Grounded in investigative research and real survivor stories, Surviving Modern Yoga uncovers the physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by Ashtanga yoga leader Pattabhi Jois—and reckons with the culture, structures, and mythos that enabled it. The revised edition of Practice and All is Coming from Conspirituality co-host Matthew Remski Yoga culture sells well-meaning westerners the full package: physical health, good vibes, and spiritual growth. Here, investigative journalist Matthew Remski explores how cultic dynamics, institutional self-interest, and spiritualized indifference collude to obscure the truth: Harm happens in plain sight. Through in-depth interviews, insider analysis, and Remski’s own history with high-demand groups, Surviving Modern Yoga brings to light how we’re each susceptible to cult abuse and exploitation. He shows how, with the right kind of situational vulnerability and the wrong kind of guru, the ideas we hold close about ourselves—like It wouldn’t happen to me or I’d speak up for victims—fail to protect us. Remski reckons with his own complicity in spiritual power dynamics, and shares how a process of disillusionment allowed him to recognize harm. He does the same for readers, peeling back the veneer of yoga marketing to reveal the abuse, assault, and silencing perpetrated against seekers who trusted Jois as a mentor, their guruji—even a father figure. Each survivor speaks in their own words, on their own terms, reclaiming agency against an insular, in-group culture that enabled a charismatic leader’s devastating harm—and positioned him as its only remedy. Surviving Modern Yoga also includes practical tools to help readers: Understand how high-demand groups trap would-be targets Evaluate their own situational vulnerabilities Learn to listen for loaded, red-flag language Cultivate their literacy of cult tactics
A new translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for our present paradigm. Threads uses the lenses of contemporary philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience to "remix" the original stillness and insight of the old book with the best that our age has to offer. The author interweaves the refashioned verses with critical commentary and personal reflections from a decade of practice. "I don't know of any reading of the yoga sutras as wildly creative, as impassioned and as earnest as this. it engages Patanjali and the reader in an urgent, electrified conversation that weaves philosophy, symbolist poetry, psychoanalysis and cultural history. There's a kind of delight and freshness in this book that is very rare in writing on yoga, and especially rare in writing on the yoga sutras. This is a Patanjali for postmoderns, less a translation than a startlingly relevant report on our current condition, through the prism of this ancient text." -- Mark Singleton, author of Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice "This is a massively important work... finally a philosophical text rich in contemporary wisdom that can speak to the radical embodiment and deepening intimacy with ecology and relationship that modern yoga practice inspires. Matthew is not only the most stunning writer in prose working in the (underpaid) world of yoga discourse he's also one of its most fluent cultural critics. More importantly, what he does here is pave a new road forward for the future of Western spirituality: embodied, psychologically informed, with an aesthetic so potent it has the power to heal." -- Shyam Dodge, author of Wet, Hot & Wild American Yogi
How do we co-create safer yoga and spiritual communities? Through dogged investigative work, careful listening to survivor stories of assault and abuse, and close analysis of the cultic mechanisms at play in the sphere of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga community, Matthew Remski’s Practice and All Is Coming offers a sober view into a collective and intergenerational trauma. It also offers a clear pathway forward into enhanced critical thinking, student empowerment, self-and-other care, and community resilience. Concluding with practical tools for a world rocked by abuse revelations, Practice and All Is Coming opens a window on the possibility of healing— and even re-enchantment. While Mathew Remski is the courageous, insightful, and compassionate author of this informative, challenging, and thought-provoking book, this book is clearly a group effort. Equal parts theory, training manual, expose, and memoir, Practice and All is Coming ... is a foray into the difficult topics of personal agency, spirituality authority, and cult dynamics. In addition to his clearly articulated understanding of the problems inherent in many spiritual schools, Mathew provides hope for healing the confusion and anguish that arise in the heart of sincere practitioners when they are betrayed by the revered powers in which they have placed their trust. If you practice or teach yoga, please consider this book an essential companion on your path. Christina Sell, author of Yoga From the Inside Out, My Body is a Temple, and A Deeper Yoga.
