To: Will Dana, Managing Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine

My name is Danielle Gaudette and I am an employee of Dahn Yoga. I have been reading Rolling Stone Magazine since I was young, as my father is a bass player and always had me involved in the music world. We also always appreciated your articles that explored more than just music, and generally held the image and reputation of Rolling Stone Magazine in high regard.

However, you have published a negative article on Dahn Yoga and that is very upsetting to me. In fairness to all the readers, I had expected that you would provide a balanced story.

It’s all very sad and difficult for me to address. I have been working for Dahn Yoga for 7 years and practicing it myself for 10, and for 6 of those years Lucie Vogel herself was a friend with whom I worked very closely. For a long period of time she was even my roommate. It was the most painful period of my entire life when she turned her back on our friendship and began to gather all of my fellow co-workers and students and turn them all against me. It may sound dramatic, but it was the biggest shock of my life to find out that she was spreading a lot of false rumors and negativity behind my back about me and actively turning others against me and Dahn Yoga. And as I watched her do it, I could see she really had lost the picture of reality. She had twisted and manipulated everything she had once known, including other people, and she was just drunk with power.

Lucie always had a strong and domineering character. However, she never had a good sense of responsibility. She often told me “My mind is so corrupt – I could never be as pure as you.” And all of it culminated into a day in our apartment when I literally begged her to stop turning everyone against us and to please work together to help each other when she said, “I’m sorry. My middle name is James – it means ‘to destroyusurp’ – and that’s what I do. I like to destroy things.” And that was one of the last times I ever spoke with her. She had always told me she was very jealous of my position as an assistant regional manager and she wanted to have that position, but I never thought those feelings would lead her to cause such hurt.

I am concerned about any misunderstanding that Lucie may have experienced while we worked together. But I wish I could resolve that with her once and for all, instead of witnessing her continuous attacks against me and so many others with this media game that she is playing. Lucie always wants to win something – and as she said herself, her way of winning is to destroy. If you, Rolling Stone Magazine, participate in this young woman’s game, it is a loss for hundreds and thousands of people who are receiving benefit from Dahn Yoga all over the country and even the world. Furthermore, it is a big loss of respect for you because it shows that you too have fallen into her manipulative trap.

For this reason, it is a real tragedy that you did not consider and present the other side, allow Dahn Yoga and Ilchi Lee to really present themselves, and let the public decide for themselves. I was willing and happy to share my experiences with your reporter, because I believed that Rolling Stone was brave enough to expose the truth, and uphold the admirable reputation that my father and I have had for it since I was a young girl. Sadly, I was mistaken in my belief.

Thank you,

Danielle Gaudette,
Regional Director of Boston- Area Dahn Yoga Centers