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Yoga sex scandals seem creepier than other sorts of sex scandals, perhaps due to the fact that yoga studios are supposed to be safe, healing spaces, or maybe because you're a little more physically and emotionally vulnerable in a yoga class than you would be walking down the street. In LA, one instructor has taken advantage of this yogic trust to perve out on his female students. Last week, the LA Times reports, Naader Shagagi of Yoga Kingdom Sanctuary in Pasadena was convicted of "four misdemeanor counts of sexual battery by fraudulent representation" after telling students that he could cure their breast cancer by groping them.
This was, of course, a non-fact. Shagagi will be sentenced for his crimes next month, and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The studio is still open and hosting classes without him.
· Pasadena yoga instructor convicted of sexual battery [LA Now]
· Bikram Yoga Industry Weathers Another Weird Scandal [Racked]