Statement of Purpose

We recognize the sensitive nature of the student-teacher relationship. We believe that it is the responsibility of the yoga teacher to ensure a safe and protected environment in which a student can grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.

To protect the student in this potentially vulnerable relationship, as well as to uphold the highest professional standards for yoga teachers we agree to accept the following:

1. We do not permit managers, employees, teachers, independent contractors, students, or others in the workplace to harass any other person because of age, gender (including pregnancy), race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, genetic information, or any other basis proscribed by law.
2. We will stay current with developments in the field of yoga through ongoing education, study, and professional engagement.
3. We will cultivate collegial relationships, recognizing that professional isolation can lead to a loss of perspective and sound judgment.
4. We will manage our personal lives responsibly and seek appropriate support for personal challenges or conflicts.
5. We will provide rehabilitative instruction only for issues within the reasonable boundaries of our professional competence.
6. We will establish and maintain appropriate professional relationship boundaries with students, colleagues, and staff.
7. We will cultivate an attitude of compassion and humanity in our teaching, dedicating our work to something greater than ourselves.
8. We will honor the ancient roots of yoga by acknowledging the sources of wisdom from various lineages represented at Cityoga School of Yoga and Health.
9. We will be mindful of the diverse history of yoga. There are many lineages, styles, methodologies, and beliefs, and the teaching of yoga must honor and respect that diversity. Yoga is a polytheistic system of physical, mental, and spiritual practices and disciplines that originated in ancient India and South Asia. Throughout history, various groups in India, as well as other cultures, geographies, and religious or secular contexts, have defined and redefined yoga according to their unique circumstances, passions, and goals. The colonization of India by Great Britain, the globalization of yogic knowledge, and a combination of worldwide cultural exchanges, appropriations, and natural evolutions have also shaped what is understood today as yoga. While recognizing the limitations of any single definition, and fully rejecting the notion that yoga can be reduced to a single framework, for the purposes of Cityoga standards, the Sanskrit word “yoga” encompasses both an optimal unitive state of consciousness and the practices, philosophies, techniques, and lifestyles that cultivate such a state.
10. We acknowledge that systems of oppression, including white privilege, are present in our culture and can permeate the practice of yoga. Cityoga is committed to creating racially sensitive and inclusive spaces where Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) can practice yoga without fear of hypervigilance, shaming, threat, or exoticization.

Professional & Financial Ethics

• Teachers will be honest, straightforward, fair, and conscientious in conducting all their business affairs.
• Teachers will manage their business affairs according to recognized standard business and accounting practices.
• Teachers will discuss all fees and financial arrangements in a straightforward professional manner.
• Teachers are encouraged to seek opportunities to render service to individuals or groups who are underserved by the broader yoga community on a pro bono basis.
• Teachers will ensure that all promotional materials regarding the benefits of yoga are accurate, fair, and not misleading, and are free from any conflicts of interest, such as promoting events or products not affiliated with Cityoga.
• Teachers will seek to treat employees, assistants, students, colleagues, and other wellness businesses fairly, transparently, and honestly in the course of all business dealings.
• Teachers will seek to follow sound environmental and sustainability practices in their professional lives.
• We are careful to represent facts truthfully to students, referral sources and third-party payers regarding credentials and services rendered.
• We will correct any misrepresentation of our professional qualifications.
• We do not malign colleagues or other professionals.

Student Relationship Ethics & Physical and Professional Boundaries

It is our responsibility to maintain relationships with students on a professional basis. Please note these wise words from author and longtime yoga teacher; “Few professions encompass as many roles as that of a Yoga teacher, and thus we may live as a complex arrangement of archetypes in the student’s mind. (An archetype is a universal yet usually unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, or belief that is present in the individual psyche.) At any given time, a Yoga teacher may act in a capacity similar to a teacher, doctor, psychotherapist, physical therapist, priest, cheerleader, parent, or beloved. What all these roles share is an implicit imbalance of power based on the trust invested in the teacher.’’  Donna Farhi

• Teachers recognize that their purpose is to serve their student’s personal exploration and growth.
• Teachers will avoid any activity or influence that conflicts with the best interests of their students or that may be solely for their own personal gain or gratification.
• Teachers shall hold themselves out as stewards of safe and sacred spaces and shall not exploit the trust or dependency of students and will maintain professional boundaries in all relationships.
• Teachers will remain continually aware of the power imbalance inherent in the student-teacher relationship and avoid projecting their own agendas, perceptions, or desired outcomes onto students.
• Teachers shall avoid dual relationships with students (e.g. business, close personal or sexual relationships) that may impair their judgment, compromise the integrity of the teachings and/or use the relationship for their personal gain.
• Teachers shall not engage in harassment, abusive words or actions, or any form of exploitation.
• If teachers choose to offer hands-on adjustments to students, they may do so only with Explicit and Informed Consent. All physical adjustments, of any type, must be preceded by such consent. Previous consent does not imply ongoing permission and does not authorize future physical adjustments or contact. “Explicit and Informed Consent” is narrowly defined as overt permission for a specific Teacher to use hands-on contact that has been granted by the Student. This permission can be given verbally, in writing, by an unambiguous gesture, or via a consent indicator. Silence or lack of resistance, in and of itself, does not demonstrate consent.

Yoga Equity Policy

• Teachers will welcome, accept, and support all students regardless of religion, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, political, or cultural background.
• Teachers will embrace yoga equity.
• Teachers shall seek to have an awareness and a commitment to making yoga more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and diverse. This encompasses diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in yoga as well as honoring and respecting safe spaces for oppressed groups.
• Teachers will make the conscious decision to address each of these issues thoughtfully and intentionally throughout their work in restoring equity to the yoga community.
• Teachers will emphasize the importance of learning, teaching, and practicing yoga honestly, which means promoting equity, reducing harm, honoring, and leveraging cultural differences, and fostering diversity and inclusion in all areas of yoga while honoring the integrity of yoga’s cultural and historical roots.
• Teachers shall not discriminate against or refuse to provide teaching or professional help to any student, client or employee based on any protected class such as age, gender (including pregnancy), race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or genetic information.

Yoga Ethics as Misconduct

Ethical violations, including exploitation of students, dual relationships, discrimination, unsafe teaching practices, or inequitable treatment, are considered misconduct and are subject to grievance procedures.