wow. would like to learn more...

There is more to the story, although I don't claim the inside scoop.
I practiced at Synergy Yoga for a couple years some time ago. She tried to run a tight ship, but it wasn't a cult. There was a lot of employee turnover. She might be a better innovator & teacher than employer, manager, or people-person.
It wouldn't be the first time that a well-known yoga master and business owner had a strong personality.
That alone is not what brought about all those allegations and poorly-chosen non-Ahimsa words flying around on blogs and in court. The person you mention as a former student apparently apparently also has a tangled past with the chiropractic community, too. Really, it's sad they met and interacted in this way.
Encinitas is a yoga mecca for many styles, and Synergy has been part of its history. In some ways, many of the other local thriving studios and teachers have some connection to Synergy, even if its management style inspired them to quit and form their own studios.

I don't have any first hand knowlege of this place or person, but if she needs people to bow to her, maybe she is basically just an insecure person. After all, doesn't yoga teach we are all the same, all one? If we are all one, then we should bow to each other--not one person. Namaste, people.

In reality they got shut down but OSHA for not paying teachers for teaching classes - calling it training. They were def a strange pair and all but allegations of abuse and nonpayment buy employees were what really did it.

To Cheryl,

I noticed that you ended your comment with Namaste, so you must know what it means.

At the end of class, at The Yoga Room, students would Namaste to the teacher. Some people when they Namaste bow at the same time. Some people look people straight in the eye when they Namaste. Namaste is not a sign of insecurity. It is an acknowledgment between student and teacher. The Chiropracter, Terry Rondberg, that damaged Peri's back is the one who is trying to say people had to bow to her. This is untrue. No one had to bow to Peri Ness and she certainly does not "need people to bow to her". She is an incredible teacher and if she is able to heal and return to teaching, the world will be a better place.

It is very sad when someone like you believes the lies that Terry Rondberg is spreading. My guess is robbiebob is Terry Rondberg. He has at least 1,000 online personalities and his girlfriend Roxanne Depalma (who is 1/2 his age, he left his wife of 30 years to be with her) has 1,000 more.

I find this last comment very sad and disheartening. I understand the intent to uphold your beliefs, but please, be mindful of slander and judgment. Personal reference and attacks are unnecessary when standing up for what one feels just.

Namaste

The truth should never be disheartening. It should be enlightening. The statement that you are disheartened by is not slander and judgment. It is the truth. You're sad for this and ok with what is being echoed here? I find it disheartening for a magazine with yoga in the title to echo lies and slander. RobbiBob, you are misinformed and a spreader of vicious lies.

Here's the story if you are interested in truth

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=24499&p=3&topicID=17725162

As the former Manager of Synergy, I can not only confirm the cult like behavior I was subject to, but can also add additional information. There are currently multiple open cases against Peri Ness filed with the State of California Labor Commissioner as Peri refused to pay her employees overtime. I had multiple conversations with Peri Ness regarding paying her employees overtime, compensating them in accordance with the California law, providing her employees with proper lunch breaks, not mandating that her employees take and pay for her retreats/classes as a term of their employment, and not requiring SEVA (SEVA = free “illegal” service/trade work). She responded to me that she operates on “yogic law rather than California law.” There are several pending lawsuits, labor board cases against Synergy, etc. All of which could take years to resolve.

I am thankful that the truth about what happened behind those closed doors is finally going to be public. I have spoken with almost 50 former managers/employees/teachers dating back to 2000 and they all have similar stories of abuse and illegal activity. There are a handful part time employees who were not subject to this treatment. However the majority of former employees and high turn around can speak for themselves. I know there is a lot of hateful websites floating around including the one mentioned above and I encourage all parties involved to hear stories from BOTH sides.

My door is open for interviews, discussions or just to have a cup of tea to discuss my personal experience as an employee behind the scenes at Synergy. It was quite different as an employee rather than a student. I have a list of other ex-employees who are also willing to share their experiences. Please feel free to contact me melindadepalma@yahoo.com.

We are all one human family! Only through understanding and love can we take responsibility for our actions and right our wrongs. I look forward to the day when Peri will meet with me and the other ex-employees in order to discuss what has occurred at her studio over the years. I pray for a resolution in this lifetime!

~Namaste~
Melinda

Looks like Peri is now "out of integrity".

When I read your comment, I see that your comment is full of hate and lies. I see that you have not let go and need help. I see that you are still not taking credit for your illegal activity at The Yoga Room. It is you that fought and lost and it is you that left the trail of paper work a mile long (and a couple recordings with the bank) of your illegal activity. You are the ignorant one that falsely accuses others. You are wounded. You can do yoga and heal yourself or you can continue to be filled with hate and post negative bitterness. The choice is yours. You live in Encinitas. Yoga Rooms are all around you. Give it an honest try. You may find yourself filled with love and light, speaking truth and learn what it truly means to be happy and free. This is truly my wish for you. Namaste.

