensual; it may be immoral, but certainly not illegal. Besides, there are ancient branches of yoga (like tantra for example), that utilize sex as means of yogic practice; female duplicity of course does not allow them to think that you can pursue both spiritual and sexual aspects of yoga, but they do it anyway. I wouldn't therefore judge these "gurus" so hastily as the bad guys.
Do you think that all of the cases recorded and documented consisted of women who actually wanted to be touched sexually during yoga or to have consensual sexual intercourse with these gurus and that once they did they changed their minds afterwards? Also, how about the guy in the picture who has Jois' fingers down his butt hole? Do you think he wanted him to do it?
@@Rokasleo I agree, some of these photos or films stills that you are showing look pretty damning. My comment however dealt more with issue of sexual consent later to be claimed to have been not given. Withdrawn consent is a different issue altogether, and still not quite settled legally, and beyond of scope here. However, here is my question about those pictures: no one did or said anything, and this behavior that we see pictured (like the finger up the butt or grinding against the crotch) was not condemned by the person who filmed it, by the "victim", or by others present in the room at the time it occurred. Why? Is it because of mass brainwashing? Fear of authority? Force? Or perhaps the participants (both the active - the "guru", and the passive - the "victim") wholeheartedly believed that it was a part of their yogic training? If the latter, and I suspect that it was so as other possibilities are not plausible. Remember, we are talking about adults here, not children! As a martial artist and someone interested in yoga yourself you probably realize that many of physical, mental and emotional blockages are caused by sexual repressions, this is a very old idea going back to Freud in the West, but much older in the East. There are many legitimate yogic practices that allegedly open up these blocks that involve sex-like or outright sexual practices. To agree to them and later to claim that they were tantamount to abuse is in my mind disingenuous, and probably brought on by desire for material gain.
Yeah, that has certainly occurred.
I assumed it's more about non-consensual situations.
Other situations are very difficult(to impossible) to determine and prove with enough certainty necessary for legal proceedings. Would basically have to read peoples minds. As well as what steps should be taken if, say, someone was manipulated into sexual conduct. Should that even be illegal ?
If you did something and later regretted it, that's a different matter.
As for sexual practices, sure, they exist. However it's not something to approach casually and in a shallow manner. People need to be less trusting i'd say.
But it's all problems that are hardly solvable unless a core shift happens in society as a whole and peoples minds.
I don't disagree that some of the cases may have been consensual and then the opinion was changed later, but I do think that if some of these cases were like that that, my own guessing is that they were a minority. As having myself been a part of a cult (not the worst out there, but still) I know very well how brainwashed you can be and you can do a lot of things at the time being certain that they are the right things and later realizing how fcked up that was and regretting it really badly. Problem is - the conditions and the mindset that the cult set up is what made you do those things. One would never do the same things without those conditions and suggestions.
It's always easier to judge someone else without having been in their situation and to expect that you would act differently in the same situation until you really get to be in one. Sexual predators are aware of that and they abuse the whole awkwardness of the situation, since in those conditions you can be so shocked and surprised that you freeze up and just don't know what to do. I remember a friend of mine back in the day (teen girl) was telling me how an old pervert started subtly groping her in the bus and she was so shocked that she just didn't know what to do and so - she did nothing about it. Do you think she really enjoyed having that experience? Would you?
I'd recommend reading the article from Karen herself. She describes what was happening in her mind in that situation really well. You can find the article here: gen.medium.com/yoga-guru-pattabhi-jois-sexually-assaulted-me-for-years-48b3d04c9456
Great. Also, besides sexual harassment, God only knows how much money was laundered trough yoga and meditation movements. Just remember Maharishi and the whole TM fuckery.
This is an insightful video. Although you no longer teach yoga, are there any aspects of it thst you have retained? Do you still practice any of the postures?
In a way I do. I learned to appreciate stretching from my yoga training and still use some postures I learned in yoga during stretching. At the same time I think it's important to acknowledge that those postures don't really exclusively belong to yoga. Many modern therapies and fitness trainings use the same postures without any reference to yoga and there is a questionability if those postures come from yoga originally to begin with.
That being said I think yoga, when taught well by a good instructor, can be a great and healthy practice. I'm just concerned that great and well educated (in science of the body) instructors are hard to find.
Your views are based on half baked knowledge of Indic philosophy & ignorance of the rich history of the spiritual practices like Yoga due to influence of so called western scholars? who dominate the discourse. Most of them can't read & understand Sanskrit in all its nuances & having leftist/Abrahamic leanings propound distorted views of the original philosophies.
However, this is not to underestimate the problems which charlatans create. Unfortunately, they manage to get away because of the deep disconnect of the masses with the original philosophies & practices. Hot yoga propounded t Vikram had no philosophical grounding to the original practices yet people fell for it. Now who is to blame for that? I suggest you should read up Mr. Rajiv Malhotra's work to better understand.y critique since it's difficult to put everything in an UA-cam reply.
CREEPY....I mean...why not just go get a girl the old fashioned way, CONFIDENCE, GAME, GOOD LOOKS, DOMINANCE & BAD ASSERY. 😎👉👉
Hard when you look like uncle Fester and suck.
@@HiddenStr3ngth bwahahahah!! That's for damn sure!! well that's why the aikido master is warning us about sexual yoga creepers.
Pattabhi Jois is still celebrated as "Guruji" by this cult who call themselves "ashtangis" who are mostly westerners and a bunch of elite indians for who a set of gymnastics like moves is what Ashtanga Yog is all about.
Here is the link to a wonderful article written by one of the most senior Ashtanga Yog practitioners and teachers - Gregor Maehle - who has exposed Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Jois (who prefers to be called "Paramguru" by all students)
chintamaniyoga.com/sharath-latest-response-an-analysis/#comment-3764
Thanks for this comment and the article! Absolutely true!
You have to let your guru enter you hmm?... In more ways than one apparently.
Unfortunately 😬
So why are they still there?? Mind bobbling
I personally think it comes to a similar reason to the one explained in the video. These people are in power positions. They pose as gurus and saints and abuse their power dynamics so that even after they were exposed, many people still justify them and continue to follow them. I think until the whole "guru" culture will be destroyed, people and organizations will have a hard time moving on from that.
Yoda+yoghurt=yoga. Someone tried to merge two things that shouldn't ever be merged. Nothing good can come from it.
🤣🤣 Cracked me up
I'm tragic melody by the way
And of course there's Naked Yoga.
I wonder how that's working out...
Maybe better to just not give so much esteem to
Guru Tugginmypudha & co.
Namaste... and mariska hargitay 🙏
The thing that I don’t like about this video is the person who made it is not a dedicated Yoga practitioner. This UA-camr has no skin in the game. He just wants to make content about a controversial topic. My reaction to this is ‘Go do some Aikido or MMA. I think your lack of personal direct experience of living this lifestyle makes you unqualified to speak about it.’
This video sounds academic at best; general and superficial summary of things we already knew. Quite boring.
Imagine if a Yoga practitioner with decades of experience had made a video about this topic and talked with depth and insight. Imagine if the creator of the video was sympathetic and balanced and tried to be magnanimous. Would have been way more interesting!
He did do yoga for years and teach it as well. I know for experience that what he says is true. Yoga teachers are sexually abusing and physically abusing others.
Lol that thumbnail
😁 Do you mean Pattabhi Jois touching up women, Bikram doing a Hitler salute or both? 😄
YEA that rump roast massage is damningly Raw....😲
You might like watching King of the Hill, there was an episode that covered a yogi that sounds a lot like Pattabhi.
Anyone want to be my Boyfriend 😍💋 💝💖♥️❤️