Ethical Guidelines for Yoga Teachers
Yoga teachers understand and appreciate that teaching Yoga is a noble and ennobling
endeavor, which aligns them with a long line of honorable teachers.
Yoga teachers are committed to practicing yoga as a way of life.
Yoga teachers are committed to maintaining impeccable standards of professional
competence and integrity.
Yoga teachers dedicate themselves to a thorough and continued study.
Yoga teachers are committed to promoting the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being
of their students.
Yoga teachers will abstain from giving medical advice, or advice that could be interpreted
as such, unless they have the necessary medical qualifications.
Yoga teachers embrace the ideal of truthfulness in dealing with students and others.
Yoga teachers are open to instructing all students irrespective of race, nationality,
gender, sexual orientation, age, and social or financial status.
Yoga teachers will treat their students with respect.
Yoga teachers will avoid any form of sexual harassment of students.
Yoga teachers wishing to enter a consensual sexual relationship with a present or former
student should seek the immediate council of the yoga school's ownership before taking
any action.
Yoga teachers will make every effort to avoid exploiting the trust and potential
dependency of students and instead encourage them to find greater inner freedom.
Yoga teachers strive to practice tolerance toward other yoga teachers, schools, and
traditions. When criticism has to be brought, this should be done in fairness and with
appropriate regard for the facts. -Georg Feuerstein

Value Statements for the Burning Wheel Yoga School Community
1. We hold that all sentient beings are inherently equal; that is, they are all equally
incarnations of the One, regardless of caste, class, creed, gender, orientation, age, or
ability. As such, all sentient beings have an equal right to autonomy (to whatever degree
they can exercise it), which expresses the śakti (potency, capacity, power) most
fundamental to consciousness itself (svātantrya-śakti). That said, no one has the
obligation to aid another in the exercise of their autonomy, and nor does anyone has the
right to impede such exercise, except when such exercise poses a danger, as far as one
can honestly tell, to other sentient beings.

2. We hold that ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are mental constructs (and ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ even more
so), and, having said that, we hold that the closest real-world approximation to ‘the good’
is contributing to the well-being of conscious creatures. Anything that contributes (as far
as one can tell) to the well-being of conscious creatures in a given context (and it’s
always contingent on context) can be called ‘good’ or beneficial or skillful.

3. We hold that nothing is black-and-white, and so discernment is necessary.
Discernment is never perfect, and so ‘mistakes’ are inevitable in the process of
attempting to live by these values.
‘Mistakes’ are, in fact, part of the feedback
mechanism inherent in the pattern of reality that allows us to hone our power of
discernment. The exercise of discernment is necessary to live these values, and we
acknowledge that the capacity for discernment can vary widely, so we do not blame,
judge, or condemn others (or ourselves) for their mistakes.” -Christopher Wallis

Anti-retaliation Policy
We will not retaliate against any person for having reported or threatened to report harassment,
discrimination, retaliation, or violations of our Code of Conduct or polices, or for participating in
an investigation into any of the foregoing. Anyone who retaliates against a person will be
subjected to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
We encourage any person — including employees, non-employees, and students — who
believe they have been subject to retaliation to inform a supervisor or manager.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. We encourage
anyone who has been subject to this behavior to report it to a staff member that they feel safe
with. We will do everything possible to ensure that you are not retaliated against by anyone
because you have reported misconduct.

Anti-harassment Policies
Harrasment Against Members of Protected Class:
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.

Sexual Harassment:
We do not tolerate sexual harassment in our school. Sexual harassment refers to any
unwelcome sexual attention, sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal,
visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when the conduct harms the person’s
employment, working environment, emotional or mental health.

Sexual Misconduct:
We prohibit sexual misconduct in our studio. Sexual misconduct is any unsolicited and
unwelcome sexual advance including requests for sexual favors, sexual touching, and verbal,
visual, or physical conduct that creates a hostile environment in a yoga class or in the common
areas. Teachers may not use sexually suggestive language (including sexual jokes and
degrading comments), gestures, movements, or images in their classes, on their websites, or in
their social media platform. Teachers should avoid making comments on their students’
appearance that could be perceived as sexually oriented or suggesting an attraction. Teachers
should avoid making comments that idealize or assume a specific body type or image. If a
student tells a teacher that any behavior is unwelcome and the teacher repeats the behavior, it
may be considered harassment. Teachers must always ask for consent before physically
touching a student in any way.

Romantic Relationships Between Teachers and Students:
Teachers shall avoid getting into personal or sexual relationships with students that may result
in the impairment of their professional judgment or that may compromise the integrity of their
teaching. If a relationship begins to develop, the teacher should bring it to school management.
Yoga teachers are committed to maintaining impeccable standards of professional integrity and
to promoting the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of their students. Teachers
recognize the inherent imbalance of power in the teacher-student relationship and recognize
that romantic relationships with students have the potential of exploiting the trust of students,
creating dependent relationships, and compromising the integrity of the teacher.
Teachers should avoid acting on, responding to, or allowing sexual contact or romantic
attraction with a student even if the student initiates the relationship. Teachers should ensure
that their relationships with students are always professional, and not open to misunderstanding
or misinterpretation.
However, if a romantic attraction does begin to develop with a student, teachers should seek
guidance from school management before acting on the attraction. The school management will
then decide how it wishes to handle the relationship. For example, it may bless the relationship,
but establish boundaries to prevent conflicts of interest and other problems. It may also decide
that either the teacher or student should leave the school.