The original safehouse.yoga website has been taken down. None of the creators of safehouse.yoga, the women whose statements were featured on that site, nor any of the named defendants in the legal proceedings commenced or threatened by Anand Mehrotra, have any involvement with this page.
This page memorialises the situations leading to the publication and eventual withdrawal of the safehouse.yoga website, which related to the ongoing allegations against Anand Mehrotra.
The sole purpose of this page is to provide factual information which may help yoga students make an informed decision about attending Sattva Yoga Academy in Rishikesh or any other yoga school or retreat involving Anand Mehrotra.
This page solely contains factual statements. Each statement can be backed up by necessary evidence. In any legal proceedings, the discovery process will reveal such evidence to appropriately support every claim made. No statements herein constitute legal defamation, and there is certainly no intention to defame any persons or institutions but rather to merely memorialise facts and history.
Since at least the early 2010s, there have been numerous allegations surrounding Anand Mehrotra and the Sattva Yoga Academy, particularly from female students. These allegations most commonly involve inappropriate relationships and interactions that raise concerns about the student/teacher power dynamic.
The significant number of such allegations concerning Anand Mehrotra overlap across various extended periods, including periods after his marriage. Some claims concern situations of alleged non-consent, whether in the context of ongoing relationships or, in some cases, isolated incidents.
Before the recent wave of allegations, earlier claims were largely suppressed by Anand Mehrotra and the Sattva Yoga Academy through legal threats, financial payouts, and attacks on the credibility of those coming forward. Additionally, there were efforts for extensive internet whitewashing, which included removing negative reviews from third-party websites such as Trustpilot.
The most recent waves of allegations in 2026 led to the creation of the safehouse.yoga website. That site featured the written statements of four women detailing allegations regarding inappropriate and, in some instances, potentially criminal conduct. Those statements were formally prepared in legal affidavit form, sworn before qualified legal practitioners, and presented in a manner which could be submitted to formal court proceedings if necessary.
An article published by the reputable Indian news outlet, The Print, discusses these events:
Before the withdrawal of safehouse.yoga, a significant number of other women were contemplating and at various stages of determining whether to likewise come forward and share their own experiences related to Anand Mehrotra and SattvaYoga Academy. Those experiences included accounts similar to those of the published statements, including in some instances involving alleged non-consent situations.
In response to the ongoing allegations, Anand Mehrotra and Sattva Yoga Academy employed their usual tactics to suppress this latest wave of claims. Legal proceedings were initiated in the Delhi courts to force the takedown of safehouse.yoga, and defamation threats were directed at two of the women who came forward and two of their supporters. Additionally, former staff members were also threatened for allegedly communicating with these supporters.
Another website emerged, suspected to be associated with Anand Mehrotra, which aimed to discredit the women and undermine the motivations of their supporters. This site utilized common deflection and denial tactics often seen in high control groups, resembling cult-like dynamics.
Ultimately, the safehouse.yoga website was taken down due to these threats and the personal impact they had on the individuals involved. Despite this, those individuals remain confident in the unfounded nature of the counter-allegations made by Anand Mehrotra.
A number of associated organizations helped create the wider ecosystem that enabled Sattva Yoga Academy to attract a flow of international yoga students. This included periods when the student community faced a significant decline following prior waves of allegations, prompting extensive efforts to rebuild student numbers.
Key organizations in this ecosystem included Recovery 2.0 and Tommy Rosen, who brought retreats of international students from the addiction recovery communities to Sattva Yoga Academy for many years. Additionally, Parmarth Niketan Ashram and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati played a crucial role in promoting Sattva Yoga Academy for years through the annual International Yoga Festival held at Parmarth Niketan.
It is important to note that prior waves of allegations were common knowledge at the time, prior to successful suppression. Therefore, it raises questions about the extent to which these associated organizations and individuals were aware—perhaps adopting wilful or subconscious denial—over the extended years during which they continued to provide support and introduce students to Sattva Yoga Academy.
safehouseyoga.org