The Full Story Behind the Attack on the Yoga Room.

I was tasked with investigating what has been going on in the nasty affair against Peri Ness and the Yoga Room. I have spoken to many people - so this is a compilation of a number of people's stories. Some of the people knew that I was investigating this - most did not. This is my report, which I am making public:

Terry Rondberg attends the Synergy Yoga 10-day intensive held at the Yoga Room in Encinitas, CA from February 8-18, 2007. He reveals a deep dark secret - early evidence of his sociapathic personality disorder.

Terry Rondberg accompanies Roxanne DePalma, senior mentor teacher at the Yoga Room and his girlfriend, and other Yoga Room teachers to the Point Arena Surf Therapy grand opening February 24, 2007.

Getting to know Peri Ness, owner of the Yoga Room, Terry learns of Peri's back problems brought on by a car accident years earlier. Offers her an adjustment to correct the problem

Terry gives Peri an adjustment, but his skills have long since faded. He injures her further, substantially worsening her back. Peri is angry that her back is now much worse and forbids Terry Rondberg from practicing yoga at the Yoga Room.

Terry Rondberg switches to the new Yoga Tropics studio up the street where he is routinely seen in the early afternoon.

Separately, Matt, a new employee to the Yoga Room invites his girlfriend to hang out with him while he works. He quickly discovers that this is not allowed and she is told to leave. Matt is embarrassed and hurt by this.

Matt's embarrasment turns to anger and his work ethic drops. "Slave drivers, its so unfair, I'm going to get them back, ..." Markus Beer, visiting from Germany during the Spring, notices this.

In June, Matt's relationship with Peri deteriorates to the point that he is fired for failing to work on a requested day off - choosing instead to attend a convocation.

On exit, Matt unloads all his complaints to the office manager, Melinda DePalma.

Matt goes to work for Starbucks a block away and his employment there is equally as short.

In June, Roxy files for a restraining order against Terry Rondberg after he threatens to "slit her throat".

Peri, now taking frequent sabbaticals due to her worsening back, returns for the next 10-day intensive held July 12-22, 2008. At the end of the day on July 19th, Melinda confronts (her words) Peri on Matt's charges. Tired, Peri responds to the blunt confrontation defensively, rejecting Melinda's charges strongly.

Irritated at Melinda's lack of tact, Peri goes and attempts a yoga practice. With adrenaline flowing, Peri overextends herself, injuring her back further, and crumbling to the floor. She gets up and struggles out, blaming Melinda for her sore back. With her back injury now very bad, Peri goes on an extended sabbatical lasting till February 2008.

Melinda is frustrated that her confrontation didn't cause Peri to cave in to her will and decides to punish Peri by simply abandoning her work responsibilities. For the next two months, Melinda no longer comes into work, doing only enough to hide the fact that she is no longer working from Peri. Melinda's red Mini, formerly regularly parked outside the Yoga Room or behind the annex, is never again seen at the Yoga Room after the confrontation with Peri.

When Peri and Charles come by to check in on the business in September, they find the accounting books in disarray and Melinda is fired.

With Peri still injured, the October 10-day intensive is cancelled. Shortly afterwards, the Hawaii retreat is also cancelled.

Roxy DePalma is now in a bad position. Her boyfriend Terry is barred from the Yoga Room for injuring Peri. Peri is threatening to charge him with malpractice. And now Roxy's sister is fired. What's worse, Melinda is filling ever more with hatred towards Peri as she obsessively dwells on Matt's charges.

Roxy's existing substance abuse problem worsens, and her work suffers. By November, Peri demotes her and Outi, next in line as senior mentor teacher, assumes the role. Roxy accepts this - she knows that the problem is her substance abuse.

Elia Nikolaev, another teacher at the Yoga Room, is crushed. Outi only works part time and is travelling for much of the year. Nobody works harder than him. Nobody does more to compensate for everyone else's issues, other committments, weaknesses than him. Why didn't he get the position?

Elia's demeanor, outside of actual practice, changes markedly. No longer as cheerful as before, it is obvious he isn't happy about something. He soldiers on, continuing to do excellent classes, but outside of that, he cares less and less.

By the end of 2007, Roxy realizes that her substance abuse problem is out of control and checks herself into rehab at the William Hitt Center.

During rehab, Roxy accepts that her problems are because she is between two separate battles - one between Peri and her sister Melinda, and one between Peri and her boyfriend Terry.

Roxy decides to try and fix the issue between Terry and Peri. She convinces Terry to stop being stubborn and to apologize for injuring Peri. He half-heartedly agrees and she dictates a letter for him to write in his own hand. Knowing that blunt confrontation won't work, but having similarly undeveloped communications skill as does her sister, she doesn't know how much sweetener to add to the message. She simply throws a whole jar of sugar in - going so far as to hint at a possible financial settlement for the injury.

When Peri receives the overly sugared apology from Terry, she is suspicious of the motives. Nonetheless, she accepts the apology - conditionally. Her conditions are $150,000 and financial assistance opening two additional yoga centers. Given the injury she has sustained and the financial losses from the cancelled events, she believes a financial settlement is warranted.

