My intention is to be objective. However, this process has been and continues to be extremely fluid. And all the moving parts are bound to cloud my perspective to some degree. Therefore, please read this statement with that significant caveat.

Three Primary Topics

• The Ethical allegations against John Friend.
• The Structural Agreement between the SC and Anusara, Inc.
• The Way to Move Forward.

The Ethical Allegations

I know for many in our community, the ethics element is both fundamental and primary. I also fully recognize there are many who don’t care at all about John Friend’s actions. Holding a productive space and balancing the intense, vast spectrum of opinions has been difficult to say the least.

To those who are in the latter group, please know that fairness to John has been a guiding principle for me. I have immense gratitude for all he has done and refuse to dishonor him by a less than fair approach. He will personally attest to the integrity I’ve shown him during the past five weeks.

To those who seek a full accounting of the past: The plan is once the leadership committee is established, an ethics panel will be assembled. It will be comprised of respected, unbiased and professional ethics specialists. They will be tasked with reviewing the allegations against John and reporting their view on his reconciliation steps.

This is being worked on by the steering committee now and will be passed on to the leadership committee.

Why/How was the agreement between the steering committee and Anusara, Inc. adopted?

A bit more history is needed.

Since Feb 7, when 24 teachers wrote to John asking him to step down from teaching temporarily, due to the scandal, I have personally been concerned with three things:

1. To create a fair, truthful and evidentiary space for the allegations to be resolved.
2. To keep the community as whole as possible.
3. To transition Anusara Yoga toward a new paradigm that was better than the already great system we had.

The first goal is still being worked on. The second was obviously only partially successful with all the resignations we have had.

A note on the resignations: It’s a bit of a paradox. I would have given anything for those teachers to stay. Yet I realize their leaving was the fuel for this radical paradigm shift to happen in such a short amount of time.

The third goal is where I’ve spent the majority of my time for the past five weeks.

Per this goal of a new paradigm, these have been my guiding principles:

1. A Teacher-led organization with true power to direct Anusara policy, where the community is not subject to any one individual.
2. A grassroots system where communication and ideas flowed as much from the local level and individual teachers as it did from the company or any group of senior/established teachers.
3. A new Anusara Yoga that would go back to basics.

What does “back to basics” mean? For some this will be a reaffirmation. For others, it will be a return to the essence of Anusara yoga. For me, this simply means an open, clear and balanced method of teaching yoga. It’s a method that avoids dogma and adapts to the constantly evolving reality of a global community.

We also will need to address privately, as a community and publicly, as a school, the very real issues that have besmirched the name Anusara. I’m not speaking about John here. I’m referring to the allegations against our community in general. We should show the courage to address the misunderstandings of the tantra. We should address the claims that we act like a cult. And we should openly admit the tantric challenge of balancing shared values with personal aspirations.

Yes, we are undoubtedly in the middle of a reboot. We will most probably need significant changes in the certification system and a more clear exposition of the root philosophy, among other important shifts. Ultimately though, for me it’s quite simple. I love this system because it is based on universally shared principles, which yield ever-greater individual expression.

This was clear to me shortly after the scandal erupted. On Feb. 17, I proposed the idea to John Friend of a bi-cameral Anusara yoga, with the company on one wing and the teachers on another.

This morphed into the idea of two separate entities, with the teaching corps forming into a non-profit company.

I supported this idea.

On March 9th, Wendy Wiltrout, on behalf of the company, proposed for the teachers to stay within the umbrella of Anusara, Inc. with governing authority over teaching policy. This was somewhat of a dilemma for me because I had publically supported the non-profit plan. I agreed, however, to bring this new idea to the steering committee, if it truly instituted a shift where the teachers had real authority. Plus, in actuality, it was close to the plan I offered back on Feb. 17th.

Many people have now rightfully asked: How is this different from the old system? What is the guarantee there will be real change?

My first answer is we have no guarantees it will be different. We don’t know if some unknown stumbling block will appear violating our principles. We don’t know if once we proceed, Anusara, Inc. will block every move and policy change of the teachers. We don’t even know that John Friend won’t simply step back into his old role of making all the decisions for Anusara, Inc. In fact, my hope is even for a shift in the financial support structure for Anusara, Inc., so John’s revenues do not support the company alone. That too, is a big unknown.

