I am interested to know if anyone has heard of this group based in Woodburne, New York? My wife and I are concerned as a friend of hers has joined this Ashram and has been living there now for several months.

Her friend says that she works there in exchange for housing (living in a trailer). We are concerned that this might not be a healthy lifestyle. Thanks very much.

I occasionally take yoga classes at the Sivananda yoga centre in my city. There are some odd folks around the school who seem really, really into their yogic lifestyle. The word "cult" crossed my mind before I'd ever come to this forum. There's a culty "vibe", to be sure. But, after five years of going there off and on, I can't honestly say anyone has ever been the slightest bit pushy about getting me to go to ashrams or retreats or anything, or pushing a certain way of thinking. There's a stack of brochures about the various ashrams, you can take one if you want, but that's about it as far as promotion goes. It's possible that I'm not the type they are looking for ;) but my sense is that Sivananda isn't truly a cult. They're just not pushy enough, they're not pushy at all.

So that's my two cents on the question of whether it's a cult.

As for the health of working for housing at an ashram... that kind of thing is not at all uncommon at ashrams around the world, and other religious centres. It could be OK or dodgy as hell. Are visitors allowed? If so, go and check it out for yourself. Do post updates because I'd be interested to know what you experience.

Here are a couple of articles about the Sivananda group.

[www.culteducation.com]

[www.culteducation.com]

Thanks very much to the Moderator and to the other poster. The information provided is much appreciated, as we continue to try and digest what we have read and what we have heard.