She was a popular yoga guru. Then she embraced QAnon conspiracy theories

[Nevilledog]

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/02/1146318331/yoga-guru-qanon-conspiracy-theories

QAnon — the baseless conspiracy theory that claims that a cabal of Satan-worshipping, blood-drinking elites control politics and media — is closely identified in political circles with some supporters of former President Donald Trump. But it also has a toehold in yoga and wellness circles.

Themes like everything is connected, nothing happens without a purpose, and nothing is what it seems are central to both yoga philosophy and conspiratorial thinking.

"If you've been practicing yoga, these are going to be very familiar ideas to you," said Matthew Remski, a former yoga teacher and journalist who hosts a podcast about conspiracies, wellness and cults called Conspirituality.

During the pandemic, many yoga teachers began to speak more openly about their belief in conspiracies, to the point that there is now a term to describe this phenomenon: the "wellness to QAnon pipeline."

To understand what wellness and conspiracy theories have in common, I decided to follow the radicalization journey of a Los Angeles-based Kundalini yoga teacher named Guru Jagat (to hear the full story, subscribe to the LAist Studios podcast Imperfect Paradise: Yoga's "Queen of Conspiracy Theories," which publishes on Jan. 3).

*snip*

[vercetti2021]

1. Always seems fitness people are more radical

But they also sell you bullshit miracle diets and wellness supplements too. So cons gotta con

[Bev54]

2. The wellness and essential oils etc tend to be anti-vaxxers, I know a few myself

that also leads them to Qanon. Easily manipulated.

[William Seger]

3. Conspiracy theorists simply lack critical thinking skills -- no functioning BS detector

Conspiracy theorists are people who have a near-religious belief in implausible conspiracies and hoaxes, despite the dubious sources of the claims and despite a lack of credible evidence. If there's an unusual overlap in the Venn diagram with yoga instructors, well, make of that what you will.

[JI7]

4. These type of people have always believed in BS and are hostile to Science

It's not a surprise these type of people would turn to Qanon and other conspiracies .

[NJCher]

5. I think it's also

the desire to have answers.

Sometimes there just aren't any answers. Some things in ife and its circumstances just don't have explanations.

I think more mature people eventually learn that some things are just unexplainable. Maybe learning to live with no answers is part of the human condition.

So when there aren't answers, they make up stories to give themselves answers.

In the end, kinda' immature, like most republican-type behavior.

[Pachamama]

6. +100000

And for those desperate for answers they can’t find to blindly follow those that purport to have them.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

8. Yes. "they make up stories to give themselves answers" nt

[Dorian Gray]

7. So

the teacher featured in this article died of an embolism in August 2021. (Embolisms are blood clots. people can be prone to them. But it's also common with a covid infection, so I'm curious if she experienced this after a covid infection or if she was prone to them on her own. I have thrombophilia, so I was very quick to get the vaccines and boosters to avoid any clotting issues.) So she's no longer around to interview about her beliefs. Which is a shame, bc I'm curious if they'd have evolved a bit more.

The Wellness to Qanon pipeline is a real thing. Interesting article, but I'd love for it to do a series and explore some of the earth goddess cult circles that incorporate yoga and wellness in them.

[Solly Mack]

9. Face down ass up is optimum for talking out your hiney-hole but just because you can assume

the position doesn't mean those are pearls of wisdom escaping through the Lycra.

Bullshit is still bullshit regardless of how one dresses it up. Embracing bullshit is not about seeking factual answers or actual enlightenment, it's about reinforcing biases you already hold.

If science tells you this is how viruses spread (from person to person) but you just know or want to believe (for whatever reasons) it can't be that simple (masks, social distancing, vaccines), then a conspiracy of government officials and scientists colluding to control you or to kill you off merely serves what you are already inclined to believe based on biases you already hold.

[Meowmee]

10. Another very disturbed, crazy person

And her “followers” are just as crazy. She hosted the anti-semite and conspiracy theories Icke.