All that being said, my best answer is we should give it a try.

The alternative would be to walk away and form another school of yoga. That might be both necessary and the right thing to do. I don’t claim to know, nor am I attached either way.

I’ve stated before that organizations like the Yoga Coalition and other outgrowths of Anusara are good and appropriate. I completely honor anyone willing to do the work to create something. I simply haven’t given up on the possibility that Anusara Yoga, which has given me so much, can be saved.

I’ve also been motivated by what would happen if we did walk away now. There would undeniably be even more schism in our community. The sky would not fall of course, but my hope has been to avoid it.

I want to be a part of a school, which teaches tantric philosophy woven into the principles of alignment. I want to be part of a school that certifies teachers and has a curriculum. I think the principles and the philosophy are too complex to not have some boundaries of edification. I want to be part of a school that can say proudly that its teachers know how to not wreck your body. And lastly, I want to be in a school whose actions are clearly respectful and responsive to ALL voices within its membership.

Ultimately, I’m doing all this because I know out there is a 26-year-old teacher like I was, who doesn’t really know how to teach yoga. I want there to be a system available to him or her, like I had. I had a school that taught this complex and elegant method, how to teach it and ultimately, how to become, not only a good yoga teacher, but, more importantly, a good person.

Where we go from here

In truth, we can write this script. Yes, we will have to compromise. But if we stick to our principles, we can find a way to achieve our goals. Let me give a specific example. Yesterday, I met with some of the English teachers. They were, like I was, bothered by the need to quickly select the leadership committee. Therefore, we thought, why not have the leadership committee replace itself with a more thorough process in a month or six months. It’s just an idea, but it solves the problem. My point is: nothing is set in stone.

We must get past this moment when trust is in such short supply. We must find the strength to see things from others’ perspectives and recognize their good intentions.

We, the teachers, can always walk away. My choice is still, to stick around. When things seem hopeless, we find a way to create a solution. I believe firmly that when things look dark there is always a spark of hope somewhere.

So, keep asking the tough questions, keep providing solutions and please step up and lead, whether it’s in your class or in this community.

With respect and love,

Ross

This is not an official steering committee update. That will be coming soon following a meeting we will be having with Michal tomorrow. I just wanted to touch base with everyone.

The steering committee met yesterday on how to best represent the community in establishing a new paradigm for Anusara yoga. We are listening to ALL the different voices contributing to the conversation and viewing them with the knowledge that everyone who is speaking up simply wants the best for the community.

I spoke to a number of teachers via skype yesterday. I met with a number of the Australian teachers in person and on skype. I had productive calls with Douglas Brooks and with John Friend yesterday. I’m meeting with the Los Angeles teachers tomorrow and meeting with the New York area teachers next Wednesday.

There are so many people out there doing exactly what I’m doing, which is working hard to figure out what is best.

To be clear and to state the obvious, there is still uncertainty. It remains to be seen if we, the entire community, can make a new paradigm happen. We are simply hopeful we can create something so optimal that even teachers who have resigned could again associate themselves without any compromise of their principles.

Thank you for your continued patience as we all work to see what is possible.

with love,

Ross

Now that John’s decision to turn over Anusara to the teachers is public, it’s important to let everyone know about the process that got us to this point.

The intention is to be transparent and open so this new paradigm begins on the most solid foundation.

To those not interested in process. Please skip to the bottom where it says action steps.

To those upset about John’s decision or the way it was made, please know that we have all been doing our best, flying blind in many ways and under a lot of momentum pressure because of the intensity of the change. It was compounded by speed of the internet culture. Things just happen so quickly, the pauses and calm that have existed for the last few days, while not nearly ideal, have been arduously achieved. In other words, it could have been much worse.

To those that are saying this new venture is doomed because of the enormous factors aligned against it, please know, no one is saying this will be easy. We all know the mountainous tasks ahead might be insurmountable. And if that’s true, then so be it. We can all then move on, saying we gave everything we could, saying we didn’t quit. And who knows, we might surprise ourselves and actually pull it off.

