Yoga Collides With #MeToo

Yoga has long been used by practitioners to center the mind, empower the spirit, and rejuvenate the body. What happens though, when the person you trust to guide you through yoga practice wants more from you that to just assist with your spiritual growth?

The yoga industry has recently been plagued by numerous allegations of misconduct, yet another industry coming under greater scrutiny during the #MeToo era. From misconduct at neighborhood mom-and-pop yoga studios, all the way up to massive lawsuits against yoga powerhouses such as Bikram Choudhury,, founder of the wildly popular Bikram yoga practice, a deep reckoning is occurring regarding yoga and issues of consent, unwanted touch, and abuse.

The New York Times specifically has recently run numerous deep-dive investigations into numerous allegations of  misconduct in which yoga students/practitioners allege that they have been abused by their yoga teachers. These revelations regarding rampant misconduct in the yoga community emphasize the need for clear misconduct/anti-sexual harassment policies in all group environments. Whether in a corporate environment in which the employees are situated in cubicles, or in a warm yoga studio in which the participants are clad in sports bras, a strong and robust set or rules outlining what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior is key. Having an easily accessible and easy-to-navigate reporting process enables those who have been harassed to make their concerns and complaints known.

And when complaints are received, an independent misconduct investigation must be launched immediately. In order for a misconduct policy to have “teeth” to it, there must be consistent and commensurate repercussions for those who have behaved inappropriately.

Some yoga studios are already responding to this national conversation, by instituting things like no-touch policies. Yoga masters who have this policy choose not to touch their students for any reason, even if it is to correct the posture on a movement. This helps reduce the possibility of a touch being misconstrued as sexual in nature, and also eliminates any blurry lines regarding when touch is necessary, and when it is not. A large portion of the misconduct allegations that have come forward recently from the yoga community have specifically involved when yoga teachers are in the process of balancing what is known as the student’s “heart chakra”, an area of the body located at the breast level.

Numerous yoga students have come forward to allege that their respective yoga teachers used the “heart chakra” exercise as an excuse to fondle the student’s breasts.

Since yoga is considered a spiritual exercise as well as a physical one, it is common for students to delay reporting sexual harassment, for fear of either reprisal, or of being ousted from engaging in the yoga practice that they have come to love. Yoga master Krishna Pattabhi Jois has been alleged to have gyrated his genitals against his yoga students in a public setting, in order to “adjust” the students’ alignment. Even with this egregious behavior, many students were reluctant to come forward.

Thanks to the nonstop national discussion around sexual harassment and other misconduct, misconduct in the yoga community is now having repercussions for those persons who cause harm to others. Bikram Choudhury, the founder of Bikram yoga for example, was ordered by a court to pay over $6 million in punitive damages after numerous former students filed suit against him for misconduct.

The face of yoga is changing, and for the better. Yoga masters now know that students are getting wise to the difference between spiritualism and sexual misconduct, and the successful claims against high profile yoga masters serve as a warning to those who would take advantage of their position.

The Triangle Takeaway:  No matter what the organizational setting—whether a traditional workplace, a school, or even a yoga studio—a clear policy outlining what constitutes misconduct is necessary in order to create a safe and inclusive group space. Furthermore, when allegations are made regarding misconduct, companies must engage in an immediate misconduct investigation and come to a final conclusion regarding the allegation. And when an allegation is substantiated, commensurate corrective action must be implemented, regardless of the ranking of the alleged wrongdoer. Triangle Investigations offers policy-writing services, as well as a group of expert investigators who independently and thoroughly investigate allegations of misconduct.