What happens when MLM sales and neoliberal life coaching collide with a yoga charisma that oozes with pseudofeminism? Where do we even begin? Exploitation. Heartbreak. Toxic mimicries of therapy, mentorship, political awareness, and community.In this investigative report, Matthew digs into the background of a recent article posted to Medium called “Open Letter to Elena Brower.” He interviews the author, Tatum Fjerstad, who Brower mentored from 2014 to 2016, and Liz Fullen, who worked as Brower’s unpaid yoga class assistant for approximately three years. He’ll also play excerpts from a legally-recorded Zoom call in which Brower gives non-consensual “coaching” to a stranger. Friend of the pod Dr. Natalia Petrzela joins the story to recount her personal brush with the Handel Coaching Method. Brower is a Handel “expert coach”, and has merged the Method with her yoga training to produce peak cognitive-dissonant messaging: You’re fabulous, but you're fucked. You’re already perfect and you know what’s right for you, but you have a lot of work to do, and I can show you how to do it.Other themes include “performative therapy abuse”, the perils of unlicensed therapy, and how the power pyramids that hide in plain sight may be more vulnerable than we know, especially when we begin to talk about them clearly.02:15 Introduction08:54 The Brower Effect13:23 "You Used Me As a Prop"35:39 The Oils Coach57:03 Zoom Call From Hell1:15:26 Enthrallment is Not Money1:36:46 Sorry, Not Sorry1:44:30 DebriefAll music by EarthRise SoundSystemSupport Conspirituality on PatreonShow NotesOpen Letter to Elena Brower. CW: spiritual and emotional abuse | by tatum fjerstad | Sep, 2021 | Mediummlmtruth.org's killer list of research and resourcesNew Presidential Diamond announcement: BrowerConspirituality Ep. 4: Racism in Wellness Culture (w/Dr Natalia Petrzela & Dax-Devlon Ross)Conspirituality Instagram post on "Performative Therapy Abuse"Yoga Teachers Are Not Doctors, Doctors Are Not PriestsIYNAUS independent investigation of Manouso ManosThe American Yoga ReVolution with Iyengar disciples Manouso Manos and Patricia Walden“Betrayal of Trust”: 1991 Mercury News Investigation of Sexual Assault Allegations Against Manouso Manos — by Bob FrostThe Yoga Mogul: John Friend, Creator of the Anusara SchoolFemale Lifestyle Empowerment Brand • Kelly DielsScandal contorts future of John Friend, Anusara yoga