Who in this day and age doesn't use Yelp, another social media tool that allows people to connect and review their favorite (or abhorred) places of business? There are about 50 million user-generated reviews for restaurants, law firms, libraries, heck, you name it - it will be on there.
Including Dahn Yoga.
I'll look at the Yelp reviews of Dahn Yoga in my home state (CA) and, in the name of research, other states. The reviews are consistently positive. I'm especially surprised because the reviewers seem legit; they're not trolls who open up fake Yelp accounts and write fake glowing reviews.
I'm curious because I haven't seen ANY "whistle blower" type of reviews that put Dahn on blast for being a cult. Sure, I see a couple of negative comments here and there about their business practices, but those are akin to reviews for used car dealerships. You know:
- Pushy sales tactics (upselling, cross selling, etc.)
- Manipulative sales folks
These practices can be found anywhere and can be avoided. But, the reviewers who have shared their piece about Dahn have either not gotten in deep enough to see the truth, or they know what's up and are afraid to expose it.
Have any of you come across any unusual Yelp reviews about Dahn Yoga? Feel free to share any interesting links and comments below.
I think it's highly suspicious that the positive yelp reviewers have multiple positive reviews at many other centers, even out of state. Weird.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the reviews, see if there is a "Not Recommended Reviews Section" That is how I got here. For example check out the Boston reviews:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/QYpT80UN-ddrNiUm7junjA
I always wanted to write a whistleblower review on a local dahn yoga site but my brainwashed friend's gushing review is on it and I'm not sure that I wanted her to see my badmouthing of her beloved place. I only went once to try it out and although that's not deep enough to comment on its cult-like activities, the experience was nothing like yoga or exercise. I'm surprised these places are getting high reviews myself.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was part of Dahn Yoga the "master" of the center I went to viewed me as very knowledgeable of all this internet. One day she showed me negative reviews on Google about her center and was actively trying to get them removed. She also told me that one month the regional master (sorry can't remember the term for her position, but she is the one that ran all the Shim Sum classes) had all the masters give positive reviews for other centers on Yelp. When I went home I checked it out and sure enough 95% of all the glowing reviews were Dahn drones. I wrote to Yelp several times pointing out that this was an abuse of the review system, but nothing came of it.
ReplyDeleteIt is because they write it themselves. Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI went to the "Shimsung" retreat this weekend and it was a horrible experience. I am going to do something about it. I cannot believe how irresponsible and manipulative these people are being. They prey on people experiencing mental disorders people who are in a desperate place and need help. I am disgusted by them. This is a cult indeed!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, ad a title to your blog. Now the all themselves Tao Yoga and TaiChi. Not that they have anything to do with Tao or Yoga or TaiChi. This is just how they are now trying to hide their history. They are the ugliest people I've ever met.
ReplyDelete