Subtle, beautiful and truthful reading of the body ... put in words. Thank you!

Dear Heather,
I was laughing all along... thinking you had stolen MY story:-)
As a teacher, I am still refining this : how do I , even in very subtle ways create an atmosphere of competition or that very welcoming, inclusive place, shala or sharanam that, we all, as practionners look for?
It may be really subtle... sometimes, demonstrating the full spectrum of variations around eka pada raj kapotasana can create that urge in some people, to do it "as perfectly" as they think I have shown it . For more challenging asanas in an all-level class, demonstrating the easiest option while verbally and/or with hands-on adjust teaching more advanced variations can help...or not. It is subtle. I feel being a sattvic teacher, really at the service for all, is something I will keep learning and refining myself, every time, every day in all situations ( being an human living with a cat, a mother, a sister, a partner, a student and a teacher). Indeed what we give is what we get... that pain (of being bullied) can be a great teacher and reminder. Thank you for your blog post!
Jeanine

Dear Amy,
It is very humbling to read your post, thank you for sharing this as you are still processing it... as you feed the readers with your experience, it is indeed a teaching.
John Friend, without taking the seat of the teacher, is teaching us a a lot about the pitfalls we might all encounter on the path. We can spend many lifetimes locked in the ego trap... calling ourselves spirituals persons while it is all about putting ourselves in the center of the universe. This ego thing can work in so many subtle ways ( when we are not the ones involved, it's easy to find it gross)... who knows how many lifetimes we can spend pretending we are teachers? yogis? spiritual beings? I am very grateful for this powerful teaching and more than ever grateful to have met, with gurus, teachers embracing fully their role as spiritual teachers and mirrors....embracing it all with great humility and immense love.... without the strength that arises from trustful and truthful teachers, and the spiritual support of our teachers' teachers.. what can we really do? nothing meaningful in the long run I think .Yoga is a spiritual practice.
Amy I wish you to find a satsang, like minded people who will give you the support needed to go through all this and keep growing...after all 14yrs all of a lifetime is no that much time...
OM Namah Shivaya!
Jeanine

Dear Ross,
It is beautiful to stay by a friend when he is in trouble, because this is when he needs you the most. And John Friend, with no doubt, needs friends, real ones.
But how can anything be called "yoga" or even house, when there are no foundations? I mean where are the yamas and niyamas? where is the lineage?
Anusara Inc can remain and maybe restructure. Yoga, the sacred path that some of us are blessed to walk has fundamentals. Anusara, as it is today, is doing a great disservice to Yoga, to dare call itself Yoga.
As bigger than John Friend as it can be, as supportive and loving the community can be, please for the sake of Yoga, don't call it Yoga. Maybe it is Anusara, but surely not Yoga.
With warm regards from freezing Geneva where your teachings a couple weeks ago were heart-warming.
Hari OM!

"We simply are aspiring to do responsible journalism", thank you Ele and Waylon for doing your very best to put your ethics first. This has been an opportunity for me to see (and reflect upon..again and again) the teachings of Yoga unfolding particularly the two first yamas: Ahimsa and Satya. There is a cause to any consequence, be it painful or pleasant- So I very much liked your reminder Waylon on response-ability... In regards to that, I feel that the choice of words is important. Waylon, in your first question, you used the words "not fully honest". I think there is nothing such as being fully or partially honest. You either say what you mean and mean what you say, either not. I felt the attempt to be straightforward in that first question but I think we cannot invite truthfulness by using words such as "fully honest". Also related to your second question, I wanted to add that I AM concerned about my teachers relationships, because Yoga is definitively about relationships. So maybe, you feel it is not your business, but I can assure you that, as a reader of Ele, it is MY concern that my teachers live a sattvic life, a life that inspires and uplifts other people, a life that (on a day to day basis)values and honors the sacredness of the teachings of Yoga (i.e. the yamas) and unapologetically embrace the response-ability of being spiritual teachers (in english) or gurus (in sanskrit). And again thank you for stepping in, putting your ethics first. A reader and an aspiring yogini, Jeanine

true there are many real heroes and saints ... and if one is a true seeker, s/he will find them.... Thank you for reminding the importance of lineage, parampara....this can never be over stressed. Without the blessings of your teachers, and your teachers teachers, where can you go? And with their blessings, everything is possible. everything. Stay blessed. Jeanine