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A British dance teacher has won her battle for pay after a breakdown sum in the course India,
Melissa Revell said the self-discovery exercises on a £2,250 course she attended in Goa in 2019 caused a meltdown that left her unable to work.
The 35-year-old woman said she was “re-traumatized” when memories related to her adoption were triggered by inadvertent psychological exercises.
She said, before the course she was in good health physically and mentally, but now she cannot look after herself or exercise and has gone from a size six to a size 16.
Ms Revell sued TYP International Ltd, the company behind the course, for more than £200,000.
The company is run by 59-year-old British yoga guru Jamie Clarke and 43-year-old Mexican instructor Dulce Aguilar.
Now, Ms Revell is in line for payment after Mr Clarke said London High Court The company has dropped its defense on liability for what happened to him.
Ms Revell, of Richmond, London, says she has gone from fit, active and working to “not being able to look after herself” and living an “extremely isolated, poor and dysfunctional life” with “intense anxiety whenever she leaves the flat”.
In a defense filing in court, lawyers for the yoga company had previously insisted that Mr. Clark, Ms. Aguilar and its other employees had done nothing wrong.
He denied there was any “psychological” element to the training or that the emotional fallout Ms Revell says she suffered was a potential risk for the yoga course.
But Mr Clarke has now confirmed in court that the company will no longer dispute the liability issue, as funding has dried up and the company has been separated from its lawyers and lost a key pre-trial skirmish, meaning they are unable to present their own expert medical evidence.
“The company is no longer trading from July 2022,” he told the judge, Master John Dagnall.
“We are now unable due to funds to defend the claim. We think it is unlikely that the claimant will win on liability, but we are in a catch 22 situation where we do not have the money to pay for our defense.
“with [the company’s former solicitors] Kennedy is no longer taking action, we find that we no longer have the representation or funds to defend the claim.”
In documents lodged at the High Court in London, Marcus Grant, for Ms Revell, said she had paid £2,250 for a 200-hour training course. Goa In September and October 2019 with the aim of becoming a qualified teacher of Ashtanga Yoga.
But he soon left India and went home after a mental breakdown caused by the effort of exploring childhood memories, he says.
Describing the practice, she said: “On 24 September 2019, Ms Aguilar instructed the Claimant and other students on the course to participate in a somatic touch session led by her.
“Ms. Aguilar explained that the purpose of the exercise was for students to explore their childhood memories and their relationships with their parents so that they can forgive them for what they have done to them, heal, and move forward.
“As part of the exercise, students were instructed to sit in pairs in a circle with one person sitting facing the other. They were asked to take turns in their pair to catch the other person.
“While holding the other person, they were instructed to imagine that the other person was their parent and massaged their shoulders, held their hands, and stroked their hair. Ms. Aguilar said words such as ‘I love you, you are my teacher, my caregiver, my nurturer, and I forgive you.'”
The barrister says that “after the session the claimant began to tremble and feel ill” and was left with “extreme anxiety”.
Over the next few days, she talked to Mr. Clark and told him how she was feeling and that it was bringing up previously suppressed memories from her childhood, she said.
She added, “Mr Clark responded that he could not spend all his time with a student, but he offered one to one therapy sessions in the UK.”
The barrister says this “disappointing response” and being “left without any resolution or support”, as well as “coercive pressure to take part” in further “psychology-focused practice”, caused Ms Revell “to become very ill” and go home.
She was later diagnosed with a “significant and serious complication”. ptsd and “comorbid depersonalization/degeneration disorders” and “functional neurological disorders”.
“She has become significantly disabled as a result of her injuries,” he says. “Her long-term relationship with her partner…failed as a result of his psychological illness.
“Now she lives alone and leads an extremely isolated, penniless and worthless life.
“She doesn’t go out much. She isn’t able to take care of herself. She can’t cook, clean or go grocery shopping. As a result her house is messy and untidy. She struggles with self-care.
“She can go days without changing her clothes or washing her hair. She doesn’t eat properly. Since she is unable to exercise, she has gained weight; she used to be a UK size 6-8 and is now a size 14-16.”
Although she has a history of mental health problems since her teenage years, she was in good mental and physical health until 2013-14 and the yoga course, she continued.
“Nowhere in the brochure did it say that the course would include any aspect of psychology/psychiatry,” he says.
“At no point in the yoga course was there any warning given about the risk of possible trauma as a result of engaging in any of the exercises.
“It was mandatory to attend all the sessions of the course to obtain yoga teacher accreditation.
“Had she been informed of the need to engage in psychology and or psychotherapy based on potentially traumatic or disturbing childhood memories and parent-child interactions she would never have signed up for this course.”
In the company’s defense, its lawyers had previously denied any wrongdoing and said there was no psychological or psychotherapy element to the course.
“However, it was a yoga course and therefore essentially focused on physical, mental and spiritual practices,” he said.
“There is a discussion about emotions as part of yoga.
“There was no need to engage in psychology/psychiatry and the claimant knew that yoga involved spiritual healing.
“The Claimant completed the exercise without any complaints or discomfort and approached Ms Aguilar at the end of the session and said she enjoyed the exercise and was impressed by it. She hugged Ms Aguilar.
“It is denied that the Claimant was obliged to engage in any exercise.
“It is denied that she needed ‘access to her childhood memories and parents’ conversations’.
“The claimant was told what the purpose and aims of the exercise were, as well as how it would be conducted, before it began. She could refuse to participate if she wished.
“It is denied that the purpose of the exercise was to elicit potentially painful or disturbing childhood memories. The purpose of the exercise was solely to help you feel love and develop forgiveness for the person who has wronged you. This included parents and parking attendants.
“It is accepted that no warnings were given about potential re-traumatization as a result of engaging in any exercises on the course. Re-traumatization was unlikely to result from the exercises undertaken by the Claimant.
“It is denied that the defendant was obliged to make any probative assessment of the claimant’s psychological condition. It was sufficient for the defendant to inquire whether the claimant had any physical or mental condition.
“The Claimant…confirmed, at the time of signing the waiver, that he had no existing mental or physical conditions and no pre-existing conditions, either physical or mental, which could affect his performance.”
After a brief hearing held via videolink, Master Dagnall told Mr Clarke: “If you are not going to defend the claim, your chances of success would appear to be slim.”
The judge gave a so-called “unless ordered” direction that the company’s defense on liability would be dropped unless Mr Clarke confirmed by the end of Monday 17 November that he intended to appear in person and fight his company’s case in court in the absence of lawyers.
Ms Revell’s lawyers later said outside court that Mr Clarke, on behalf of the company, had confirmed he would not join the suit, meaning judgment would be entered for the claimant on liability, with damages assessed.
The value of his claim will now be assessed during the next phase of the case.