“Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.” ~ Henry Kissinger

Looks as if Time Magazine is picking up the thread of the Anusara situation now.

Fortunately it’s less a slam on yoga itself, than what happens to people—or, really men—in power. Definitely worth a look.

The article invites the reader to look beyond the scantily-clad asana practitioners or the red-herring reference the Times’ Broad makes to the practice/alleged history of hatha yoga starting as a “sex cult.”

I for one am pleased to see someone in the mainstream media world who might be willing to look beyond the hype and easy sensationalism of the “fallen guru” stereotype (and, for that matter, to extend the conversation beyond facile assumptions and a complete lack of depth in investigating the history of the practice of Hatha Yoga, as Broad has done repeatedly in the New York Times).

Please take a look for yourself.

Excerpt:

Relationships

Does Yoga Really Drive People Wild with Desire?

Studies suggesting that the practice of yoga arouses the libido have been cited to explain why so many gurus are embroiled in sex scandals. But is that really what’s going on?

An article about sex scandals in yoga is heating up the New York Times most-emailed list. Writer William Broad, author of a new book on the popular practice, details the latest transgression: It involves the guru John Friend, the founder of the popular Anusara style of yoga, who recently resigned from teaching to pursue “self-reflection, therapy and personal retreat,” following revelations that he had sexually betrayed multiple girlfriends and lied to many.

But Friend isn’t the first yogi to have failed to master his desire for his female disciples, Broad notes. Yoga has been racked with a lengthy history…