How NOT to become a Cult Leader
An open letter from TLC founder, sian pascale
As The Light Collective embarked on creating their 200 hr Online Yoga Teacher Training a lot of big questions arose for us, especially as we faced the realisation that much of what we had been taught or read had come from yoga schools that are either under investigation or found guilty of abuse against students. As Sian struggled and meditated on this fact and her role as a teacher of yoga teachers, she wrote an open letter to the Light Collective Community, published here below.
To Our incredible community,
Creating a yoga teacher training has been a huge process for us as a team and also for me personally. It has made me honestly ask the question- does the world need any more yoga teachers? And another teacher training? And the answer for me has always been a big bold YES for the following reasons.
Abuse of power in Yoga
As a practitioner for over 20 years, I have personally come in contact with many teachers who have influenced me positively and also, unfortunately, in recent years, it has come to light that many teachers who I once admired have used their power and position to abuse their students.
The discovery that so many teachers I have been either influenced by, taught directly by or admired are either under investigation or have been charged with abuse took me on a journey that some call the dark night of the soul.
How could I keep teaching these practices? Were they legitimate? Is there any hope in yoga?
One afternoon, on the top of a mountain (Byron flex) as I practiced yoga, I realised that it this was all part of my journey as a yoga teacher and as a trainer of yoga teachers. And that part of my role here was To Heal the Lineage.
Healing the Lineage
I had to continue to be as clear a vessel as possible and transmit the teachings in a way that allowed the techniques to stand alone. To remember that it was never a teacher that allowed for me to awaken. That is was the techniques and texts that were the guide to my own spiritual path. That the experiences I had had in my own body were my compass and that they were real.
I knew that to heal this lineage we needed a whole army of teachers who would teach in a totally different way. A way that was free of the dogma and the unhealthy masculine energy that has dominated this industry, that has kept a few in power and abused many others.
That is why in The Light Collective 200hr teacher training, the very first lesson we give is called How Not to Become a Cult Leader. Yes it’s a little sassy, but the content is powerful. We teach our students to recognise in themselves and the schools and ashrams they may train in, how power is wielded in the spiritual world in unhealthy ways. Awareness and recognition become the new yogis tools to heal the lineage.
That is why in our teacher training we went through all of the books and resources we recommend. We spent hours trying to find authors and editors who weren’t under investigation. It was much much harder than we thought! It took time and we did our best, so that the transmission is clear and we can heal the lineage.
Agency & Consent
The TLC teacher training gives our trainees an understanding of agency and consent. Personal empowerment. To work with the feminine energy in the way we teach that demonstrates the power that comes with embodiment. So that as teachers they can transmit this to all future students, and we can step out of the old and into something new.
I will always speak out about this, it feels now a big part of my journey as a teacher. Just last night, in fact, when a student enthusiastically said to me “WOW you trained with X?” I had to say “yes I did and he is under investigation now.” I felt sad that I had to say it, but clear in my intention.
That I won’t put up with it any longer or hide from the truth.
A new way forward
I know that The Light Collective is part of a new movement of yoga schools, who aren’t teaching the same doctrines and dogma, but are doing their best to change the status quo. And that brings me hope.
For those who got this far, thank you for reading.
With much love and light,
Sian Pascale
Further Reading& education
At TLC we believe that awareness is power, one of the greatest resources we have found and include in our course reading materials is Yoni Shakti by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli. The preface of this book is titled ‘Authors Warning’ and is a must read for all women as she exposes the sexual abuse and misuse of power in yoga. In uncovering the violation of women by the gurus’s and the imbalance of both power and masculine and feminine energy within these circles, Uma educates and warns of the dangers and shines a light on the darkness through testimony.
‘Yoni Shakti’ has inspired our way of teaching at TLC, from the way we deliver the teachings, to the way in which we teach cueing and ensuring agency and consent is always honoured in our students. We are allies of Uma, as Sian has also personally been impacted by the teachers she has mentioned in her book and like Uma, wishes to never again see yoga used as a tool to abuse women.
For more information on this resource visit Yoga Nidra Network: Yoni Shakti.
Further reading and suggested articles:
Decades of Abuse at the hands of Yogi Bhjan
Need Support?
Are you a survivor of abuse at the hands of a yoga teacher or school? We recommend you contact a professional councillor or therapist. There is also a support group on Facebook called Yoni Shakti the Movement.
Want to train with us?
At TLC our teacher trainings are focused on creating safer spaces for our teachers, promote agency and consent and a feminine style of teaching that is part of a movement of new schools stepping out of dogma.
For more information on our 200hr YTT, visit this link.
THE AUTHOR
Sian Pascale is the founder of The Light Collective, an Online Yoga School focussed on working with the subtle body, Shakti practices and the Tantrik lineage. She is currently based North of Byron Bay in sunny Australia where she practices and teaches. Read more about her.