by YD on March 8, 2012
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With official correspondence silenced and the Anusara news front eerily quiet the past week or so, murmurs are still being heard from corners of the interwebs where pockets of yoga teachers (some still Anusara-licensed, some not) are gathering to talk next steps, as well as sharing true confessions of their experiences, whether or good or bad.
by YD on February 28, 2012
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Douglas Brooks known to some as the ‘Godfather of Anusara’ took to facebook to present an open letter to new CEO Michal Lichtman, and his “common sense solution,” which in short, is for Anusara, Inc. not to reorganize, but to completely dissolve and die (in order to live).
by YD on February 28, 2012
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After the ‘How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body’ debacle we cut author William J. Broad a break. Heck it wasn’t his fault the New York Times went for the shock value, and some reviews of his book actually made it sound worth reading. But this latest article on yoga and sex scandals, basically Broad’s response to the latest John Friend/Anusaragate, confirms that WJB is just as annoying in his delivery about sexifying yoga as he is about it wrecking your body. In fact, it’s idiotic.
by YD on February 25, 2012
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Two letters have gone out to the Anusara community over the last 24 hours. One is from “founder, student and teacher” no-longer CEO John Friend describing the reorganization of Anusara, Inc., with an introduction to new CEO Michal Lichtman, while the other is from Mrs. Lichtman herself.
by YD on February 16, 2012
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Letter from John Friend this morning to the Anusara community. He will be stepping down and making a public announcement in the next 10 days regarding reorganization of Anusara Yoga.
by YD on February 15, 2012
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Douglas Brooks, scholar of religions and Hindu Tantraism, and longtime colleague and companion of John Friend, shares his personal thoughts on where he stands in the wake of the Anusara controversy, and offers his take on “guru” worship.
by YD on February 12, 2012
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Amidst the allegations, the apologies, the assumptions and awkwardness of business as usual, Anusara teachers are finding their voice and many are speaking out to express their disappointment, sadness and, for these teachers, their resignation. Noah Maze, Bernadette Birney, and others follow the early departures of Christina Sell, Elena Brower, Darren Rhodes, Amy Ippoliti who resigned a few months ago before the sexual misconduct or accusations of corruption came to light.
by YD on February 11, 2012
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The first two letters from high-ranking Anusara Yoga teachers Desiree Rumbaugh and Ross Rayburn were posted to a closed facebook group for Certified and Inspired Anusara Teachers Only created last Friday to provide a space for conversation over the upsetting accusations and revelations about Anusara founder and leader John Friend.
by YD on February 11, 2012
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Yet another letter has been emailed to the Anusara community of teachers from their leader John Friend, late Friday afternoon. It has already been posted several places online and is confirmed to be authentic. This time, with apologies out of the way, there is barely a recognition of wrong doings or accountability, but rather a shift in gears to what sounds like moving on with business as usual, with everyone’s “love and forgiveness.”
by YD on February 8, 2012
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Finally, we are handed the words from John Friend’s mouth (or computer) via Elephant Journal. We appreciate EJ’s approach in asking some of the tough, yet painfully and glaringly obvious questions we’ve been waiting to hear answers to, though this ends up being primarily about Mr. Friend’s sexual relations.