Mental Manipulation in Yoga







There are specific parameters that identify a cult it is not a purely subjective term.
 A practice (Kundalini) cannot by itself, be a cult. A group of people or an organization who become devoted to that practice and begin to believe it is God's will for them to change the world with that practice certainly can be. Cult: 1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. 2. a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. 3. a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. 4. a person or thing that is popular or fashionable, especially among a particular section of society.

I am pondering a question asked by a friend that sent me into a puzzle. The inquiry was- even if I have found myself in a cult, did I believe 3HO is dangerous? My first thought was, "yes." I had been hurt so I knew it was not without teeth. The amount of danger and damage was something I wanted to assess further. This question deserves an honest answer because it is an important one. This is the hinge point of my reasoning to either walk away or continue to bring information.

 My pain is emotional and psychological. When told these pains seem less a threat than physical harm. Breaking up with your yoga studio has been likened to going through a divorce with good reason. The loss of your entire community and support system is painful and shocking. Realizations have been disorienting to my sense of self and continue to have repercussions on my personal life and friendships. Feeling both validated by some and then invalidated by those still under the manipulation is unsettling.


There are a few factors within the yoga community that deserve attention. Yoga is touted as a healer to many emotional upheavals. The internet is loaded with stories of using yoga as a tool to get through emotional happenings. People seek yoga for help with a divorce, to heal from the death of a loved one and even to help ease PTSD. While I  still believe these things are possible I now see a flip side that worries me. These are vulnerable people walking into studios where "therapy" is sold.  How dangerous and misleading is it to call yoga teachers- yoga therapists? (https://theyogalunchbox.co.nz/a-compehrensive-list-of-yoga-scandals-involving-gurus-sex-and-other-inappropriate-behaviour/)

Examples [of yoga therapy] include helping clients with pain management, fatigue, or sleeplessness. In addition, the therapist's role is to empower clients to take a more active role in their self-care. (https://yogainternational.com/article/view/The-Distinction-Between-a-Yoga-Class-and-a-Yoga-Therapy-Session)

 My personal experience is very different from physical therapy. Within my studio, yoga teachers provide private healing sessions. Talk therapy appointments have them regressing students to heal childhood wounds. I have discussed my medication usage as well as been given marriage and child-rearing advice. This still seems complaisant without more scrutiny. Why is this any different from my friend giving me life advice? The answer is authority. As my mentor, I began to see my teacher as an authority on life skills. She sold herself as a path to peace and enlightenment through spiritual development.


By understanding that a “Yoga therapist” is nothing more than a very good Yoga teacher, I can eliminate the troublesome word “therapy” from my job description. I submit that even the most highly skilled and experienced Yoga  “Therapist” does not “treat disease…by remedial agents or methods.”

I went back to my research- are damages being done through poor yoga guru behavior and a misunderstanding of the scope of their jobs?  


The point of yoga therapy is to reduce patients’ suffering, to develop a practice for them without aggravating their condition, and to build confidence that they can improve their condition through their own actions. If you were a survivor at the World Trade Center you’d want to get to the hospital as quickly as possible; you wouldn’t want somebody standing over you with a pendulum or saying, “Well, let’s try garlic.” (http://www.iayt.org/?page=GaryKraftsowOnYogaTh)

I believe I am rightfully concerned that the word "therapist" has many, like myself, confused.

 I assumed by Western standards "therapist" referred to physical or mental type therapy. I also wrongfully believed that there was some medical standard attached to using the word therapist. Afterall, isn't this is how American standards of certification work? The Yoga Alliance has even recently made new requirements involving the use of the word therapy used by yoga teachers that speak to this common misunderstanding. (https://www.yogaalliance.org/Yoga_Therapy_FAQ#healing)

In traditional Indian Culture yoga therapy practices are adapted to suit the condition of the individual to help them with duhkha (suffering)  at the level of the physical body or at the psycho-emotional level. Traditionally the masters were well-versed in a wealth of Vedic  sciences—including the use of amulets, the prescription of mantra, the consideration of diet, how to work with family deities, and of course, the appropriate use of asana, pranayama, self-reflective meditation, prayer, and ritual activities. So that’s the ancient idea of yoga therapy and therapy  and it’s very different from its modern evolution. (http://www.iayt.org/?page=GaryKraftsowOnYogaTh)

I believe everyone is entitled to their opinions. If pendulums and garlic are your things, then I am not going to bar you from them. The different definitions of "therapist" by Indian vs. American culture is imperative to realize. As I have mentioned in prior posts, there are many words used in Indian spirituality are misleadingly being used as psychological equivalents. They do not translate effectively and the mistranslations are causing undue guilt and shame for unsuspecting yoga devotees. (https://thehaplessguru.blogspot.com/2018/02/for-divine-enlightenment-insert-head.html)

To further the yoga teachers position confusion comes the idealization of her as a form of all knowing life coach/preacher.


Indian yoga culture also bestows much adoration and faith in the guru (teacher). In pan-Indian traditions, guru  is someone more than a teacher, in sanskrit Guru means the one who  dispels the darkness and takes towards light, traditionally a  reverential figure to the student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much  as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and  who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student".[2]  The term also refers to someone who primarily is one's spiritual guide,  who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the gurus already realized. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru)

Science proves that authority by existence begins a change in the mind. The distortion effects the authority figure as well as the people under their power. No matter how benign it starts out, esteem creates a means of mind control. We see elements of this every day in life. Authoritative manipulation is as standard as one parent lying to their children about the other parent after a divorce to create separation. (https://freedomofmind.com/parental-alienation/)

 Through careful research and discernment of information, I have answered the question, at least within my mind. Yes.  Not only can this particular situation do harm but any that gives someone undue influence and power over another has potential to damage.

The risk grows as we add the variables: Yoga draws vulnerable people. It uses fuzzy terminology. Traditional yoga has the structure setup to create a starry-eyed adoration of a guru (the teacher and in this case the 3HO organization riding her coattails.)

I am a  thinking girl. I ponder things on a regular basis- not to know anything, but to discover how much I assume. Taking time to delve into subjects helps me realize possibilities are endless. There are patterns and potentiality in all things that can confuse us. "Normal" is no more than what you become accustomed to. I like to use the very extreme example of Jeffery Dalmer. The man who finally escaped and turned him in was a male prostitute. Jeffery was digging in his desk for a sex toy and amongst his stapler and stationary he pulled out a human hand. The prostitute of course freaked out upon seeing the human appendage but Jeffery hadn't even noticed. By keeping calm and pretending nothing had gone awry the prostitute was able to escape.

The truth is that we can never know everything about anything. For me, this was a dangerous situation. I was naive of the possible exploitation and unaware how much undue influence I was allowing. I was also unaware of the cosmic basis for the advice I was given. I thought I had a level headed friend who was offering person guidance from experience because that's what I was told.

I am thankful for the question that sent me looking for answers. I hope my time and effort might help others to ask more questions and find their answers too.





  

Comments

  1. Physical fitness and health
    Health is not only given by reaching a good physical condition, but it is complemented by a mental and emotional balance, according to the World Health Organization.

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar agrees that health is not the mere absence of disease, but the dynamic expression of life. This is where the benefits of yoga essentially lie, by

    performing asanas, pranayamas (breathing techniques) and meditation.

    ReplyDelete

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