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Saturday October 05, 2024

Yoga pose during class mistakenly reported to UK police as 'mass killing'

The yoga pose fooled two well-intentioned dog walkers into believing it was mass murder

By Web Desk
September 10, 2023
A woman lies in a yoga position in a park. — Unsplash/File
A woman lies in a yoga position in a park. — Unsplash/File

In an odd turn of events, neighbourhood dog walkers in the UK called the police to a community centre after mistaking a yoga class' collective meditation exercise for a "ritual mass murder".

Recently, Chapel St Leonards, Lincolnshire, police received a call from the North Sea Observatory with reports about a possible significant criminal incident, according to NDTV.

The persons involved, however, were later found to have just been lying on their backs with their eyes closed, taking part in the relaxation phase of a class where yoga practitioners were executing Shavasana (Corpse Pose).

The unusual incident was first reported by the Seascape Cafe and shared in a Facebook post.

The Lincolnshire Police confirmed everyone was safe and in good health, acknowledging that the call was made with well-intentioned concerns. Meanwhile, Yoga teacher Millie Laws initially dismissed reports of her being a "mass murderer," telling BBC that she thought they were a "joke at first".

The 22-year-old instructor explained that during the Shavasana, or relaxation, phase of the class, she noticed two dog walkers intently examining the glass pane while she taught seven students at the Seascape Cafe, located inside the building.

"They're [students] lying down with blankets over them; their eyes are closed. It's very dark in there. I just had candles and little tea lights lit the whole room, and I was just walking around playing my drum. I had a nice floaty top on with large bell sleeves," she said.

"A couple with some dogs just came up to the window and were having a look in, but they walked off really quickly, and I didn't think anything of it.

"I didn't know until after we left that these people phoned in saying that there was a mass murderer; they were wearing a robe and they were walking over all of the people, and it looked like some kind of ritual, and that the people on the floor were actually dead," Laws told BBC.

"I guess from the outside view it could look like that, because they're all really still, very nice, and relaxed. I'm sure their imagination was running wild with what was going on."