bdmetronews Desk ॥ Rachel Brathen had no idea of the deluge headed her way when she asked her Instagram followers if they ever had experienced touch that felt inappropriate in yoga.
This was nearly two years ago. Brathen, 31 and a yoga studio owner in Aruba, heard from hundreds.
The letters described a constellation of abuses of power and influence, including being propositioned after class and on yoga retreats, forcibly kissed during private meditation sessions and assaulted on post-yoga massage tables.
The complaints also included being touched in ways that felt improper during yoga classes — essentially right in public.
More than 130 of the people who responded gave Brathen permission to turn their stories over to someone who could help bring accountability.
Other professionals whose work can involve touching people, such as massage therapists, are usually regulated by the government. Yoga teachers are not, and there are no industry trade groups that police these issues.
So Brathen, the author of “Yoga Girl,” wrote a few blog posts with redacted excerpts from the letters. That’s all that came from it.
About five months later, in April 2018, nine women went public in a magazine article about their treatment at the hands of one of yoga’s most important, influential and revered gurus.
Again, very little happened.
Disregarding complaints about unwanted touch, or much worse, has been the way of yoga for decades. Much of the yoga community has been slow or unwilling to respond, maybe because teachers are loath to discredit those they see as gurus. Additionally, many teachers have built their businesses and personal brands in part from associating with these figures.
The public, awash in terrible stories about abuse and harassment in gymnastics, Hollywood and more, may find yogis easier to dismiss as flaky flower children or as self-promoting Instagram brand ambassadors.
In reality, yoga is one of the most accessible and popular forms of exercise worldwide and the centerpiece of a multibillion-dollar apparel-equipment-real-estate industry.
And while a conversation about touch and consent has been taking place in schools, churches, sports and medicine for some time now, the yoga studio remains a place where the simple act of unfurling a mat signals to many teachers — of good repute or not, of good intentions or not — that they can touch you as they see fit.
The New York Times
