Photo: Natalia Lipchanskaya Model: myself
To be honest, I am not in the least surprised by these allegations of abuse. It is not the first time it has happened and probably it will not be the last. If it is not sex, it is money - both attributes of power. Ultimately, this is the main issue: power and its abuse.
I have practised yoga since my early twenties and am now well into my fifties. I mostly practise at home. I have done enough yoga to be able to teach a basic class, but have never felt any desire to do so. When I meet a yoga teacher I could not care less about her qualifications and training, I can see straightaway if she can teach or not from the moment she starts. I go to yoga class when I am too lazy to practise on my own - I loved going to Bikram yoga because of the novelty of the heat, but when the novelty faded I wondered why I was not being pushed further and found something else to do. Yoga is a solitary activity, a personal practice. As soon as you feel confident to do it on your own you'd better increase your practice and be less dependant on classes. Only you can be your own teacher, other people are instructors, some good, some bad. In other words, practising yoga should make you self reliant and be eager to explore on your own, because only you know your own body. Instruction helps but you should not become so dependent on a teacher.
Photographer: Stuart Hendry. Model: myself MUA: Iveta
It is this dependency that leads to these situations in which trust is abused.
I personally regard yoga teachers the same way as personal trainers, professional instructors that can help you with specific problems. I treat them with the same respect and with the same distance.
There is a new movement called I am my own guru, which was started soon after the latest spate of scandals, to restore some confidence in yoga practitioners and in the yoga community.
I have always believed I was my own guru, so it is nice to see other practitioners waking up to what to me is the most fundamental yoga teaching.
I have never studied yoga, but what you describe relates very well to both music and Christianity.
ReplyDeleteIn music, you start with a teacher who shows you the basics--but after a while, if you're good, you develop your own style, like and yet not exactly like your teacher's. And yes, some teachers do get power-hungry. There's an old catch (a multi-part song, often with ribald lyrics) from about the 18th century, affectionately known as "Zounds, what a long prick!" that describes a music lesson that involves more than music.
With Christianity, it's even more necessary to begin to pray, study the Bible, and know God on your own--although lots of people forget this. If more people knew the Bible and were willing to study on their own, there would be much less power given to priests and ministers, and thus much less institutional corruption in the churches.