More than a Friend: Sex and yoga

Friend in need?

 "Yoga and Sex Scandals, No Surprise Here" serves a double helping of censure from William J. Broad, also author of a current book on the physical risks of yoga.

Broad first thumps Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga, who allegedly "had a love of 'partying and fun'" and "cheated on his girlfriends regularly".

Broad omits the point that the divorced Friend is not a member of a spiritual community that requires its founders to be celibate or monogamous, unlike several disgraced yogis he mentions. (Anusara have published Ethical Guidelines, including those for sexual attraction between teacher and student.)

The guru-abuse-of-power dynamic is well-documented in yoga and other worlds; while that can happen, I have also seen teachers hit on aggressively by students, far more often than the opposite trajectory. We should know more before flogging Friend: What kind of agreements did he have with his girlfriends (note the plural)? Were his party companions consenting adults?

Broad then moves on to the "surprise" that yoga is concerned with sexuality, see-sawing between condemnation and praise. He sounds like a prude titillated by a racy movie: can't look, can't look away.

He writes, "Since the baby boomers discovered yoga, the arousal, sweating, heavy breathing and states of undress that characterize yoga classes have led to predictable results."

Moving it in Zumba

Arousal? If you want a hot workout, you'd do better with the Brazilian funk of Zumba or a pole class, pretty much built for sexy-time. 

Sweating and heavy breathing? At my studio, that comes from holding Side Plank Pose interminably; by minute three, I'll bet no one is eying the guru's groceries.  

States of undress? Aside from the chiseled guy who once practiced next to me in tiny shorts (May 14, 2008), there is far less on display than at a beach.  

Predictable results? Broad links this atmosphere to teachers' liaisons with students, and cites a proliferation of complaints in California. But if yoga assures boomers of better (consensual) sex, I'll take another 20-class card, please.

He then segues into research about improved sexual response among yogis, whether playing alone or with others. And, Bill, your problem is...?

Awakening the senses

All movement disciplines have a sensual element.

From T'ai Chi to yoga to dance, movement releases tension, improves fitness and enables presence in the body. I know several women who credit their yoga practice for healing trauma from sexual abuse. Yoga helps one quiet the mind as well as body, and a less anxious lover is a better lover.

So there you have it, a Friend who was too friendly, it seems, and a Broad who'd brake our mature mojo.

Funny old world, even on the mat.