In yoga communities that champion compassion, truth, and non-harming, it can be particularly painful when tools intended for healing are misused to manipulate. One powerful example? When Byron Katie’s The Work is distorted into a means of spiritual bypassing and gaslighting.
Let’s be clear: The Work is a profound method of inquiry. It’s helped thousands challenge ingrained beliefs, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect to clarity and compassion. But like any tool, its integrity depends on how it’s used—and whether it’s used with consent.
The Danger of Skipping the Process
When someone raises a legitimate concern—whether about mistreatment, dishonesty, misalignment, or harm within a yoga community—they deserve to be heard. Yet too often, they’re met not with curiosity, but with an instant deflection: “Let’s do the work. Go to the turnaround. That’s not me, that’s you.”
This is not inquiry. This is gaslighting.
In The Work, the four questions come after setting up the thought with intention and removing emotional charge. There must be agency—a mutual agreement to engage in the process. Without these steps, rushing to the turnaround becomes a convenient way to avoid accountability and maintain a teacher's image of enlightenment.
The Impact of Misuse
This kind of spiritual manipulation often protects the teacher’s power and places blame on the student. It erodes trust. It silences concern. And it does damage while appearing enlightened.
As a yoga community, we must ask: Are we practicing satya (truthfulness), ahimsa (non-harming), and svadhyaya (self-study)? Or are we hiding behind the language of spirituality to maintain hierarchy?
What We Need Instead
We need the courage to pause. To ask if someone wants to be in inquiry. To honor their voice. To sit in the discomfort of being wrong.
Healing work—true inquiry—requires humility, not hierarchy. It requires us to hold one another in relationship, not roles. If a student brings a concern, we don’t redirect. We listen. We get curious. We repair.
Because otherwise? We’re not practicing yoga. We’re rehearsing control.
Reflection Questions for Community Dialogue:
Have you ever experienced or witnessed “The Work” being used to bypass accountability?
How do you respond when someone brings you a concern? Do you invite inquiry—or deflect?
What would it look like to use spiritual tools with full consent and shared intention?
Where can you practice more humility in leadership or teaching?
How can we create safer spaces in yoga for ethical repair and honest dialogue?