Terry, without any real intention to apologize, let alone pay Peri anything, is furious.

Roxy panics. Her efforts to fix the battle between her boyfriend and her employer/mentor have backfired. With it looking like she has succeeded in only making the situation worse, Roxy panics, making a token $1,000 offering to Peri. This odd gesture only irritates Peri. Roxy, frustrated, decides to side with her sister and boyfriend, unleashing the wrath of Melinda.

Roxy quits around January 23, 2008. With Elia angry, he is easy to convince to quit as well. Peri and Elia trade a barrage of escalating voicemails. Elia chooses to post a voicemail he gets from Peri, Peri keeps the ones she gets from Elia to herself.

On January 25, 2008, the Yoga Room is slapped with a fine and closed due to Melinda or Matt's activities. Derek McCartney, a Yoga Room employee, calls Peri in Point Arena leaving her voicemail. He declares the Yoga Room shut and that he is abandoning his job.

Peri and her husband Charles DeFay rush back to get the Yoga Room back in operation without 3 employees.

Within a few weeks, Charmaine Calcara, Daniel Casey, and Shane Robson have also left the Yoga Room.

On February 15, 2008, the truthaboutsynergyyoga.com domain is registered using the DomainsByProxy.com service run by GoDaddy.com. This service allows you to hide your true identity when registering a domain. However, their terms of service reads:

"Domains By Proxy® is not intended to be used to protect your identity if you: • Transmit spam, viruses or harmful computer programs;• Violate the law or infringe a third party’s trademark or copyright;• Engage in morally objectionable activities, including but not limited to those which are child pornographic, defamatory, abusive, harassing, obscene, racist, or otherwise objectionable."

On February 22, 2008, a new yoga studio to be operated by Lorraine Salgueiro, a former student at the Yoga Room, files for a California business license.

Early March,a defamatory website is published accusing the Peri Ness of a long and somewhat bizarre set of wrongs. Included amongst this are operating a cult, treating employees as slaves, overcharging for services, not operating within California law, not being certified, and failing to give credit to Bikram. The website features Terry Rondberg's "Surviving the Darkness" writing where he attacks Peri Ness, claiming himself to be a victim and the hero. While offering the ability to comment, it becomes obvious that this website is to be one-sided. Comments contrary to the angry message of the website are censored.

Within a few days, a promotional campaign is found to be underway. Flyers and stickers are being placed on cars and the surroundings around the Yoga Room. "Shocking News about a Cult in Encinitas, CA" they read. Elia is seen engaged in this activity.

On March 16, 2008, a defense from a Yoga Room student known as Yogi Joe is published, exposing Terry Rondberg as a sociopath, charlatan, and a quack. The website http://stoprondberg.org/ is uncovered where a long term effort to undermine Terry Rondberg has been discovered.

Realizing that their star Terry Rondberg has zero credibility, Melinda and her friend Ben Mendelsohn come out from behind Terry Rondberg's shadow revealing themselves to be the true force behind the defamatory website.

Postings on the various websites continue, it becomes obvious though that the most hateful posts are coming from the same small set of people involved with putting up the website in the first place. Mr Obvious is Terry Rondberg. Joyful is Roxy DePalma. Blissful is also easy to guess.

Peri and Charles take Terry Rondberg and Melinda DePalma to court to shut down the defamatory website.

At the second hearing, Terry arranges for a TV news crew to be present so that he can further spread his claims against Peri Ness and the Yoga Room. While he gets airtime, his story comes over as laughable. Even the newscaster seem sceptical when introducing the story. The second hearing is cancelled.

On April 7, 2008, the judges makes a ruling, after seeking the info he needs. He issues a temporaray restraining order (TRO), ordering the website taken down. Rondberg and Melinda ignore the TRO and the website remains up.

On April 16, 2008, the Yoga Room celebrates it's 16th birthday and closes its doors (some teachers continue with an abbreviated schedule).

On April 20, 2008, the new yoga studio celebrates its grand opening with some of Terry Rondberg's converts as its new staff.

On April 20, 2008, the operators of the hosting company that Melinda, Ben, and Terry are
using to host their website, wordpress.com, shut down the website for violating the terms of service. Specifically:

"By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:
- the Content is not obscene, libelous or defamatory, hateful or racially or ethnically objectionable, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;"

On April 22, 2008, the website is moved to GoWebsite.com. A simple notice states that the content will return on May 9, 2008. Just to be clear, GoWebsite.com's policies read:

"Except as set forth below, GoWebsite.com may also cancel Your use of the Services, after thirty (30) days, if You are using the Services, as determined by GoWebsite.com in its sole discretion, in association with spam or morally objectionable activities. Morally objectionable activities will include, but not be limited to: activities designed to defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, slander or harass third parties; activities prohibited by the laws of the United States and/or foreign territories in which You conduct business; activities designed to encourage unlawful behavior by others, such as hate crimes, terrorism and child pornography; activities that are tortuous, vulgar, obscene, invasive of the privacy of a third party, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; "

The next hearing in the case against Terry Rondberg and Melinda DePalma is May 9, 2008.

A.M.