Manager? The only thing you managed to do is put a 16 year old business in the ground in a few months with your management skills. A manager actually manages Melinda. You were told by a judge in a court of law that your activities are illegal and you continue the slander. I am forwarding your post to their attorney for his records.

When someone in the world tries to do something good, (Peri) someone else
always wants to pull them down. When you see the same spirit in everything and the same God in everything, then spiritual development and transformation are possible. But as long as you are hating your mother and thinking bad about your father and not having any relationship with your brother and blaming everybody in society, then spiritual realization isn't possible. You may find some "guru" who will offer to sell it to you, but it's not possible for you to have it, because you can only have it when you have first purified yourself from all this anger, this jealousy, and these lower instinctive things which create bad feelings and bad body chemistry.

I am Synergy Yoga and Peri Ness's attorney. Here are the facts:

Peri Ness is the owner/founder/teacher of Synergy Yoga in Encinitas, a yoga studio operating for 16 years in Encinitas, CA. In 16 years, no one had ever accused Synergy Yoga of being a cult.

Terry Rondberg claims to be a chiropractic maverick, but is unlicensed to practice in California (or any other state to our knowledge). In 2006, he starts attending classes at Synergy Yoga.

In April of 2007, Terry Rondberg claims that one of Peri's shoulders is slightly lower than the other and offer to "adjust" her back. He "adjusts" her back on the yoga studio floor and herniates a disk in her back. Peri's back becomes progressively more painful in the Summer of 2007, until she cannot teach, eventually cannot walk, and rarely comes to work.

On January 12, 2008, Terry Rondberg writes a beautiful and legally admissible letter to Peri Ness admitting his liability and offering to pay her for her injury. In response he receives an offer from my client which is apparently more than he anticipates. He decides his best defense is to bankrupt Peri Ness to make it difficult for her to litigate her case. In a period of two weeks, he convinces his girlfriend Michelle DePalma who was a six year employee to leave Synergy Yoga and puts up a website falsely claiming Synergy Yoga is a cult and accuses Peri Ness of being a cult leader, a fraud, charlatan, thief, liar, brainwasher etc... He also sends the same defamatory material in emails to all of Synergy Yoga's customers, distributes thousands of business card flyers which state "Shocking News About a Cult in Encinitas - see www.truthaboutsynergyyoga.com" and approaches anyone who is entering or leaving Synergy Yoga to make his defamatory allegations. Michelle DePalma also contacts almost all of the employees at Synergy Yoga and attempts to get them to quit. Three of the youngest employees quit.

The defamation campain proves to be effective. Even supporters who clearly do not believe the allegations stop attending classes. Afterall, one does not attend yoga to be embroiled in conflict. Synergy Yoga's attendance drops by 75% due to the defamation campaign. Terry Rondberg has been successful in destroying the reputation and livelihood of a yoga instructor in Encinitas.

So here is the question for all of you. If prior to January 12, 2008, (the date Terry Rondberg wrote his letter of apology) neither Terry Rondberg nor anyone else had ever accused Synergy Yoga of being a cult, and the only change between January 12 and January 26, 2008 (the approximate launch of the "Truth About Synergy Yoga" website) is that Peri Ness made a settlement offer for her injury, what are the chances that Synergy Yoga is a cult or Peri Ness is a cult leader?

Undoubtedly, after this email, you will hear all sorts of claims about Peri...but do a little investigation before coming to a conclusion. For those who want to verify my claims, check out the pdf of Terry Rondberg's letter on Synergy Yoga's website. For those who want to know who Terry Rondberg is, type his name in Google, and read to your heart's content.

One last thing, if anyone has any information about experiences with Terry Rondberg, Michelle DePalma, Charmaine Calcara, or Elia Nikolaev or about Peri Ness and Synergy Yoga (good or bad), please send me an email at cardifflaw(at)cox.net.

Sincerely,

Todd T. Cardiff, Esq.
Attorney for Plaintiffs
Peri Ness and Synergy Yoga

Hi everybody,
I just wanted to point out that YJ is neutral on this subject. Please keep in mind the YJ Comment Policy before you post your comments. We want to keep this an open forum, but we ask that you please be respectful of each other.
Namaste!

I personally know five people Peri used and abused: David L., Steve P., Scott U., Ana (of Anahata Yoga in Cardiff), and Hillary. And that is just on a peripheral basis. Peri would make promises, get your $2,000 or more dollars and then find you "out of integrity" and kick you out. Steve P. was told by one of Peri's lap dogs in the middle of a class he was teaching that he had to leave. Peri refused to let him return and of course this is after she got over two grand out of him. I would talk to others about Peri and we would always wonder how she could continue to hurt so many people and get away with it. The outcome is quite karmically divine.

