The Guru Who Tried to Outrun Yoga Alliance
How a yoga guru tried to use aliases, new schools, and his female devotees to outrun Yoga Alliance.
After allegations of sexual misconduct, fraud, and false medical credentials followed Risi Srivaso across India, Bali, Thailand, China, and Taiwan, he used aliases, new schools, and female devotees to keep teaching.
Be Scofield is a prominent cult reporter behind the hit HBO series Love Has Won. She is the author of Hunting Lucifer: One Reporter's Search for Cults and Demons. Her work is cited by the NY Times, Rolling Stone, People, and more. It was also turned into an episode of "Unwell" on Netflix.
By BE SCOFIELD
5/6/26
Meet Risi Srivaso, enlightened guru. A wealthy, retired doctor who spent his life training directly under legends such as J. Krishnamurti, B.K.S. Iyengar, Osho, K. Pattabhi Jois, and Swami Satyananda. Born in India, he moved to Norway and spent his career working as an orthopedic surgeon before B.K.S. Iyengar asked that he return to his home country and start his first yoga school in 2013. His impressive pedigree attracted students from all over the world.
The problem is, this backstory is largely fictional. Records show he never attended medical school or practiced as a doctor. He was never able to substantiate any of his claims of working directly under his elite group of teachers to his students.
Risi Srivaso was born Rakesh Ranjan in Bihar, India, 1970. He moved to Norway in 1999, where he spent the next decade teaching yoga and meditation. Despite claims of being an orthopedic surgeon, records indicate he only trained to be a physiotherapist for a year in Norway in 2012. Srivaso (now going by his first alias, Yog Namito) started Abhinam Yoga in 2014 and began conducting yoga teacher trainings under Yoga Alliance, the worldwide governing body of yoga teachers. Soon after, reports of sexual misconduct appeared.
In 2016, Amanda (not her real name) worked as a student coordinator for Srivaso's teacher trainings in India. During an interview she told me that a few months into her job, two students reported misconduct by Srivaso to her: one sexual assault and the other inappropriate touching. Amanda immediately left the school and reported the situation to the Yoga Alliance, who told her, “Yoga Alliance does not currently investigate routine grievances," and suggested she address her concerns with the school directly.
The following year, Risi Srivaso was accused of sexual misconduct at two other yoga teacher training courses in India.
Shelby attended a 2017 training group, where Srivaso invited her to travel with him to see his new yoga school, convincing her it was beneficial for her future as a yoga teacher. She told me during an interview that Srivaso purchased a bottle of wine, which was prohibited during the course. “He asked me deeply personal questions about my relationship with my dad and dating life, speculating about why I wasn’t in a relationship,” she said. Srivaso told her, "You have emotional blockages; you need to learn to relax. Nothing bad is happening to you.” Srivaso kept trying to get physically close to Shelby and assured her it was a specialized form of therapy. When he booked only one hotel room with a single bed for both of them, she lost it emotionally.
A few days later, Shelby was in a cafe with the other students when a woman named Shelly shared a similar incident with her 18-year-old roommate Ashley (not her real name). Srivaso accompanied Ashley to Delhi, but she quickly fled the trip, returning to Goa in the middle of the night. Ashley told her roommate, “It was a horrible day. He only booked a room with one bed, tried to give me alcohol, and stripped down to his underwear in front of me."
Natalia, who attended the teacher training provided by Abhinam Yoga School in 2017, described Srivaso to me as “a master of psychological abuse," saying, "He openly expressed anger and dissatisfaction when the students asked questions, thus making us afraid to ask any questions at his classes. In addition, he put several female students in inappropriate situations.”
The group reported the misconduct to Ansh Manchanda, the program director, along with their concerns that Srivaso wasn't an orthopedic surgeon after he couldn’t answer basic anatomy questions. Ansh advised them that Risi would not return and the school would find another teacher. Srivaso returned after a temporary departure, however, as he owned the school.
