Community Articles

Turning the teaching of yoga into a successful business venture can be a complex art to master in and of itself… and deciding one’s philosophical and ethical views about developing an entrepreneurial yoga platform can open up many challenging questions. Viewpoints around service, .e.g, what to give and what to keep for oneself, are all questions to contemplate in a society that may emphasize material wealth over altruistic aims. This article is meant to explore this topic from different perspectives, considering the rights of a yoga student alongside a teacher’s right to earn and charge for their time and expertise….

What is a yoga standard? As we continue to explore how pedagogy evolves in yoga traditions, we can keep in mind that apprenticeship or disciple traditions of India do not fit neatly into the “square pegs” or accreditation models of education in the Western world. There are many steps to take in order to become an E RYT-500 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance). Such standardization is a necessary part of yoga reform and growth. In today’s world, yoga teachers are held to quantifiable standards and a credentialing process to ensure not only that quality and high pedagogy standards…

The art of teaching evolves The yoga world in the West has seen many changes in professional standards and teaching styles since its early years, as the relationship of the student to the teacher has undergone significant scrutiny. This is especially so, as in the last decade central gurus/spiritual teachers from multiple yoga traditions have faced serious allegations of abuse or exploitation. As yoga communities of various traditions gained greater awareness of not only harm that occurred, but how trust and belief in a person or institution can blind them to signs of wrongdoing, they needed to reevaluate teaching approaches…

“Safety has to be everyone’s responsibility… everyone needs to know that they are empowered to speak up if there’s an issue.”  Captain Scott Kelly   This article examines the ways people can respond if complaints arise in their community and why retaliation is never the right way to respond. The investigation of a complaint is already a difficult situation for the Reporter, any witnesses, and the person complained against (the Subject of a complaint). It can become a harmful situation when a person involved in the complaint process reacts in a retaliatory way. Typically the person or business named in…

  As practitioners of Kundalini Yoga, we know how this practice can change our lives and help us find our way through difficult situations. It is not surprising that Kundalini Yoga is helpful for overcoming symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addictions. Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology (GRD Center) has developed a protocol using Kundalini Yoga for PTSD, and Dr. Mukta Kaur has developed a Kundalini program for addictions known as SuperHealth®. Both of these programs have been tested in research studies and have been shown to be effective. Studies Using Kundalini Yoga…