The truly ludicrous aspect to reading the posts defending Peri is that if she was innocent and didn't conduct herself like a goddess to bow down and worship, why did all of this happen to her? No accidents or misunderstandings are part of this ordeal. When you take advantage and abuse others, be prepared to suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, none of the abused will get their $2,000 or more back.

Please look for your own eyes how Synergy operates. Here is a link to Synergy's own website:
http://www.synergy-yoga.com/myths.htm
http://www.synergy-yoga.com/truth.htm

Synergy publically slams their past employees, calls their ex-teachers "crack" addicts and falsely accuses others of bank fraud, etc as stated right on their own webite. What kind of "yoga" studio would operate like this? Why go to this low level and pollute their site with this type of language. I thought "yogis" were suppoed to take the high road?

I find this very interesting to say the least that a "yoga" studio would publish all this negative activity on their site. Why give it energy? Doesn't that just validate what happened and make you look guilty?

I know Bikram has always had negative press. There are people who do not agree with Bikram, but no where on his site can I find mention of the negative. He just keeps moving forward focusing on the positive which is probably why he has built such a successful practice and is
known world wide. Please check him out: www.bikramyoga.com

Keep it positive and do not focus on the negative especially on your own "yoga" site! I thought as yogis we would want to spread love, peace, forgiveness and not feed anger. Anger is one letter away from danger...

Just food for thought.

The abuse at the Yoga Room and by Peri Ness has been going on for years and the financial difficulties as well. Many, many good teachers and staff has left on bad terms and then been harassed over and over again by Peri and Charles. The reason no one has been talking about it is because these are good and honest yogis and they try to take the high road. The way Peri has been conducting her business made her doomed to fail one day. So stop blaming Melinda and ect. I worked there a long time ago and things were the same then too. Peri barely had money to pay the teachers and staff and she told lies about everyone who had left her. How many ex teachers and staff during these 16 years do you see standing up for her now? None! Does that not make you wonder??? The only people standing up for her now are her current staff students.

I just want to point out that "Yogi Joe" was a particular personality in the nasty battle that raged between Peri Ness and Terry Rondberg. The comment above was not actually posted by "Yogi Joe". (Yoga Joe, right) How do I know this? Because I am the person that is actually "Yogi Joe"

The problem with Terry Rondberg, Roxanne DePalma, Melinda DePalma, Matt, Charmaine, and the others is that while they try to claim to be speaking the truth, the manner in which they do it is so thoroghly without honor that they undermine everything they say.

I have had dealing with all these people. I know them all well. Peri and Charles certainly have a lot of things to answer for. But they don't deserve what has been done to them.

Terry Rondberg is a particularly nasty and crooked chiropractor. His operations are a complete scam. In every sense, he is a scam artist.
He has funded this entire attack to avoid a malpractice suit that would destroy him.

Finally, a message to Roxy, Melinda, Matt, and Charmaine. What you have done is wrong! It is totally wrong and it is criminal. No matter what Peri did to you, it does not justify committing a crime in revenge.Put yoga aside, even in the rest of society, what you have done is unforgivable. I hope you get jail time for this.

The real Yogi Joe.

May I point out that EVERYTHING that has happened to Peri in the last few months is a direct result of actions that SHE took, and thereby set in motion the effects that are now manifesting. You can lay blame on others, but you are not accepting the truth or reality.

The collapse of the Yoga Room is not the fault of Rondberg or any of the employees. The fact that the Yoga Room stayed in business under the practices put in place by a master manipulator and stayed in business for the length of time that it did is a mystery to me.

I am glad that the negative energy the Yoga Room bred is gone. I just feel sorry for those who are frequenting the Northern California studio.

Apparently, Tom Kelly and his wife (owners of Soul of Yoga in Encinitas) are going to be opening a studio in the space that the Yoga Room occupied. However, due to mold (that was no doubt present when the Yoga Room was active), work is being delayed in order to eradicate the mold.

If I'm not mistaken, Peri also wronged Tom and his wife so it is another divine act of karma that they will be in the old Yoga Room site.

I used to work at the Yoga Room and saw first hand how mentally ill Peri Ness is. I feel torn between feeling sorry for her and feeling badly for the many people she hurt in the name of spirituallity.

Her studio attracted a number of people with mental health problems and she put herself in a position of authority over them that she could not handle, and rightfully should not have tried, before figuring out all her assorted mental concerns. It was the sick leading the sick.

I don't really care how it closed down, I'm just glad it did. If the closing of the studio was controversial its because so was its owner. She was dramatic, dishonest and very ill - therefore so was the studio and so was the situation surrounding its closing.

To all of those that think Peri was wronged - you are likely unfamiliar with all the wrong she has imparted on so many people for so many years - from down right illegal to simply immoral.

To those who live in Point Arena - avoid Synergy Yoga. It would in no way surprise me if similar problems crop up at Point Arena. There are so many great styles of yoga that are pure and void of such complications. Yoga should never be this complicated.