It’s an age-old story: an illicit, often nonconsensual relationship between a very powerful person and his subordinates. Unfortunately, we’re used to seeing it in politics, Hollywood, and even business. But when it happens in yoga, the impact on the community is far more devastating and complex.
The latest guru to come under scrutiny is 69-year-old Bikram Choudhury, creator of the famous 26-pose, sweaty sequence that he turned into a school of yoga named after him. The New York Times reported that on February 13, Jill Lawler came forward as the sixth women and Bikram teacher to file a sexual-assault suit against Choudhury, saying she was raped in 2010 while completing a teacher training he led. Her allegation is one of several that have surfaced since 2013, when Sarah Baughn, a teacher who had studied with Choudhury, first accused him of sexual harassment. Thus far Choudhury denies all the allegations.
It’s been a difficult and divisive time for the Bikram community, especially since it was a story many people didn’t want to believe. For Robin, a Bikram teacher and owner of a Bikram studio in SF, the issue continues to be so controversial that she agreed to talk only on the condition that neither her name, nor her studio’s name, be used. Many teachers and studio owners declined to speak on the topic at all. No one has been quite sure how to react, and Robin says the community wasn’t necessarily supportive of the women who came forward with lawsuits.
It’s hard for devoted students and practitioners to accept that their guru is flawed (or a criminal), but maybe they shouldn’t be so surprised. In February 2012, an insider exposed the sexual and legal misconduct of John Friend, founder and leader of Anusara yoga. As is the case with Bikram, becoming a certified Anusara teacher required a significant investment of time and money, not to mention ongoing trainings with Friend himself.
“I just think Bikram is a creep. Hopefully, this plays out in a way that more studios will decide to stop using his name but still use the yoga.”
Many Anusara students, especially those who had less contact with Friend, wanted the practice to continue, says Sean Haleen, an SF-based yoga teacher and former Anusara teacher. However, the majority of teachers who worked closely with Friend and revered him felt that continuing to teach Anusara with the brand name was not an option. “I think the founder of the style [of yoga] is a linchpin,” Haleen says. “When the founder falls from grace, the yoga falls apart.” That doesn’t mean forever, though. He adds that it can be “restructured in a beautiful way.” Although you rarely see the name “Anusara” attached to studios or schedules these days, the principles of the practice have lived on.
Bikram, which has been slowly losing credibility since the first allegations appeared two years ago, may also survive via its principles but not its name. For many students, the style of Bikram yoga is integral to their lives, but Choudhury himself — not so much.
Drew Taylor, a longtime practitioner, says that Choudhury’s alleged behavior “definitely enters my consciousness, but I can separate the man from the practice. There is something to the sequence, and I will definitely continue to pop in for a Bikram session from time to time.”
Others need clearer delineation. “I adore the Bikram sequence,” says one Vinyasa yoga teacher and practitioner who asked to remain anonymous. “I just think Bikram is a creep. Hopefully, this plays out in a way that more studios will decide to stop using his name but still use the yoga.”
Aspiring Bikram teachers need a recommendation from a studio owner in order to attend a teacher training. When people ask Robin whether they should do a training, she tells them to read the articles, explaining, “People can now go or not go to training with their eyes wide open.”
It’s a complex issue for studio owners, who are trying to protect their investment, their careers, and, of course, their students. “A lot of studios now have pictures of Bikram that they don’t know what do with,” Robin says. But most students, speculates Robin, don’t feel any particular connection to Bikram himself or think of him as a “guru.”
Yet there’s pressure to have a response that matches the severity of the accusations and continue to be leaders in the yoga community. For example, aspiring Bikram teachers need a recommendation from a studio owner in order to attend a teacher training. When people ask Robin whether they should do a training, she tells them to read the articles, explaining, “People can now go or not go to training with their eyes wide open.”
That being said, staying away from Bikram won’t fix the larger problem. Choudhury is not the first yoga “guru” to be called out for his indiscretions, and he won’t be the last. Haleen says the awareness around this particular scandal is a good thing. It’s not uncommon in the yoga world for a student to turn a teacher into an idol, often projecting onto them a fantasy of perfection. It’s a normal impulse not just in yoga, but in life. “We all need someone to look up to,” says Haleen. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s bad when the teacher or guru sees that happening and takes advantage of it.”
But it’s also important for students to remember that teachers are fallible and that they should be open to scrutiny no matter how healthy or spiritual their career path is. One former Anusara teacher says she’s never fully bought into the idea of a guru. “My motto has always been ‘Take the best but leave the rest.’”
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