Melissa Revell spent £2,250 on what she thought would be a straightforward yoga teacher training course in Goa back in 2019. It was run by British instructor Jamie Clarke and Mexican teacher Dulce Aguilar. Instead of coming home qualified and excited for a new career, she says she returned barely able to function, spiralling into a severe breakdown that changed her life, reported the Daily Mail.
Revell, a dance teacher and personal trainer, says the emotional fallout was so extreme that she went from a size 6 to a size 16, became unable to work and needed daily support. She took legal action against The Yoga People International Ltd, seeking £200,000 in compensation. Now she has scored a major victory after Clarke told the High Court the company has dropped its defence on liability. That means she is set for a payout, although the amount will be decided later.
Her claim was that the course involved unexpected and unadvertised psychological work. She says she was “re traumatised” when exercises centred on childhood memories triggered painful emotions connected to being adopted. Before the trip she had been active, healthy and independent. After she returned she says she could barely look after herself.
At the time, lawyers for the yoga company pushed back, insisting Clarke, Aguilar and their staff had done nothing wrong. They denied the training included any psychological elements and argued that the emotional breakdown Revell described was not a foreseeable risk of a yoga course.
The court heard she had paid for a 200 hour Ashtanga teacher training programme across September and October 2019. Her barrister said things unravelled after Aguilar led a session designed to dig into childhood memories and relationships with parents.
Students were reportedly told to pair up, imagine the person in front of them was a parent and then hold, massage and stroke them while saying phrases like “I love you, you are my teacher, my carer, my nurturer and I forgive you.” Shortly afterwards Revell began shaking, felt unwell and was hit by “overwhelming anxiety.”
She spoke to Clarke, who suggested she seek one to one therapy back in the UK as he “could not spend all his time with one student.” Her legal team said this “dismissive response” combined with pressure to keep taking part in what they described as more “psychology focused exercises” pushed her into full collapse. She flew home early.
Doctors later diagnosed her with “significant and severe complex PTSD and comorbid depersonalisation or derealisation disorder” along with “functional neurological disorder.” Her barrister said her life has been devastated. Her relationship ended. She now lives alone and rarely goes out. She does not cook or clean, barely eats, struggles with basic self care and can go days without changing her clothes. Once a UK size 6 to 8, she is now a size 14 to 16.
Although she had some past mental health struggles, her legal team said she had been stable and healthy for several years before the course. They also highlighted that there had been no warning about “possible re traumatisation.”
The company insisted there was no psychological work involved and even claimed staff had seen her enjoying a beach party with dancing and karaoke, unaware of any distress.
A judge issued an “unless order” saying the defence would be struck out unless Clarke personally confirmed he would attend court. Revell’s lawyers said Clarke confirmed the company would not be turning up. Liability has now been decided in her favour and the next stage will determine the value of her damages.
