Code of Ethics
Responsibility to Students
Iyengar Yoga teachers and student teachers should:
- Be truthful. (Satya: truth)
- Welcome all students with friendliness, warmth and compassion, regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age or disability.
- Treat all students with respect. (Ahimsa: non-violence)
- Not harass students (sexually or otherwise). (Ahimsa: non-violence and Brahmacharya: continence)
- Avoid intimate relations with their students. (Ahimsa; non-violence and Aparigraha: non-coveting)
- Recognize when the student-teacher relationship has been compromised by the existence of an intimate relationship, and in such circumstances, assist the student in finding another Iyengar teacher if possible. (Brahmacharya: continence)
- Understand and apply appropriate methods of touch in assisting students. (Ahimsa: non-violence and Bramacharya: continence)
- Maintain the role of guide and inspire trust by example. (Aparigraha: non-coveting)
Personal Responsibility
Iyengar Yoga Teachers should maintain
- Maintain a clean and well groomed appearance (Sauca: purity)
- Dress in a modest manner while teaching yoga. (Sauca: purity)
- Avoid misuse of any subtonics such as drugs and alcohol. (Sauca: purity)
- Be mindful of speech. (Sauca: purity)
- Maintain a regular personal practice. (Tapas-Svadhyaya: zealous practice, study of self)