In other words … yes, we agree. Legally, structurally, financially, there is so much to be done. Therefore, those who want to help: let’s go. To those who want to rail against it and those keen on parsing every word and calling for justice for every past moment: thank you. All the analysis will completely serve those of us working on the new Anusara to see things we would probably miss otherwise.

To those who are concerned about the conversation moving on and the possibililty that we might forget the healing and the recrimination, please know that will not happen, we will not forget. The new Anusara must still address the very real causes that precipitated this entire shift.

To those who think this has been easy. It hasn’t. There has been incredible pressure and the most intense moments to get us to this point. This is only being stated to make sure everyone knows that at no point has this been casual or cavalier or comfortable, including for John. It can sometimes look like that, when you just see the result, but please know there has been immense fire behind the scenes to make this all possibly work.

The Process:

Because of the demand for John to not just say things, but to actually act, including the need for the schedule to be changed, there were significant time factors.

The idea of having two Anusara entities arose. One that would allow John to teach in the future and one that would be a democratic teacher run organization. These would be parallel and independent of each other.

John then made that into the non-profit idea.

In order for John to take time off from teaching, Michal Lichtman stepped in financially and agreed to run John’s side of Anusara.

As for the teachers’ side, the paramount issue was that it would be wholly independent and have use of the trademark and the website. John agreed to this, which someday will be seen as a great sacrifice on his part, his willingness to give away the organization he founded for the sake of the community.

This of course still faces major legal hurdles. But again, we can only try. There are already a few attorneys and structural consultants helping us.

Then, something tangible and focused had to be established to guide the new Anusara. Thus, the idea of the board of teachers.

It would have been inappropriate for John to appoint the first board of teachers who would govern. That would be him still in control. Yet, there wasn’t time for an election.

The compromise was that John would appoint the steering committee who would then interview and appoint as soon as possible, the first board which should consist of people with the skills to make this actually work.

It is completely understandable that it looks like more of the same with the five of us being the steering committee. Please know that we are committed to this being the last time “senior” teachers will be in charge by appointment. The interim board will not be made up of just the people that were influential in the years past.

Next will come an election. It will probably take a year (hopefully less). Then the elected board representing the global community will govern all things Anusara (certification, ethics, licensing … everything).

Lastly, the advisory committee was an idea to have an immediate channel for more than just the appointees to have a voice in the process.

It might have appeared like those were selections of John as well, but the advisory committee is not formed yet and it will be done in the most fair, open and transparent way with an optimal, globally representative group. Please see action steps if you would like to be part of the advisory committee.

We really are trying to do this the right way. We are not just saying “transparent” but hopefully this letter is evidence of the transparent way we hope the new Anusara will grow. Also, we are not just saying, “open.” We are talking to everyone we can, taking in everyone’s idea and already applying things like global representation, two-way responsive communication and making things like certification a more fair process.

One last note that was unfortunate and not clear why it happened: John’s letter wasn’t sent to everyone. (I, Ross, didn’t get it either) It was just an error in the office as far as I know. No big conspiracy in other words. I believe it has now been resent.

And now we begin.

Action Steps:

• Use anusaraevolution@gmail.com to give ideas.
• Use the email as well or contact anyone on the steering committee about wanting to participate.
• Jessica Jennings from Los Angeles will most likely be joining the Advisory committee. She has come up with great ideas around communication so that everyone has a way to get their ideas heard. She will be working on community level communication in every kula around the globe. Please contact her with your support.
• We will also continue to work with management consultants like Jerry Strauss and soon with John Watkins to help with the process. Please offer any other people you think could help.
• Please suggest any other financial or legal advisors.

Thank you everyone who has been so supportive. The steering committee will be communicating more to you as soon as we can. We know this looks daunting, but if we just breathe and stick to our principles and stick together we just might pull this off in a way we can be proud of and in a way that is truly yoga.

Today, my mantra is forgiveness. This is such a loaded topic … such a loaded word. To be honest, I am bit nervous writing about it because I know how easily it could be construed as me telling others what to do. Please know: I AM NOT. I am simply sharing with you my feelings and thoughts on one of the heaviest human facets. In fact, forgiveness might be too loaded to even meditate on sometimes. Compassion might be the right tact. However, for me today, it was forgiveness.

