Can a yoga teacher touch you to correct posture? Only if the gesture is explained, accepted and stopped at any time. The displayed well-being of a course never replaces consent.
Élodie Emery’s investigative book recalls a paradox: because yoga is associated with confidence, some people are less daring to say that a gesture makes them uncomfortable.
A yoga class never allows imposed gestures
An adjustment can take several forms: an oral instruction, a remote demonstration, or manual contact to modify a posture. The decisive difference is not the intention displayed by the teacher, but your agreement. You can refuse to be touched, even in the middle of a group lessoneven if others accept, even if the teacher is famous.
Journalist Elodie Emery reports accusations relating precisely to these moments of “adjustment”, when contact is presented as a correction or relaxation. A practitioner thus reports a neck massage which would have turned into an intimate, non-consensual gesture. This type of situation should not be minimized on the grounds that it occurs in a supposedly calming setting.
“Often, victims are afraid to come forward because they fear not being believed. Yoga is supposed to feel good”
Before contact, you can ask, “Where will you place your hands?” ; “Why this adjustment?”, “Can I try it alone?” Agreement given once does not apply to the entire course: consent is never final and can be withdrawn at any time.
Simple sentences are enough: “I’d rather not be touched.”“Show me verbally”, “I don’t want this adjustment”, “I’m stopping exercising”… You don’t have to justify yourself.
Warning signs: isolation, intrusive messages, control
The book-survey does not allow us to conclude on all the teachers or on all the forms of yoga. Rather, they invite us to look at behavior. A framework of trust must remain controllable by the student : schedules, contacts, touching rules, possibility of refusing, recourse in the event of a problem.
Certain signals should make you slow down or go away:
- Demand constant availability or send insistent private messages;
- Create an exclusive relationship with the teacher, devaluing those close to you;
- Present an intimate gesture as an “advanced”, energetic or tantric practice;
- Feel guilty about a refusal by talking about blockage, fear or lack of commitment;
- Request secrecy about what happens in class, internship or retreat;
- Promising spiritual, psychological or bodily healing without a clear framework;
- Mix teaching, seduction, emotional dependence and authority.
The document also highlights that some people come to yoga in a period of fragility: burn-out, break-up, bereavement, eating disorder, dismissal, loneliness. This never makes them responsible for abuse. On the other hand, this can make it more difficult to say no, especially to a teacher who is valued by the group.
Another point to check before registering: in France,
there is no single official certification or centralized control of all yoga teachers. Certifications and obligations may exist depending on the status, location or manner in which the course is presented, but the public must often ask the useful questions themselves: training followed, insurance, rules of physical adjustment, possibility of reporting a problem, recourse to a reference person other than the teacher.
If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave
The first benchmark is very concrete: discomfort is enough to set a limit. You do not need to be certain that an infraction has occurred to withdraw from a course, refuse a placement, or request assistance.
In practice, you can:
- Say “stop” clearly and physically move away from the mat or the teacher;
- Leave the room, even if the course is not over;
- Avoid being alone with the teacher if you do not feel safe;
- Come accompanied to a future exchange, or never return;
- Keep any messages, emails, screenshots or testimonials;
- Talk to a trusted person rather than handling the situation alone;
- Report the facts to the structure if this seems possible and safe to you.
If the gesture has a sexual connotation, if it was imposed, or if you feel under pressure, public support systems for sexual violence can direct you to listen, report or file a complaint. Asking for help does not oblige you to legally qualify the facts yourself. To better identify a dynamic of influence or control, also rely on concrete changes: fear of displeasing, isolation, loss of bearings, feeling of having to obey.
In a safe yoga class, a refusal is not a problem to correct. This is information to be respected immediately, without humiliating comments, without insistence and without symbolic punishment in the group.
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