
Hi all. Last week I wrote about in incident that deeply disturbed me at last weekend’s Northwest Yoga Conference. I spent much of the following days asking questions and trying to get clarity.
- What happened before the video was taken? (Because there was obviously a backstory no one was sharing.)
- What would make a yoga professional behave so truly awfully on camera?
- Why did the conference continue to make the matter worse by throwing Savitri and Aadil out of the event?
- How can we find learning and healing in all of this?
I posted questions on Facebook. I read statements from both parties. I spoke to people with insider information. It brought up MANY more questions, but I still have no answers. Just a heart that’s a little bit broken, and a spirit that is horrified by the hate, name-calling, and vitriol that erupted from supposed yogis on the discussion groups. Frankly, I’m surprised the obscenity filters even let many of the comments through.
I sent the e-mail below to my current yoga teacher training group on Saturday, and it sums up how I feel today. I want my words to build clarity, not fuel more anger, so unless more information is revealed from both parties involved, at this point I’ll remain quiet and hope for a future reconciliation.
“Hi. This issue has continued to take up much of my headspace over the past week. Since our last class, I have been made privy to some information that the NW Yoga Conference has chosen not to make public. Nothing I’ve learned excuses what Melissa did in the video in my mind, but it does explain what happened after, at least partially. If Aadil, Savitri, and Melissa ever get together with a professional mediator, I’ve agreed to participate. I wish we had the full story, but I don’t think we’ll ever get it at this point. The more I learn, the sadder I become. I wonder if even the people involved have a clear memory of what happened anymore. I’m particularly saddened by the social media comments and the severe language and vitriol written there by people who are supposedly yogis.
Melissa has dropped from the NW Yoga Conference Facebook page and has deleted her personal Facebook account. I don’t blame her. I don’t know what the future holds for her or the conference. May we all work toward holding everyone involved in healing light and hope that what happened can be a catalyst for each of us to examine our actions, reactions, and beliefs in a way that brings greater equality and peace to our world.”
Namaste
Tracy Weber