It’s an important topic for me because I tend to be quite self-righteous. The first time I ever uttered the words, “I could be wrong,” was, embarrassingly, not too many years ago. But now, I try to say, “I don’t know” and “I see your point,” as often as I can.

With the Anusara earthquake of 2012, I’ve tried (and often failed) to say, “I forgive you” a lot. There have been so many opportunities this past week to judge and choose and accuse. I feel like I’ve been in a hurricane of opinions for the last week (is it hyperbolic to use two natural disaster terms in one paragraph?)

Sometimes it’s a piece of cake to forgive and sometimes when it hurts to your soul, it seems impossible like with betrayal or abandonment. Again, I’m hesitant to even write about it, wary of if I’ll be able to do it the next time, when it might be even harder to do.

Still, I have tried to forgive as much as I can those who choose differently than I do.

Let me be very honest. This past week has been painful. My disappointment in my teacher has been hard to bear. And I have been sad and yes, disappointed as well from the resignations. I’ve been disappointed in some of my own thoughts and actions. Still, I tried to remain as neutral and steady as possible. Today, I felt the need to share how I’m dealing with my sadness and disappointment.

Forgiveness sounds so simple, but it’s not. For instance, I can imagine someone would read what I said above and interpret it as me accusing the people I disagree with as having made the wrong or even bad choice. The fact is, I don’t think that. And forgiveness is not an accusation. Forgiveness is what you do before you decide to agree or disagree with someone else’s actions.

Similarly, it seems people tend to not forgive because of the fear that forgiveness is enabling or condoning actions in situations where it’s pretty obvious the person being forgiven really has screwed up. Here too, this is not what forgiveness is.

Forgiveness is before you give your own action. Get it: (be)for(e) giveness.

Whether or not you choose to enable or to align or condone or refuse or fight; these are the things that happen after the moment of forgiveness.

In other words, we get scared that if we forgive, we might make the situation worse. Even though that’s understandable reasoning, it’s just not true.

What forgiveness actually does is stir up compassion and humility. And while I have a lot to learn, one thing I learned this week was compassion, humility and forgiveness have given me more power to confront and act than I’ve probably ever known.

So, I started my new year today here in Singapore, which like last year in Seoul is fun to do because it seems like it lasts for two days with the international-date-line thing. I started it by meditating on forgiving all those who have gone a different way or who made choices I deemed wrong or choices my ego told me were wrong because they were counter to mine.

I forgive not as judgment or as acquiescence, but as openness and as surrender to not being 100% sure about anything.

Listen, I get it: forgiveness could be a slippery slope to a repeat of the same mistakes. But it’s just not true. The backslide happens right after. And yes, possibly so soon after, it’s difficult to distinguish it from the forgiveness moment. But when you forgive, you actually clear the decks. You open up all the options. You have more choices when the heart and mind are open than when they are closed. And I love having options. This is why for me, forgiveness is not just compassion, it is empowerment. Then the work really begins. The next moment is when you decide where your stand, what you choose.

So here I go, forgiveness, check. Ready to start my 42nd trip around the sun.

It’s 520am here in Singapore. I just finished meditating and had some thoughts to share:

My meditation started in the shower actually (or it was probably just that I was still asleep). I watched the water fall and it reminded me of the joke my friends used to do when things were bad or crazy. We used to pick up a book or a pencil, drop it, and say, ” Gravity check … whew … at least that still works.” This morning, the water was falling just like every morning. Gravity check. Whew!

Then I did the sitting kind (of meditation that is), to go inside. When I finished, I thought: What do I want to happen?

My answer: I want to keep teaching the yoga that has changed my life. Keep teaching the tantric philosophy I follow as a Christian and as a yogi. I want to have fun, smart, interesting people in my life. And I want to keep getting better and help other people do the same. I want to work hard and accomplish a lot and I want to remember to enjoy life and have love.

So, I sit here in Asia. Far from my home. Far from my love. Amidst a torrent of chaos. Just days before I start my 42nd year. I can say without hesitation: I have all those things.

