Humans are typically very willing to give away their power if they think a person can help them. This dynamic creates an imbalance of power within the relationship. This imbalance is magnified in a relationship with a yoga teacher, therapist, or spiritual leader because of the greater degree of trust involved and the accompanying desires to both please and to not displease the teacher or leader. A yoga teacher is not inherently more powerful than others. Rather, the students’ trust and their desire for a perceived benefit – their vulnerability – give the teacher more power and influence in the relationship. There is nothing wrong with…

Students may naturally have a desire to please or to not displease their yoga teachers. This desire contributes to the “power imbalance” that is inherent in all student-teacher relationships. The vast majority of yoga teachers are respectful of the ethics around such imbalance and maintain professional relationships with their students. This article is about how, in a student-teacher relationship, it is imperative for yoga students to understand their rights, the ethical boundaries Kundalini Yoga teachers are required to uphold, and what to do or where to go if you have a question, concern, or want to report a teacher’s misconduct. Consider that…

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…

I first heard of the Age of Aquarius from a song in the musical “Hair.” I was a teenager in the 60’s and it sounded really cool. Now it is time for people to have the tools they need to transition from the Piscean Age that we had been in for 2000 years, into this new Aquarian Age. What are these ages? Astronomers will tell you that the Earth rotates on an axis and that this line going through the center of the earth has a slight wobble to it. It goes through a little circular wobble about once every 24,000…

  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…

  I grew up with the Aquarian Sadhana, an early morning practice that includes doing Japji, yoga and chanting. My parents would bring me down to the sadhana room all bundled up in blankets. My mother said when I was little I would always pop up out of my blankets and sing along with the chants when they started. Later as a teenager and in my early twenties I really identified with the chants as I began to compose tunes for them on my guitar. And now as a mother these chants have brought great comfort and peace to our home. The…

  Postural Expression I have made a life-long study of interpreting human behavior by observing human structural and movement patterns. Our patterns of movement can become accurate indications of our personality and character. We express ourselves through the thirty-trillion cells circulating throughout our bodies. As the cells dance, performing their individual responsibilities, they act together and in total, and become a personality. Breathing is the most fundamental of all our conscious movement patterns. The quality of our breath usually reflects the quality of our posture, and that in turn supports our ability to breathe correctly. Generally speaking, our breathing habits are only…