Another yogi’s perspective on the latest NYT article

Editor’s note:  After publishing my take on William Broad’s NYT article regarding sexual misconduct in the yoga world, my dear friend and colleague, Matt Fields-Johnson replied with this thoughtful response.  I respect and admire his words and wanted to share them with our readers ~ Jess

Yoga cannot be reduced to the indiscretions of a few like in the article “Yoga and Sex Scandals” nor can it be reduced to the negative consequences mentioned in the article “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”. (both articles in the New York Times), but I don’t think William Broad, the author of those articles, is trying to do that either. Both articles are a bit one sided and don’t really mention the true devotion of millions who practice safely and without scandal, but I don’t think he is trying to turn people off from yoga. I think what he is intending is to cultivate awareness about some things that are very hard to deal with, when our gurus or leaders fall from the pedestal we have put them on and students get hurt both physically and emotionally.

If anything this is a reminder that we are all human and subject to temptation and distraction. In a yoga class you do have very fit people wearing tight clothes, sweating and breathing hard so I think it is a no brainer that sexuality is stirred not to mention the effects that the practice itself can have on the libido (in a very healthy way). This is never the goal but it does happen. Compound that with the alpha-male mentality of these fallen gurus who like all men have a sex drive. These men have followers who almost worship the ground they walk on and they face the same temptation but we expect that they are better than that. The fact is they are not. They are just like us, human. That does not excuse their behavior and they have to answer for that, but in the end they are flawed like the rest of us.

One of the best teachers I know started a class with this line “If you believe every word that I say, you are a fool. Prove me right or prove me wrong.” That man was Tom Brown jr. He has problems of his own which I won’t get into but what he is doing is empowering his students to think for themselves and be their own guru. We must take any teaching and dissect it, research it and apply it, never taking anything as the given truth just because someone said it. If we look to others to guide our soul instead of following our hearts and seeking the divine then we will always be disappointed and let down. If we truly follow our hearts then we will be students of the journey instead of students of John Friend or Tom Brown.

I think what William Broad is doing for the Yoga community is a good thing because we are having this conversation. I am in the process of reading his book The Science of Yoga and it is in no way trying to discourage people from yoga, instead he is trying to take an honest look at a practice that has been shrouded in mysticism for thousands of years and just in the past century has it been “sanitized” as he puts it, for a modern fitness world. When I came into my first class over ten years ago I was an athlete seeking healing. I thought yoga could do no harm, I bought into that mentality. I was unaware that without proper care and instruction I could get hurt and even today I deal with sore wrists and slightly pulled hamstring. I wish I had known more about the risks so I could have better reaped the reward when I stared practicing. So I think what Bill Broad is doing is greatly needed, using the window of science to build awareness and competency around the practice.

Yoga instructors have been guilty of making claims about the benefits of the practice without any real evidence to back it up other than personal experience. Iyengar does this throughout “Light on Yoga.” What they are finding now is there is scientific evidence to support some of those claims and some claims are outright false. However, Bill Broad even admits that some of the most powerful benefits, the spirituality of Yoga, will never be able to be proven, they can only be experienced. To see what I mean read the book. The fact that modern science is changing they way we look at yoga does not negate the practice in any way, it just forces us to be real and honest about yoga. It is indeed a beautiful practice that keeps our bodies and minds healthy and can bring us closer to God, and everyone should have a little yoga in their lives.

My point is this, yoga is a product of the human race and is subject to our flaws, prejudices, insecurities and fears. However, like our own journeys toward health and the devine it will evolve along with us, constantly building on itself and becoming better. As practitioners of this evolving craft It is our job to not take anything for granted, ask questions, seek answers and grow and not be too attached when those answers are uncomfortable or rock our foundations a bit. We must never put anyone man, woman or Guru between us and our goal, it is the Journey that is our master.

Matt Fields-Johnson is a photojournalist and yoga teacher based out of Chattanooga, TN.