Conspirituality takes a deep dive into the troubling phenomenon of influencers who have curdled New Age spirituality and wellness with the politics of paranoia—peddling vaccine misinformation, tales of child trafficking, and wild conspiracy theories. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation. Since May 2020, Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker have used their Conspirituality podcast to expose countless facets of the intersection of alt-health practitioners with far-right conspiracy trolls. Now this expansive and revelatory book unpacks the follies, frauds, cons and cults that dominate the New Age and wellness spheres and betray the trust of people who seek genuine relief in this uncertain age. Each of the three authors has witnessed firsthand the use of fear-based political agendas to manipulate the human desire for spiritual fulfillment. They throw a spotlight on the telltale signs of cult dynamics and expose how influencers have stoked suspicion of public health initiatives. And they show how charlatans and pseudo-doctors encourage their followers to oppose mainstream advice as a form of spiritual quest. With analytical rigor and flashes of irreverent humor, Conspirituality offers an antidote to our times, helping readers recognize wellness grifts, engage with loved ones who've fallen under the influence, and counter lies and distortions with insight and empathy.
Syrinx is a celebration of Mantra and the spiritual power of sound. This book explores the nexus point connecting rapture and sound. A passage from Syrinx explains it perfectly: Prayer seems spontaneous, but only because the singers of the past are working my lungs like bellows'.
A young man is coming of age at the intersection of a broken Catholicism and a rupturing postmodernity. His sister initiates him into transgression, shadow-play, and the sublime. Then she vanishes. He writes a long love-letter to her and his own silence, shredding both liturgy and language in passionate confession of whatever comes after faith.A second edition of Matthew Remski's ground-breaking first novel. “Remski writes a rich work, whose blasphemous intensities evoke the broken genius of Rimbaud or Baudelaire.” -- Christian Bök
Studying Ayurveda: a Manual in Progress is a 12-module guide designed to support students in becoming proficient in Ayurvedic worldview and practice. It's a required text for all students of Matthew Remski's Ayurveda courses consisting of more than one day, and a recommended supplement to shorter courses as well. Those who are not enrolled in a course can also find these notes very helpful, but should be aware that the manual's content is enriched by in-person or online lecture presentations and discussion, slides and online quizzes. Notes are presented in bullet-point form. The modules are: 1. Ayurveda Basics 2. Elements, Gunas, Samkhya Correlations 3. The Dhatus/Doshas as Psychosomatic Forces 4. How the Dhatus Influence Individual Identity 5. Agni, the Root of Digestion 6. Ayurvedic Diet 7. Tissues, Wastes, and Essential Vitality 8. The Five Functions of Prana 9. Optimizing the Breath 10. Daily Routine 11. Cleansing-Daily, Seasonal, Lifetime 12. The Life Cycle The manual includes the full bibliography of the rich sources that have heavily influenced this material: works by Frawley, Johari, Kacera, Lad, Pole, Tiwari, Ranade, Sharma, Svoboda, Verma, and dozens of other practitioners and scholars. Also included are edited versions of three ground-breaking essays from 2013-2014: "Recovering the Era of Water Medicine" "Ayurveda Is a Political Practice, Part one: Economic justice" "Ayurveda and the Accusation of Pseudoscience" Past students of Matthew's trainings and seminars have said the following: Matthew Remski's approach to Ayurveda is simultaneously pragmatic, poetic, reverent, critical, and honestly quite brave. He is willing to question dogma while cherishing the spirit of Ayurvedic inquiry, and his teaching emboldens me to do the same. - Nick Beem E-RYT500, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist & Group Facilitator From our first online course, I knew I had found a teacher worth "tuning in" to. Matthew Remski's online course is perfect if you'd like to move beyond the surface and eradicate confusion. While I have studied with Ayurvedic physicians and consultants over the years, Matthew Remski expresses a fresh voice on ancient wisdom. His teaching is clear, accessible, and approachable for modern day body/minds. If you are considering an online course, I highly recommend that you block the time and participate "live" rather than review the recording later. Be prepared to be challenged and fully dive into the homework and quizzes. Your presence, focused attention, and skillfully applied effort will be rewarded with a fuller appreciation and understanding of Ayurveda. The best outcome will be your ease of application of Ayurveda's wisdom in your daily life. - Lisa Long E-RYT 500 In a world that too often emphasizes busy work schedules, imbalance and disconnection, I found that Everyday Nectar offered concrete and practical ways to retune my awareness towards health and wholeness. I think it would be impossible to be unchanged by the course learning. There are opportunities to make the simple adjustments in your day-to-day experience that may have significant health benefits. Matthew is a caring, knowledgable teacher that creates space for a warm, nourishing inquiry into how ayurveda can positively support our human experience. - Kelly Anderson, MD Matthew brings a rare intelligence and poetic sensibility to his teaching of Ayurveda. Always attentive to modern applications and contemporary context, his classes encompass a riveting dialogue between different times, places and ways of knowing. He makes Ayurveda feel at once intuitive and familiar, while at the same time, offering it as a way think about and experience the the world in radical new ways. - Katherine Friesen
Conspirituality takes a deep dive into the troubling phenomenon of influencers who have curdled New Age spirituality and wellness with the politics of paranoia—peddling vaccine misinformation, tales of child trafficking, and wild conspiracy theories. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation. Since May 2020, Derek Beres, Matthew Remski and Julian Walker have used their Conspirituality podcast to expose countless facets of the intersection of alt-health practitioners with far-right conspiracy trolls. Now this expansive and revelatory book unpacks the follies, frauds, cons and cults that dominate the New Age and wellness spheres and betray the trust of people who seek genuine relief in this uncertain age. With analytical rigor and irreverent humor, Conspirituality offers an antidote to our times, helping readers recognize wellness grifts, engage with loved ones who've fallen under the influence, and counter lies and distortions with insight and empathy.
