Tuesday, October 29, 2002


slander, libel, bad yoga things. . .

cruising about msnbc today and stopped dead in my tracks at a shocking allegation: that well-known ashtanga yoga teacher eddie stern, of the patanjali yoga shala downtown, was a cult leader and that supermodel, philanthropist, and yoga student christy turlington was promoting his cult among others in her new book on yoga.

i did a real double-take here, i have to say! because i happen to know a few people who practice with eddie stern and have spoken to reliable people who know those close to him. by this i mean extremely trustworthy yoga teachers, who have either practiced with eddie, or who are very close friends with those who are near to eddie.

all these reputable sources agree that this charge is a base canard. so unless eddie's fooling everyone, the allegation is untrue, as best as i can ascertain. while i don't know eddie personally (i don't do ashtanga and have never been to the shala), once i understand how this this story comes to be, i have to say it is in fact disgusting once you ferret out the whole situation.

so-called columnist jeanette walls alleges this unlikely scenario in today's scoop, entitled "supermodel yoga: too hot to handle?" where she says in part:

but one critic of cults and alternative religions says that turlington touts some pretty controversial yoga teachers. “christy turlington’s personal odyssey in yoga apparently has included a few groups called ‘cults,’ ” rick ross writes on cultnews.com, who adds that some groups praised by turlington, “have a history of abuse claims made by former members, which has included sexual exploitation.

ok, who are these purported "cult groups" christy hangs with in her twice-weekly practice? naturally, we click the link on over to cultnews.com. there, at the end of a piece dated yesterday, oct. 28, after rehashing some decades-old scandals, we see this:

christy turlington's latest teacher is eddie stern who runs a yoga studio in lower manhattan. he isn't a "cult leader," but has generated some complaints and concern.

so already walls' so-called source is backtracking on the cult label in eddie's case. but if you look at the cultnews.com piece, you'll see eddie's name is linked. click on that link and you'll go to another site run by the same guy, rickross.com, and come to an article dated feb. 20 of this year and entitled "a yoga class of true devotion:"

is gwyneth paltrow's yoga instructor doling out more than exercise? paltrow and other bold face names such as christy turlington are devotees of eddie stern, who runs the patanjali yoga shala studio in lower manhattan. but one expert in cults and alternative religions says he's concerned about complaints he's received regarding stern's studio.

rick ross, a professional deprogrammer who runs culteducation.com, says that a number of stern's students are encouraged to become intensely devoted to the yoga instructor. students say that some of them were warned they will go insane if they take yoga courses outside of stern's classes and are told that they will be met with a horrible fate if they ever say anything negative about stern.

"a lot of the people who go to his classes just get a really good workout," a former student told the scoop. "but some devotees are brought into an inner circle that requires absolute and utter devotion to his every word. i saw people lose all ability to decide things for themselves. it was a situation that was encouraged. there was no doubt in my mind that it was a cult-like situation."

who wrote this piece? yup, jeanette walls herself. neither she nor this supposed cult "expert" offer any sources, just anonymous complaints. to back up her claim, walls quotes the "expert" ross, and to back up his claim, the "expert" links to walls quoting him!

i find this a pretty low standard of journalism for msnbc.com, frankly. to make these allegations once is bad, to repeat them with this circle game is worse. i don't think even the amateur reporters in the blog-o-sphere would behave in this manner. walls is supposedly a pro, and edited by pros.

in short, as best as i can personally tell from sources i definitely trust -- sources who actually practice with eddie or who know well those who do -- walls and ross owe eddie stern a written apology and a retraction.

look, to be honest, eddie stern has does have a reputation, one that has been expressed to me with terms like "humorless" and a stubborn insistence that "ashtanga is the superior form of yoga." again, i can't say -- i've never met the guy myself.

but taking oneself too seriously and a belief that your team is the best is common in many activities. if this behavior made you a cult, then yankees fans are a public danger as well. . .(get your bobble heads now!)

posted by fortune | 7:35 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments