Be Responsible Please
ARTICLE BY NY TIMES: Yoga Teachers Need a Code of Ethics by Sarah Herrington
click here to read:
my thoughts:
Though I have the compassion and mindfulness to understand the reasoning (ego, pain and suffering) of why sexual assault and manipulation has happened within the yoga profession, I do not think it is ok AT ALL. The "structure of power" has no place in the realms of yoga and yet, somehow we have allowed this to continue. I am astonished it has taken this long to finally bring Bikram to accountability for his actions. It is sad indeed it wasn't given the attention on a level that made every person who was impacted by his actions feel of value and of importance. Because you are important. Your voice matters. You matter.
As a community of humans, this needs to be a concern. As a community of teachers, this is our responsibility to create safe spaces for our students and communities to explore their bodies, minds and lives. My teacher, Annie Carpenter, once said to us in so many words or less that, "this path as a yoga teacher is not to be taken light-hearted. This is a path of leadership and in order to live this path, you must be willing to do that work, to show up and be responsible for yourself and for others. If you can't do this, please re-consider your choices as a yoga teacher."
It is not our job to tell our students how to live their lives. It is not our jobs to inform them of finite ways of being in life, in class, or in a pose. Everything changes and so too will one's life and practice.
It is our job to create a sacred space for them to evolve and grow, to be curious of mind, body and breath unifying, to be open to listening deeply to their own teacher.
When we get caught up in the power structure of the yoga studio/teacher training/workshop/class landscape, we lose sight of the utter importance of the practice all together, to love and to learn. This is not practicing ahimsa (non-violence).
If you have told a student that they need to stay in the same rhythm as the entire class because it is disruptive, please sit with that a little more. Ask yourself, why if it doesn't bother them, but it bothers me, does it matter? They are listening to their inner teacher and honoring their own space. As teachers it is our jobs to do the same for them. We have no idea what they are going through and it is our honor to allow them to be who they are, as they are.
I hope you will share this article with your views on how we can do better as teachers in this world. May you continue with child like open eyes to explore your Mindful Evolution as teacher, as student, as human in this life. And may we all continue to create SAFE and SACRED spaces for our communities and ourselves to evolve.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/opinion/yoga-code-of-ethics-bikram-choudhury.html?_r=1
