Bay Shakti to “Sunset” the Site

Sunset in Madurai

Bay Shakti debuted in April 2009; we’ve just crossed the threshold of our third year of blogging this month. With this milestone, and given the last 2 and a half months of turmoil in the Anusara community, we’ve been looking more closely at our mission and vision for the site. Our mission has “sought to uplift the kula of the Bay Area and beyond with great content that empowers, inspires, and connects Anusara enthusiasts.” To this end, we have upheld our mission throughout the years and most especially during the last tumultuous 2 and a half months, publishing content that empowers our readers with ground-breaking information. We’ve published a range of opinions to help readers be informed and to better process this time of great change in our community.

Now that in many ways we are over the “hump” of the scandal and in light of our 3rd year anniversary, it has become necessary to examine our vision of where we are headed. It is with equal parts sadness and relief, that Bay Shakti has decided to “sunset” the site this week. What this means is that the content of Bay Shakti will remain online for likely years into the future, but there will be no new content/ blog posts effective by the week’s end.

Bay Shakti has never been a monetized site with ads, etc, and has always been seva (a service) for the Anusara community, particularly in the Bay Area. We have decided to “sunset” the site because we’ve explored our options and we see no sustainable future for the site in its present form supporting Anusara, Inc.

We are not turning our backs on you personally as a community. We count many of you as amongst our closest friends, and we know that you teachers, teach amazing yoga.

As for thoughts of widening the reach of Bay Shakti to accommodate different styles of yoga, we did entertain the idea, but, Bay Shakti has been a labor of love for the Anusara community and broadening its reach would invite work with no bounds– the arena of San Francisco Bay Area yogis is quite vast. It would become problematic on where to draw the line, whereas, within Anusara, the container of work and the mission of the site has always been very clear.

As for passing the torch of Bay Shakti to someone else to carry, we can think of no one available who we trust to continue the maintenance of the site.

Bay Shakti has become a treasure trove of information documenting our history for the last 3 years. Even though the site will no longer be active by week’s end, it is our hope that the site will be referenced for years to come, as it contains vital information about our community and about Anusara, including flagship video interviews with many teachers. Please be sure to use the search bar on the homepage to easily find and reference blog posts.

The next and final blog post will be a “Signing Off” post from our contributors, to be published on Thursday. Before we publish our contributors “goodbye’s”, we thought it fitting to look back at what we’ve accomplished during these 3 years.  Please see our “Best of” list below.

The Best of Bay Shakti: A Third Year in Recap

The following is a list of our hand picked Top 10 Best of Bay Shakti for all time:

1. John Friend: Finding Grace in Times of Disaster (video)
2. Interview with John Friend, Dancing with the Divine, Part 1 , Interview with John Friend, Dancing with the Divine, Part 2
3. Interview with John Friend at Wanderlust 2010
4. Open Letter to John Friend 
5. Does the Practice of Yoga Automatically Make you a Better Person?
6. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Darren Rhodes
7. Bay Shakti Talks: Interview with Sianna Sherman (Part 1 of 4)
8. Interview with Noah Mazé
9. Fighting to Breathe: A Journey Through North India
10. Interview with Douglas Brooks at Esalen 

The following is a list of Bay Shakti’s Top 10 blog posts, racking up the most site visits of all time. Most of the these blog posts cover the scandal:

1. Anusara Controversy Overview and Timeline by Fredo Guastella
2. Interview with John Friend: Wanderlust 2011 by Ginger Coy
3. How Should the Teacher Behave? vs. What Can I Receive?: Understandings and Misunderstandings Around the Role of the Teacher by Tantra and Sanskrit Scholar, Chris (Hareesh) Wallis
4. Standing in the Light Amidst Controversy by Ginger Coy and contributors
5. What is Shiva-Shakti Tantra? Did John Friend make it up? by Tantra and Sanskrit Scholar, Chris (Hareesh) Wallis
6. John Friend explains Wicca and Anusara by Ginger Coy
7. Update on Anusara: Letters From Certified Anusara Teachers, Desiree Rumbaugh and Ross Rayburn by Ginger Coy
8. The Asana of Emotional Healing: Anusara and the Dark Night of the Soul by Michelle Indianer
9. John Friend: Response to Allegations Letter by Ginger Coy
10. Interview with John Friend: Igniting the Center, 2012 World Tour (video) by Ginger Coy

Many thanks to Managing Editor, Fredo Guastella for his dedication to the site and superb coverage.

To all of our contributors, thank you for the trust you have put in us at Bay Shakti, to help steward your image and your reputation online for the last 3 years. It has been a great honor to work with you all and to be in support of your careers and studentship.

To our readers– thank you all for believing in Bay Shakti. We have appreciated your support. Please feel free to contact us to discuss any of the above or add comments below.

In Gratitude,
Ginger Coy
Brad Coy and Fredo Guastella (a.k.a the Bay Shakti Team)