After this training was over, the group received their certificates of completion; however, later on, Srivaso and Abhinam Yoga refused to confirm the certificates of several students via Yoga Alliance, falsely accusing the students of inappropriate behavior during the course. The certificates of other students were confirmed only after they allege they were blackmailed into leaving positive reviews about the school. At this point, Yoga Alliance still declined to take action, leaving it up to Abhinam Yoga to decide which students they would certify.
Natalia said that she collected 17 written statements from the members of 2016 and 2017 teacher training groups and emailed them to the then CEO of Yoga Alliance, asking him to investigate the school on the grounds of sexual misconduct, unethical behavior, and lack of competence. The COO of Yoga Alliance responded in writing, saying that they would take this matter very seriously and a proper investigation would be made. However, at that point, Yoga Alliance still failed to take action.
The students then created a website to warn others about Risi after they felt their complaints to Yoga Alliance were largely dismissed.
Yoga Alliance eventually did revoke Risi’s and Abhinam Yoga’s certification, after which Risi Srivaso formed Rakesh Yoga and Asan Yoga and continued conducting yoga training courses. He then started using a growing group of female devotees, including Maki Kaneko (alias Jogini Lila), Deepika Chalke and later Ankita Ranchoddas (alias Sasa Siddho) and Yunchen Yu (alias Kiwi Masto) to sign the Yoga Alliance certifications.
In 2023, Srivaso relocated operations to Bali, under yet another yoga school, MYT Yoga, where he continued his claims of being an orthopedic surgeon, now sporting white hair and a beard. He also added 10 years to his age to fit the new role of an enlightened guru. He left his old alias (Yog Namito) and started using a new name, Risi Srivaso. He, along with a small group of female devotees, convinced famous schools in Bali of these claims, and he began co-hosting retreats and yoga teacher trainings with Tantra Essence and House of Om. It didn’t take long for more misconduct allegations to surface.
Jade (not her real name) met Srivaso in Bali in January 2024 and was drawn to him by his image as an “enlightened” spiritual master. She told me she enrolled in his joint training course with Tantra Essence after Srivaso promised it would lead to job opportunities. Before the program began, she was invited to stay at his villa with several of his female devotees, where she encountered an environment that blurred spiritual authority with personal and sexual boundaries. She says Srivaso and his devotees framed physical and emotional “openness” as a requirement for the upcoming training, pressuring her to conform. In the days leading up to the training, Srivaso initiated escalating physical contact with her, culminating in sex, and presented it as spiritual practice and “medicine,” claiming that his master Osho instructed him to do it.
Jade initially interpreted his behavior through the spiritual framework he provided, believing it was legitimate. Her understanding shifted during the training when the founder of Tantra Essence stated that sexual relationships between teachers and students during training were inappropriate and strictly prohibited. Srivaso tried to neutralize Jade’s doubts, saying it was ok for him to have sex with her because it happened before the training.
When a different participant questioned Srivaso publicly about his alcohol consumption, Srivaso screamed at him, “Do you know who you are messing with!? I’m enlightened, motherfucker!”
Another woman told me that Srivaso tried to have sex with her during the same training after kissing her on the lips and breast. "Risi started to kiss me on the lips, with the tongue, and then he started to kiss my upper body and my breasts with the tongue and everything," she said. "I was in shock. I was in my thoughts. I told him I need to go. He said, 'I will go bow down to your yoni'—he asked me not to tell anyone.”
After the training, Jade told me she had a chance encounter with a traveling yogi who told her, “Risi wants your money and your pussy.” Jade finally reported Srivaso to Tantra Essence, the Bali police, and Yoga Alliance. She alleged he used his position, promises of job opportunities, and the presence of trusted associates to manipulate her into sex under the guise of spiritual instruction. Jade says that initially, her concerns were dismissed and not taken seriously until additional reports of sexual misconduct by Srivaso began to surface.