I’m not perfect. I mess up all the time. Just watch how un-yogic I get when getting off an airplane (I travel a lot) and someone in the row behind me tries to leave first. Listen, I’m a very patient person … but “Really! Do ya not know how the exiting of the plane is supposed to work?!”

That said, I’m proud of my choices this past week. I’ve tried to stay steady, ask everything and hide nothing. And, I have remained hopeful (with just a few moments of despair and sadness).

And here we are today. Many of my friends, for whom I have the highest respect, have left and my heart goes out to each of them. No matter how one judges their choices, these are deeply good people who care about the same things I care about. My heart also goes out to all the people who don’t have a certification to resign. Having traveled the world teaching for five years, I was blessed with the evidence long ago that Anusara Yoga was bigger than John Friend already.

It can best be summed up by this story: I told my Immersion II students here in Singapore two days ago about the scandal (I had to because the bags under my eyes are now bigger than the suitcase I live out of!); and after the long, gory dissertation was over, one student said …. Who’s John Friend? I couldn’t help but laugh. She then said, OH! I skipped that part of the manual! LMAO

Here’s the deal (for me anyway). I think it’s fine if someone resigns or ends their affiliation with the business … whether they keep teaching Anusara principles or not. I sure plan to teach the same way I have been. And an aside: I’ve been teaching better than ever this past week. Something to be said about great pressure breeding a crystalization of what you believe.

It seems to many the world is going to be radically different with all of this change. It’s not. The name on the class schedule may or may not change, but the method will be the same. I’ve helped too many people get out of pain with the Universal Principles to stop loving and using them.

In fact, the reason for not formally resigning is I’m really, honestly not that affected by Anusara, Inc. For me, its major role is the certification process. It’s been incredible to be a part of a system where you don’t get certified unless you know your stuff. There are significant flaws in the system of course, but there is consensus in the larger yoga community on the high quality of the teachers who are certified.

Regarding John, let me bullet point this:

-He’s told me he will be leaving on sabbatical for an extended time and would return to teaching only after advised to do so by his therapist(s). The plural is because he will most likely use multiple approaches to address these issues.
-He hopes he can face his demons and heal because he says he hopes he can someday return to the seat of the teacher.
-I’ve been told I’m enabling him. A point I totally understand and is serious.
-I can only say that it just hasn’t felt right to shut him out yet
and I’m very much an innocent-until-proven-guilty-constitution sort of guy
-On that note, if or when there’s proof with regard to the more serious allegations I will be the first to help bring those to light.
-I’ve had to ask this man, who taught me so many great things, some of the most uncomfortable questions of my life.
-And the recrimination moments regarding power differentials in relationships were by far the strangest role reversal ever for me.
-Now, I’m assuming it’s all exposed. If that’s not true or if I find he has mislead me, nothing I’ve said above will change. I will just stop talking to him.

Regarding the future:

-Well, who knows really? That’s why they call it the future.
-I think we the Anusara community can build whatever we want, period full stop.
-I’ll be happy to help start a new yoga school, I’ll be happy try to fix Anusara. Honestly, I’m just not that freaked out.
-I certainly would hate it if it sounds like I’m being insensitive and diminishing the pain my friends have gone through, or not acknowledging the severity of the situation. I promise I’m not. I am in a great deal of pain myself. I’m just not scared.
-For me, the principles have done what they promised: when the shit hit the fan, I paused, made the best choice possible, and then spent my day in service of others.
-I would not say this resulted in bliss (the word many people accuse Anusara of mis- or over-using) but it was the content, loving and integrity-filled Ananda for sure.

So, we go on. I hope I can keep teaching. I hope I can keep growing and I hope more people around the world accomplish their dreams as well.

much love

Ross

I’m writing from Indonesia where the bright sun is reminding me that this too shall pass.

This morning (Indonesia time) I recommended to John he take a break from teaching for a time of reflection following the Miami workshop and for a significant period of time. I believe this would serve him and the community.

He agreed.

There are, however, respected friends of mine who have or will soon decide that the allegations against John Friend are such that they can no longer have their name associated with him. I understand why they need to make that choice. Like them, I’ve been struggling with what to do.

