IKYTA standards FAQ answers the most common questions about how Kundalini Yoga teacher standards work — and who to contact for each one. In short, IKYTA supports members through professional standards and community, KRI authors the Code of Ethics and certifies teachers, and EPS (Ethics and Professional Standards) handles formal ethics complaints independently. This page points you to the right resource, whether you’re a certified teacher, a student, or an organization.
What Are IKYTA’s Professional Standards?
IKYTA’s professional standards describe what responsible teaching looks like in practice — how a teacher represents their training, communicates with students, stays within their scope of practice, and maintains appropriate boundaries. These standards give teachers, students, studios, and organizations a shared framework for a healthy teaching relationship.
Standards are not the same as certification, and they are not an ethics process on their own. Instead, they work alongside both: certification confirms training, standards describe conduct, and the Code of Ethics sets the enforceable policies behind that conduct. Read more about professional standards.
Who Sets These Standards — IKYTA, KRI, or EPS?
Each organization has a distinct role, and understanding the difference makes it much easier to know where to go:
- KRI authors and maintains the Code of Ethics and related policies (Anti-Harassment, Communication, Inclusion, Respectful Student-Teacher Relationships, Scope of Practice, Sexual Misconduct, and the Lifestyle Guidelines). KRI is also the certifying body for Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®.
- IKYTA is the global professional home for KRI-certified teachers. IKYTA upholds these standards across its membership and helps members and the public understand them — but IKYTA does not certify teachers, and IKYTA does not adjudicate ethics complaints.
- EPS (Ethics and Professional Standards) is the independent body that investigates and adjudicates formal ethics complaints, separate from both KRI and IKYTA. This independence keeps the process fair for everyone involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Every KRI-certified teacher is expected to know and follow the KRI Code of Ethics and its related policies, regardless of membership tier, country, or years of experience.
Professional Standards describe what responsible teaching looks like day to day — training transparency, communication, boundaries. The Code of Ethics is the formal, enforceable set of KRI policies that define conduct and consequences. Standards guide practice; the Code of Ethics governs it.
Neither KRI nor IKYTA adjudicates ethics complaints. That role belongs to EPS, an independent office that reviews and decides complaints without institutional bias.
Complaints go directly to EPS, not to IKYTA. Visit the EPS complaint procedure page for the current submission process.
Yes. EPS operates a 24-hour complaint hotline at 1-888-805-4888 (USA and Canada) for reporting ethical concerns about a KRI-certified teacher or trainer, including anonymous reports.
For general questions about how standards apply to IKYTA membership, contact IKYTA at [email protected]. For questions about KRI’s policies specifically, or about the complaint process itself, reach out to EPS or visit the KRI website directly.
No. KRI is the certifying body and sets training requirements. IKYTA supports certified teachers afterward through membership, community, and visibility — it does not certify teachers or write training curricula.
Related Standards Resources
Explore the full picture of how standards, ethics, and complaints fit together: Professional Standards, Code of Ethics, and the Complaint Process.
Still have a question this page didn’t answer? Contact IKYTA — or if it’s an ethics concern, go straight to EPS.
Contact IKYTA with general questions, or reach EPS directly for ethics concerns.