Only after many months of persistent follow-up by Jade, Yoga Alliance did finally revoke certifications for both Sasa (Srivaso’s girlfriend at the time and devotee) and, eventually, MYT Yoga in 2025, adding to the previous revocation of Srivaso's and Abhinam Yoga’s certifications. Tantra Essence eventually severed ties with Srivaso because of the allegations. A teacher from the school told me Srivaso refused to pay him the $8,500 he was owed for his role in one of the programs. At this point, Srivaso still had three devotees—Lila, Kiwi and Deepika—who remained certified and continued conducting trainings under the blessing of the Yoga Alliance.
After spending a year gaining her trust, in 2024 Risi Srivaso persuaded Dr. Maura Holcomb, an American dermatologist, to invest $100,000 for the purchase of yoga school in Thailand. During an interview, Holcomb stated that Srivaso told her the other investor was a prominent yoga school, House of Om, using his short-lived affiliation with the school to bolster his credibility. Holcomb later discovered the entire story was fabricated.
When she asked for proof of the investment, Srivaso withdrew the money and closed the bank account. She says Srivaso then told her a series of lies as to where the money went and refused to return the money. Holcomb stated that Risi eventually recharacterized the investment as a “contribution" designed to help him fulfill his "master Osho's dream" before cutting off contact with her.
“Risi is a master of manipulation and psychologic abuse,” Holcomb told me. She said he used “techniques like the promise of job opportunities, gaslighting, isolation, distraction, intimidation, and blackmail” on her. “He also used his circle of brainwashed devotees to gain my trust. Other victims described to me similar tactics that he used on them. He’s a con artist and a predator working under the guise of yoga and spirituality to run his scams."
Holcomb explained that she has reported him to the police in Indonesia, accusing him of fraud.
After leaving Bali, Srivaso then attempted to expand operations into China and Taiwan, using Kiwi, a Taiwanese native. He quickly withdrew from China after his events were reported and shut down by the police there.
According to a recent news article, Srivaso collected deposits of tens of thousands of dollars from 40 individuals in Taiwan for yoga trainings that were never held. The students allege he engaged in verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, and threats when they confronted him over the money. Chen, one of the Taiwanese victims, says that during a meditation retreat with Risi at the Osho Institute in Pune, India, Risi threatened to send a sniper for Chen. They also claim Risi appeared to be under the influence of alcohol on multiple occasions during this retreat.
Risi Srivaso's first school, Abhinam Yoga, was registered with Yoga Alliance in 2014. After the Yoga Alliance revoked his and Abhinam Yoga's certifications, he operated Rakesh Yoga School, Asan Yoga, and finally MYT Yoga. He used his young women devotees as the face of the schools to outrun Yoga Alliance, allowing him to continue conducting yoga training courses. MYT Yoga’s website continued to advertise Yoga Alliance affiliation months after they were suspended, attracting new students to yoga teacher trainings scheduled in 2026. The website was taken down in April of this year, following the removal of Facebook groups and Instagram accounts for MYT Yoga, Abhinam Yoga, Asan Yoga and Rakesh Yoga School.
After reports continued to surface surrounding Srivaso's fraud and misconduct, in 2026 Yoga Alliance suspended the three remaining women he was using to run his yoga trainings: Lila, Kiwi, and Deepika. These women, along with Srivaso, are classified under Yoga Alliance’s Prohibited Individuals Policy now, which bans them from being involved with a Registered Yoga School as a trainer, faculty, staff or owner.
When a teacher or school loses their Yoga Alliance credentials, the profile is just removed from the website. This prevents the public from knowing which teachers and schools have been delisted and the reason why. As a result, Risi Srivaso was able to rebrand, regroup, and reinvent himself while continuing to attract and target women in his yoga training courses. Several of the women expressed that they hope Yoga Alliance changes their policy going forward to allow greater visibility for teachers who are banned.