Dahn Yoga: Cult or Legitimate Practice?

This article documents a tale of an energetic young woman who was not only bright - she was a student at MIT - but also perhaps too trusting when it came to finding some kind of release from her academic pressures. Lucie Vogel was studying to become an environmental engineer when she fell into a Dahn Yoga class one day in the hopes of alleviating the pressures of her studies. Her instructor was very charismatic to the point of being able to make the student believe that she can really connect to him, leaving the mundane world behind, and seek spiritual fulfillment through yoga as it was being taught at Dahn Yoga. There is only one thing: the instructor advised her to be guided by the yoga master at the center where she took the yoga classes and give the practice her all, which meant dropping out of MIT, leaving her boyfriend, personal interests, and everything else behind except for her money. Soon Lucie found herself almost $85,000.00 in debt to Dahn Yoga, money she could have saved for herself. The seven years that she spent as a student at Dahn Yoga cost her family relationships in addition to her money. While Dahn Yoga has all of the makings of a traditional cult - the mind control, having to give up personal ambitions and interests - what should be asked is this: Does a practice like Yoga have to be engaged in in a class with a master, or is it better off being learned on one's own, say, through a book checked out of a library?

The latter is probably much safer and better for people like Vogel, even though the allure of being in a yoga class with someone to encourage you to do your best is more likely to appeal to some people. Vogel, a competitive person by nature, is such an individual who seems to prefer the validation from a yoga master, instead of learning yoga on her own to boost her relaxation levels. Validation is the key word here. Then there is the benefit of students being able to get their innermost thoughts and secrets out into the open, with the guarantee from their master that it will be kept confidential. Of course, there is no real proof the students have that this sort of thing will be kept confidential, as the yoga master could very well use personal information against the student in the near future. While the $85,000.00 does not seem worth it - nor the money from the others students poured into Dahn Yoga - on the surface the students feel some type of relief, like a load has been removed from their shoulders. It is worth noting that 77% of Dahn Yoga members are women, which also signifies how women are socialized into seeking validation from others to gain some form of self esteem. Individuals who are unsure of their goals in life are more likely than others to fall for a group like Dahn Yoga, which sells students the package deal of being able to make a significant contribution to the world.

There is a class action suit against Dahn Yoga filed by former students who claimed they were taken in by the group, brainwashed, and force to live a life they innately knew was neither natural nor normal for them. One plaintiff, Lisa Morehouse, claims Dahn Yoga was simply a programming system to gain members and of course, money. Devoting your entire life to a cult like this can only result in self destruction, and wind up in the termination of one's personal goals and interests. Becoming a yoga "master" in the name of competitive achievements is not really an achievement in itself. Hopefully those who are interested in learning a method of relaxation to de-stress will not be so quick to join a group like Dahn Yoga, and be ready to investigate the group thoroughly before getting caught up in an ego boosting system.

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