How do we co-create safer yoga and spiritual communities? Through dogged investigative work, careful listening to survivor stories of assault and abuse, and close analysis of the cultic mechanisms at play in the sphere of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga community, Matthew Remski’s Practice and All Is Coming offers a sober view into a collective and intergenerational trauma. It also offers a clear pathway forward into enhanced critical thinking, student empowerment, self-and-other care, and community resilience. Concluding with practical tools for a world rocked by abuse revelations, Practice and All Is Coming opens a window on the possibility of healing— and even re-enchantment. While Mathew Remski is the courageous, insightful, and compassionate author of this informative, challenging, and thought-provoking book, this book is clearly a group effort. Equal parts theory, training manual, expose, and memoir, Practice and All is Coming ... is a foray into the difficult topics of personal agency, spirituality authority, and cult dynamics. In addition to his clearly articulated understanding of the problems inherent in many spiritual schools, Mathew provides hope for healing the confusion and anguish that arise in the heart of sincere practitioners when they are betrayed by the revered powers in which they have placed their trust. If you practice or teach yoga, please consider this book an essential companion on your path. Christina Sell, author of Yoga From the Inside Out, My Body is a Temple, and A Deeper Yoga.
Grounded in investigative research and real survivor stories, Surviving Modern Yoga uncovers the physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by Ashtanga yoga leader Pattabhi Jois—and reckons with the culture, structures, and mythos that enabled it. The revised edition of Practice and All is Coming from Conspirituality co-host Matthew Remski Yoga culture sells well-meaning westerners the full package: physical health, good vibes, and spiritual growth. Here, investigative journalist Matthew Remski explores how cultic dynamics, institutional self-interest, and spiritualized indifference collude to obscure the truth: Harm happens in plain sight. Through in-depth interviews, insider analysis, and Remski’s own history with high-demand groups, Surviving Modern Yoga brings to light how we’re each susceptible to cult abuse and exploitation. He shows how, with the right kind of situational vulnerability and the wrong kind of guru, the ideas we hold close about ourselves—like It wouldn’t happen to me or I’d speak up for victims—fail to protect us. Remski reckons with his own complicity in spiritual power dynamics, and shares how a process of disillusionment allowed him to recognize harm. He does the same for readers, peeling back the veneer of yoga marketing to reveal the abuse, assault, and silencing perpetrated against seekers who trusted Jois as a mentor, their guruji—even a father figure. Each survivor speaks in their own words, on their own terms, reclaiming agency against an insular, in-group culture that enabled a charismatic leader’s devastating harm—and positioned him as its only remedy. Surviving Modern Yoga also includes practical tools to help readers: Understand how high-demand groups trap would-be targets Evaluate their own situational vulnerabilities Learn to listen for loaded, red-flag language Cultivate their literacy of cult tactics
Syrinx is a celebration of Mantra and the spiritual power of sound. This book explores the nexus point connecting rapture and sound. A passage from Syrinx explains it perfectly: Prayer seems spontaneous, but only because the singers of the past are working my lungs like bellows'.
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