Baron Baptiste

I don’t actually remember when Baron Baptiste showed up on my radar. I do remember when I first got into Yoga in 2006, the local library had a decent selection of Yoga books and Journey into Power was one of them. I checked it out and proudly carried it to Yoga with me. I was hoping Eva would notice it and ask me about it so we could talk about Yoga.

The Journey into Power cover has Baron Baptiste shirtless, in bakasana (crow pose) gazing confidently forward. In Yoga that's called dristi. The book actually didn’t mean anything to me at the time. It was really a prop that I used hoping that it would help me fit in with the cool Yoga people.

I was aware that the style I practiced was called Baptiste Yoga but I don’t think I much thought about Baron Baptiste. I put Patty Ivey on a pedestal for years until I worked for her. I had experience with his teachers but not him.

Once I began teaching I devoured his books and listened to them as well. He narrated his Perfectly Imperfect book. That made him real. I looked for any his content I could get my hands on. Baptiste Yoga became my gospel. Finding content in the 2010s wasn't as easy as it is now.

When Covid happened and everything shut down, I participated in an online class that he led. He co-taught with his son where his son didn’t take it seriously. It was off putting. At the time I was teaching at a Baptiste affiliated studio so I was drinking the Kool-Aid. My practice was Baptiste Power Vinyasa. I subscribed to mybaptistepractice.com. I taught JIP (Journey into Power). Years later when I worked at Frederick Health on my lunch break I would roll out my mat and practice Baron’s Yoga for Athletes on YouTube. It’s such a great practice!

Baron had his controversy like any other top tiered Yoga Teacher. There’s a podcast called Journey into Yoga Cults that I listened to and had me convinced enough that I threw away my copy of Journey into Power book. I never not want to believe women but recently I went back and listened to it and it gave me pause.

“Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”

I was really conflicted. I knew there were allegations. In fact on of the plaintiffs happen to teach at Yogamour. Talk about small world. For a while I felt like I couldn’t even say Baptiste Yoga. This caused an existential crisis. How could I continue to teach, honoring the person who created this methodology meanwhile not rocking the boat of the person with the strongest personality at the studio? Sounds crazy, right? That’s how I felt. This conundrum lasted about two years. It’s indicative of me being a people pleaser. I needed to decide that I teach Baptiste Yoga in order for me to grow as a teacher.

In spring of 2025 while perusing Instagram I came across a post that Baron was coming to Connecticut for a Master Class. HOLY SHIT! That’s the east coast. That’s doable! I screenshotted the post and sent it to my bestie, Kim. I think she thought I was crazy. It wasn’t too much longer that I purchased the class and booked a hotel in Mystic River Connecticut. Side note, that’s the location where the Julia Roberts’ movie Mystic Pizza takes place. I invited her to join. She thought the drive was too long but I don’t fly so… Next thing we’re meeting in the Yogamour parking lot on a Thursday morning to drive to Connecticut.

To be continued...