by Nina
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| Clear Water by Nina Zolotow |
Yet another famous yoga teacher has been in the news recently for improper conduct. A former student has sued Bikram Choudhury, accusing him of sexual harassment, discrimination and defamation (see Lawsuit Accuses Founder of Yoga Empire of Misconduct).
Well, I could go on about that, and the tendency toward sexual abuse that appears to be a serious risk for some high-profile male teachers, but actually I’d like to focus on something a little more mundane. Recently we at YFHA received an email from one of our readers saying that she, a very long-time student, had attended a class where the female teacher had humiliated her in front of the class by angrily correcting her pose (which she was adapting for her particular body type) telling her that she was doing it completely “wrong.” This experience made our correspondent very upset. So, you see, abuse by yoga teachers comes in many forms, including simple verbal abuse and even, so I’ve heard, physical abuse.
Our correspondent was still trying to decide how she should handle this—maybe she should be considering forgiveness?—and asked us to address some of the issues that this situation raised. Because our reader was so upset, I decided to respond immediately by writing directly to her. And it was actually pretty easy for me to respond, because I said what I always tell people in this situation: you should never study with a teacher who you don’t respect or who doesn’t respect you.
In this case, I recommended, talking with the teacher, if possible—since it was a one-time occurrence, maybe she was just having a bad day—and seeing if an apology was forthcoming. But if a confrontation was out of the question or if the teacher defended her behavior, I recommended simply leaving the class for good. After all, you are paying your teacher to help you. Why would you put up with mistreatment? And isn’t the only way to stop this kind of behavior to vote with your feet (and your wallet)?
The question is, why does this kind of behavior continue? Why aren’t these teachers shunned by everyone? This brings us back to the NY Times article on Bikram because it included a quote that I found very perceptive about why students of any school of yoga will put up with inappropriate behavior from their teachers.
“Vulnerability and devotion are big parts of the practice,” said Benjamin Lorr, the author of the memoir Hellbent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga. “Bikram creates this mentality that the outside is phony. There is no path but this path, and everything that happens in this path is just a part of your yoga, that you have to learn to be strong and get past it.”
I think this myth that “There is no path but this path, and everything that happens in this path is just part of your yoga” is cultivated by more than one school of yoga and maybe even by some teachers in all the schools. Students feel like they can’t leave the teacher because of their emotional investment in “the path,” their financial investment in “the path,” or because they’ve been encouraged to believe this is a “good” teacher to guide them on “the path.” And it takes strength and courage to resist this ideology.
But can a teacher who is abusive or corrupt really have anything important to teach you?
So, please, don’t hesitate to fire a yoga teacher who is mistreating you in any way. And if your teacher isn’t mistreating you in particular, but you witness him or her mistreating other students, you might want to consider the same action. That is the only way we can bring about change. And, trust me, there are many wonderful teachers out there who know that being a “good” teacher means something different than being able to get you into challenging poses or giving you access to some particular “lineage” of yoga.
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I see the previous thread about dealing with the claims of physical injury from yoga as closely related to the current thread re abusive teachers. Both emphasize to me that as a student I have the responsibility to recognize and respect my own limits, physical, psychological and emotional. I think that sometimes students are way too willing to give up basic responsibilities for themselves and to make someone else responsible…..something that seems to unfortunately be endemic in our society, but that is another topic altogether.
As always, the blog posts are helpful, and reinforce healthy practice. thank you.
Totally agreed! Bikram is a high profile person, he says lots of political incorrect things, But does that make him guilty on this case? We don't know. And who is the accuser? does any one check in to her credibility?
I really think that anyone involved with yoga in the modern age should read the Guru Papers by Diana Kramer & Joel Alstad. It offers an insightful exploration of power and authority and gives any reader the power to discern the difference between actions that create personal empowerment and actions designed to take that power away. http://www.amazon.com/Guru-Papers-Masks-Authoritarian-Power/dp/1883319005
Yoga should always be taught with compassion for the student, that is the responsibility of the teacher, its not always easy teaching some people it can be a challenge but when you teach yoga it is the most important thing to live up to.
I had a teacher physically adjust me in Downward Dog (my arms weren't in external rotation enough :-) and she did this quite aggressively (at least to me) and with frustration (this is how I experienced her feeling state). This was a few years ago and I can still vividly recall the moment. Since I was in a teacher training I felt I had to stay and I didn't feel comfortable speaking with her, but from that point forward I felt a lack of trust. The teacher is exceptionally skilled, knowledgeable and well-respected, but she could get a mood on. I agree it would have been better to talk with her and diffuse the situation, but I have difficulty with confronting people in these types of situations and often times I second guess my perceptions (due to my own personal history, it's something I've been working on :-). Thanks for this discussion, I think it's very helpful.