Firstly, let me state my gratitude for all John has taught me. Even so, I’ve tried to have unbiased, even hypercritical eyes this past week due to the gravity of the situation and my own possible blind spots. I’ve asked him uncomfortable things in order to get to the truth.

But Anusara Yoga is bigger than John Friend.

He’s made mistakes, but I am standing by him since he’s given me his assurance he is retreating from the seat of the teacher and with the help of spiritual and professional guidance go into a period of self-reflection to understand the issues which precipitated his moral violations.

I believe the global Anusara Yoga community, will continue to benefit from the Universal Principles of Alignment, irrespective of this crisis.

My choice is to stand by John as he steps back. My goal will be to teach yoga and do what’s necessary to help pick up the pieces, along with those who will help me do so. There are doubts we can actually change things, but I’m willing to try.

Also, I believe all the organizational issues with the Anusara structure can be fixed, including corporate restructuring.

If John stands by his word, I will stand by him.

I recognize reasonable people will disagree about what Anusara Yoga and its moral core are. And I understand the tendency of people to generalize; still I have always believed as long as Anusara Yoga remains about principles and not dogma, there is room for me.

John’s behavior and Anusara Yoga are closely associated and that might be as bad as dogma. But I choose to stay until John has a chance to retreat and there is space for the changes to occur.

Like all of us, I have benefitted from Anusara Yoga and I don’t want to step away, when the good is veiled and it seems dark.

To those on the outside looking in: Whether you think this is about justice or truth, everyone agrees yoga, and yoga leaders should be a positive force in the world. Anusara Yoga is. Please give us time to fix our house.

Seeing the Big Picture
by Ross Rayburn

I was reading the newspaper at Starbucks this morning and overheard a guy at the register pontificating, after announcing that he was an acting teacher, about how everything in the world can be achieved through the universal principles of acting. His passion left no doubt about the high regard he has for what he does in life.

My first thought was: this is how I sound when I talk about Anusara Yoga. I tend to be quite passionate and to someone who might overhear my advocacy, I probably sound a little over the top.

The next thought was how this happens to most of us. It seems quite human to become enamored, if not wedded to the habits and circumstances we’ve collected in our lives. It makes total sense that we own our experiences and that it’s a short step to going overboard and seeing everything we do and feel through a lens deeply tinted by those experiences.

And this probably gets in our way. You could say it’s even a human defect that our biases often mask reality and obscure the path we should actually follow in our innate desire to grow.

This prompted my next thought: Anusara Yoga addresses this tendency by encouraging us to see to the highest perspective first, in any situation. (And yes, it’s noted that the first sentence of this paragraph is an example of what I’m talking about!)

Basically, what this means to me, is at minimum to have an intention and at most to consistently remember to not lose sight of the big picture. Of course life will naturally and incessantly pull us into the minutiae. However, the skill of keeping an open mind, and for that matter, an open heart is another thing entirely.

The Sanskrit word that goes well here is Upeksha. It’s one of my favorite words for this reason. It basically means to step back and see life from an elevated perspective. It’s similar to the objectivity we have when there is distance from a situation.
It’s a great concept to ponder and practice. Stress, chaos or even mundaneness pulls us into the myopia of “the small picture” and our ability to choose the highest or best course of action is usually diminished. Yet, pausing, taking a breath, and even just trying to see the big picture can be a magical strategy for navigating just about every situation in life.

This is of course, not easy. I always like to joke that as soon as I think I’ve learned how to practice Upeksha, the universe has a wonderful way of saying, “try this!” When we’re faced with great challenge or intensity, the ability to pause, I would argue, is an extremely sophisticated spiritual skill.

Still, even though I don’t always make good choices, the Upeksha strategy really works. And like any skill, you get better at it over time.

So, when I talk about how much I love Anusara Yoga because of all of the blessings this practice has offered me and how it’s elevated my teaching and my life, I do my best to remember that there’s a bigger picture of yoga … a bigger base of spirituality upon which Anusara is built. The result is sweet. My enthusiasm inspires rather than alienates. I find I connect with more people. And when I advocate my beliefs after orienting them to a grand vision, they are more often received with the loving intention from which they came.

Upeksha … try it!