#227 | Somatic Dominance: Climate Collapse & The Spectre Of Cultic Yearnings w/ Matthew Remski

Intro: 10:23 | Outro: 1:38:01

In this episode, I speak with yoga practitioner, teacher, and author of ‘Practice and All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, and Healing in Yoga and Beyond’ Matthew Remski. 

As Matthew revealed in his article ‘Yoga’s Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories’ published at The Walrus, contemporary yoga has an appalling and pervasive sexual abuse problem. “Modern yoga has been fraught with stories of charismatic male yoga teachers who promoted their teachings as spiritually pure and later abused, or otherwise took advantage of, students who believed their mentors were gurus or saints.” (http://bit.ly/2SFaNT8) Not only is sexual misconduct and abuse an all-to-common occurrence in countless yoga studios around the world, “somatic dominance” (as Matthew has termed it) is often employed by yoga instructors to assert control over their students, creating a dynamic that leads to “trauma bonding” — a crucial process that occurs between cult leaders and their followers as a means of obscuring abuse. In this interview, Matthew explains what these dynamics look like in practice, and how these dynamics can, and do, manifest in all kinds of contexts, including within collapse-conscious activist and support groups (at least potentially). As we enter into a more climate disrupted future, various cult-like groups and charismatic figures will likely emerge to take advantage of people’s yearnings for spiritual guidance and counseling. Matthew provides much-needed insight into spotting these abusive cult dynamics in group contexts, insights that will prove to be increasingly useful in addressing the complex outcomes of the various crises manifesting in the world today.

Matthew Remski writes and presents on yoga and ayurveda in the shadows of capitalism and climate change. He is the author of eight books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction and has practiced meditation and yoga since 1996, learning from teachers from the Tibetan Buddhist, Kripalu, Ashtanga, and Iyengar streams. He currently facilitates programming for yoga trainings internationally, focusing on yoga philosophy, culture, and the social psychology of healthy communities. In all subject areas, Matthew encourages students to explore how yoga practice can resist the psychic and material dominance of neoliberalism, and the quickening pace of environmental destruction.

Episode Notes:

- Learn more about Matthew and his work: http://matthewremski.com

- Read his article ‘Yoga’s Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories’ published at The Walrus: http://bit.ly/2SFaNT8

- Learn more about his book ‘Practice and All Is Coming: Abuse, Cult Dynamics, and Healing in Yoga and Beyond’: http://bit.ly/2QykG2x

- Learn more about and sign up for his upcoming course ‘6 Critical Problems in Modern Yoga, and How to Work with Them’: http://bit.ly/2QeJSw3

- The songs featured in this episode are “Mirror Memory” and “Shells” by Teebs from the album Anicca.