Firstly, I would like to extend my gratitude to North Atlantic Books, Matthew Remski and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.

"Surviving Modern Yoga: Cult Dynamics, Charismatic Leaders, and What Survivors Can Teach Us" by Matthew Remski is a significant and necessary contribution to the discussion of abuse in the yoga world, and I appreciate the author's efforts to shed light on this critical issue. I think for anyone that has engaged with a yoga community divorced from its site of origin, this book provides a lot of insight into how that cultural divide can be exploited and manipulated. In an age of increasing agnosticism, it's interesting to see how yoga has been posited as an answer to many Western audiences. Remski's research is undoubtedly vast and valuable, as he raises essential questions about power dynamics, charismatic leaders, and the impact of cult-like behavior in yoga communities.

Despite all this, I found the book to be a challenging and disappointing read. Remski's choice to narrate this in the first person and his constant justification of his own feelings as well as his need relay every personal association he had to the subject matter became tiresome. This shifted focus from the stories of the survivors and detracted from the overall message of the book.

I also felt the structure of the book could have been improved. A tighter narrative, a narrowed focused and more concise language would have made the book more engaging and accessible to a broader audience. As it is the book reads too long, and tries to accomplish too many things at once, again diluting the impact.

Overall I regret to say this was a difficult book to get through for me. While I believe that Remski's research and the broader discussion of abuse in yoga are vital and need to be addressed. I think the structure and the narrative approach could have been refined. I recommend this to anyone who's had an experience, even if they don't particularly view it negatively, in a modern yoga community. I think this book offers a lot of valuable insight and I hope it opens the door to further discussions and research on the matter.

Me, a Conspirituality fan here: I was super happy to read another book by the same author, written in the same great language, filled with the same great analysis, with the same great insights, all en pair with the standards set by Conspirituality book and podcast. Only this time it is yoga and specifically Ashtanga yoga leader Pattabhi Jois.
An absolute must-read for everyone who has been in the world of modern yoga.

I’ve been listening to Conspirituality for years and of course read and enjoyed Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat.
Surviving Modern Yoga: Cult Dynamics, Charismatic Leaders, and What Survivors Can Teach Us is a greatly needed book that looks at the abuse of power that has happened within the yoga world through interviews with survivors and the gaslighting and denial they found when speaking their truth.

I just reviewed Surviving Modern Yoga by Matthew Remski. #SurvivingModernYoga #NetGalley

This is a hard book but a much needed book. Remski puts the spotlight on yoga and the corruption and abuse of power people have made through yoga.

it is tough and the subject matter is triggering but it is thorough and brilliant written. will be buying a physical copy of this as it is an eye opener and must read