Were you a victim?

A statement from a group calling themselves Siddha Yogis Tell the Truth

For many years, devotees have hesitated or not felt safe to tell their stories of sexual or other* harm they experienced within Siddha Yoga. Now is the time for those voices to be heard in a way that honors their experience.

We are a group of former devotees who want to create a safe place for survivors to tell these stories, to support those speaking, and to carefully protect their identities.

*physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual.

Our project is called Siddha Yogis Tell the Truth.
We stand for: Truth. Transparency. Acknowledgement.

Here’s our commitment to you. We will:
• Provide a safe, caring place for you to tell your story of sexual or other harm at a Siddha Yoga ashram, center or tour stop.
• Stand in solidarity with you as you decide if, and how, your story should be shared.
Siddha Yogis Tell the Truth has retained Carol Merchasin, a lawyer, to talk to anyone who comes forward via our mailbox, SYtellthetruth@gmail.com. We will maintain a strict protocol of confidentiality—see below.

Carol has extensive experience in trauma-informed interviews of survivors of misconduct in spiritual communities, having previously led sexual abuse inquiries into the Shambhala, FPMT, and Sivananda communities, among others. Her work has been recognized by the New York Times, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the BBC.
If you feel you were harmed or abused within the Siddha Yoga community, please consider reaching out to SYtellthetruth@gmail.com. And, please help us spread the word: if you know of someone who was harmed or abused, please pass this along to them. Also, if you can, please post this announcement broadly on social media; you may need to copy and paste.
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Our Care and Confidentiality Protocol

Nothing about you, without you.

Before sharing anything with Carol, you can ask her as many questions as you like about how a conversation with her would work; we want you to be 100% comfortable.
You, and you alone, will decide:
1. If you want your name to be shared with anyone else.
2. What you want to talk about, and for how long.
3. If Carol should take any further steps, as a result of what you share.
Carol will:
1. Listen with empathy, care and understanding.
2. Draw on her experience conducting many similar interviews with survivors of abuse.
3. Gently ask questions to understand your experience more correctly.