The Grey Zone: Seeking Safely in Yoga and Spiritual Communities

The Grey Zone: Seeking Safely in Yoga and Spiritual Communities

An evening in collaboration with INFORM, the independent charity based within King's College London that researches minority religions and spiritual movements.

Thursday 17 September, 6.30pm to 8.45pm. OmNom Islington, 116N Upper Street, N1 1QP. Doors 6.15pm.

You love your teacher. Your practice has changed your life. Then a friend sends you a documentary, or a name you know turns up in an article, and you do not know what to think.

Are all spiritual teachers dangerous? Is devotion just dependency? Why do intelligent people stay in groups everyone else thinks are harmful? And how do you take an allegation seriously without deciding someone is guilty because a podcast said so?

This is the grey zone. Most conversations about it end in one of two places: nothing happened, or burn it all down. Neither helps you decide whether to go back to class next week.

What this evening is

A panel and an open Q&A. Five people who have each spent years on a different side of this question sit down together and talk plainly. No lecture, no manifesto. You will leave with a clearer sense of what to look for, what to ask, and when to walk away.

Questions we will explore:

• How control creeps into a group that started out as a community
• The difference between a demanding path and an unhealthy one, and the warning signs that a line is being crossed
• Why people join intense groups, why they stay, and what leaving actually costs
• What the guru-student relationship is for, and where it goes wrong
• What a word like "cult" does to your judgement
• What the law can prove, what it cannot, and why an allegation is not a conviction
• How documentaries and articles about spiritual groups get made, and how to read them without being swept along
• What a community should do when someone raises a concern
• How to stay open to something bigger than yourself without handing over your thinking

Why is it called "The Grey Zone"?

Because in the modern world we often seek absolutes and guarantees. Part of seeking spirituality and guidance safely involves acknowledging that there are few absolutes and fewer guarantees. But with the right perspective, we can still seek safely.

Who is this event for?

This evening is intended for:

• Yoga practitioners and teachers
• Spiritual seekers
• Members and former members of spiritual communities
• People concerned about a friend or relative
• Wellbeing practitioners
• Community organisers and safeguarding lead
• Anyone who wants a more thoughtful conversation than the usual choice between denial or condemnation

The discussion will be practical, accessible and directly relevant to people participating in contemporary yoga and spirituality.

The panel

Dr Suzanne Newcombe - religion, yoga and minority spiritual movements

Drawing on years of conversations with hundreds of current and former members of new and minority religions, she will explore the attractions and challenges of spiritual seeking. She will examine why people join and leave groups, how some movements come to be labelled as “cults”, and how evidence-based research can help us move beyond stereotypes and simplistic assumptions.

Dr Aurora Herrera - journalism, media ethics and public narratives

Aurora Herrera is a journalist and Lecturer in Television Journalism at London Metropolitan University. Her work includes journalism culture, media law, censorship, investigative journalism and media ethics.

She will explore how stories in the media are selected and framed, the responsibilities of journalists and documentary-makers, and how audiences can assess emotionally powerful media narratives critically.

Legal perspective: Human rights lawyer - human rights, religious freedom and due process

A.L. specialises in freedom of religion and belief. They will set out what the law can and cannot decide, the gap between an allegation and a legal finding, and how safeguarding and due process pull against each other. At their request, they are not being publicised in advance.

Viv - community and lived experience

Viv has belonged to two different spiritual communities, both of which later became the subjects of serious public allegations and controversy.

She will speak about why people seek spiritual community, what belonging can genuinely offer, the complexity of remaining within a controversial group, and the personal consequences when an entire community is reduced to a public label.

The Grey Zone is an open conversation for yoga practitioners, spiritual seekers and anyone trying to make sense of these questions.

Etiquette for the evening
Given the nature and context of the evening, recording, filming or sharing of the discussion is strictly prohibited. This is to encourage an open and free exploration. Please be respectful of everyone's privacy.

Event venue & nearby stays

OmNom Islington, 116N Upper Street, London, United Kingdom

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