Customer Reviews

Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I went through my own teacher training program, the subject of ethics were only briefly touched on. Although I consider myself an ethical person, I found that once I started teaching for real, there were times where I felt unsure of how to deal with my students or other various situations. How do I deal with a studio that is unethical? What do I do if a student acts in a manner that is inappropriate? How much should I charge? How do I handle a complaint from a student in a respectful manner? How do I set a healthy boundary?

"Teaching Yoga" by Donna Farhi attempts to answer these types of questions - and more. Farhi's book is thoughtful and well written. It is sprinkled throughout with verses from the Yoga Sutras as well as thought provoking "ethical inquires" that challenge the reader to explore their own feelings and ethics with various situations that other teachers have faced. Farhi covers every situation that you could think of: appropriate dress, foul language, when to send a student to another teacher, refunds, traning programs and more. I found myself recognizing situations that I have encountered and nodding in agreement with her solutions.

With the abundance of new yoga teachers and aspiring teachers hitting the market, there are bound to be many with questions and issues. Although the Yoga Alliance (an organization that has "standards" for teachers and schools) claims to "support the diversity and integrity of yoga", I have found this to be untrue. There are many teacher training programs and teachers that do not practice the yamas and the niyamas - and the Yoga Alliance does nothing at all to enforce these so called "codes of conduct". In my own experience, I have been disappointed and confused by some of the people that are out there as role models in the yoga community when they are far from ethical. It is up to us as individual teachers to explore our own hearts, to truly live our yoga and guide our students in a way that is kind, compassionate, honest and positive. This book certainly has been more helpful to me than any other resource.

I have been unable to put this book down after two years teaching there is a lot that Donna talks about in this book which I have faced without the guidance and professionalism that I found in this book. It is exceptionally helpful and has helped me really think about the nature of teaching Yoga and how this impacts on the students and the world around me.

I LOVED Donna Farhi's book "Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit" (which should be required reading for all yoga professionals) and was hoping for another book just like it -- only this time focusing on how to be a better yoga instructor. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed in this book. Since this book is called "Teaching Yoga", I thought that it would be about TEACHING YOGA, not 150 pages on ethics. Perhaps a better and more truthful title would have been "The Ethics of Teaching Yoga." If you are looking for a book on yoga and ethics, then this is the book for you. However, if you are looking for a book on the process or the act of teaching yoga or ways of improving yourself as a yoga instructor, this is absolutely not the right book for you.

I am in my sixties, married, a retired professor and aspiring yoga instructor. This book is gender biased, portraying an inaccurate and unfair vision of heterosexual yoga instructors. Donna Farhi describes the yoga community as a sick and sad cauldron of sexual abuse where male instructors "infantilize" female students and abuse them without love or mercy. The book denigrates both sexes; male instructors are evil predators "usually married" and women are, not evil, just stupid and weak, offering themselves up in droves to evil manipulating low-down dirty fast talking yoga instructors. The author seems oddly fixated on the touching of genitalia, mentioning it at least three times, and also seems oddly focused on the wearing of "inappropriate", "tight" male attire. She uses the book to blatantly "out" an accused transgressor by telling us on pg 21 the exact words the man uses to describe himself in his advertising. Unethical?. Mean? Yes, and possibly slanderous. Farhi even suggest that yoga teachers who engage in romantic relationships with students, no matter how willing or adult, be imprisoned. I believe this author has deep personal issues that have sullied her attitude toward the world of yoga and the good human beings who practice it. This book is primarily an enunciation of the authors personal code of ethics and has little or nothing to do with "Teaching Yoga".

This book is a must have for anyone who is a yoga teacher, yoga studio owner or anyone even considering becoming a yoga teacher. The advice is right on and invaluable. It will be required reading for all our teacher trainees in our teacher training program.

Donna Farhi has written a very important text here - I am using it in my 200-hour yoga teacher training program. I used Donna's The Breathing Book to write a pulmonary rehab program and this book is an equally important one. Thank you, Donna, for writing such wonderful, useful, life-changing books.

Having seen so many favorable reviews on this book, one hesitates to come out with something so opposite to popular opinion. My husband and I listened to 20 minutes of the cd on a driving trip. We kept asking each other if a point had been made yet and what is she trying to say. Nothing. In reading the book, there is such a wounded hero here trying to prevent others from encountering the same misfortunes. If a yoga teacher, or for that matter any one in power, acts unethically, according to Socrates, did what they thought was the right thing at the time. We all know teachers, therapists, medical professionals who have acted unethically. Would reading a book change the outcome of unethical situations? No. This book is poorly written with so many pitiful autobiographic stories in it. Yoga Journal has succeeded in 2 pages what this book could not begin to cover. For most, yoga is a spiritual path and so ethics will reflect that. If you already have good ethics and common sense, and want to read something of value, try: Ben Benjamin, The Ethics of Touch, written for bodyworkers. The The Ethics of Touch: The Hands-on Practitioner's Guide to Creating a Professional, Safe and Enduring Practice

Very disappointing required read for yoga teacher training. Donna preaches a lot and uses plenty of examples of people behaving badly, but at the same time assumes that the other people have no personal responsibility for what takes place around them.

Teaching Yoga is one of those books that must be mandatory reading for anyone in the yoga field. Not just for teachers, but also students.

Donna Farhi presents information in a way that holds the reader responsible and puts our own internal process under the microscope. It challenges our assumptions, intentions and boundaries to the core, especially in part II, where things get down to business to a level I have not seen anywhere else.
In Part I she explores the relationship of Student and Teacher and goes over the projections that live on a student's mind. How the teacher can be 'created' in a student's mind universe as 'healer' 'priest' 'parent', even 'lover'.

All of these archetypes of perception can create some pitfalls for a teacher, and navigating the deep emotional waters of a transformative process like yoga presents colossal challenges. Donna addresses each one of them with simple examples that help clarify the issues.

In Part II she goes over Ethics: Among others, she has specific chapters on:
When to Send a Student to Another Teacher
Class Numbers
Adjustments and Touching
Power of Words
Boundaries
The Ethics of Money - One that I particularly liked
Refunds
Teacher Training
Pitfalls of Fame

How down-to-earth can you get? Her examples make me shiver sometimes, as in the case of a student who would interrupt the class constantly, make questions that seem more like a monologue rather than get to a point or add to the class material, and always arrive late.

Hm, makes me wonder if I ever rambled on questions or tried to be the focus of attention... I think I have, oh dear! guilty as charged.
Her chapter on the Ethics of Money clarified a lot of things for me as in, for instance:

"Westerners in particular seem to have convoluted ideas about it "not being spiritual" to talk about or be clear about financial matters (such as written contracts) or to insist that people make good on their financial agreements. I would contend that this is incorrect understanding of what it means to be spiritual. Conducting one's business clearly and fairly is one of the highest spiritual practices"
She draws from her own very vast and long experience of teaching at retreat centers abroad, while travelling, while exhausted, while feeling resentful at times, and shows how it is possible to keep the teacher's health and finances in sight and be even more generous with the teaching by establishing healthy and strong, very strong boundaries.

Part Three has a Workbook for resolving ethical issues.
She opens this part with an example of a difficult situation and then gives a model of how to work it through by addressing it: "before", "during", "after", and "possible outcomes".

Then she provides some sample cases for you to work through. Just to give you a taste of how you would be left wondering and thinking, here is one of the case scenarios:

"Inappropriate Dress: An attractive young woman begins taking yoga classes at your center. You have noticed ... that her yoga clothes are skimpy... her breasts frequently pop out of her yoga tops ... and her low-rise yoga pans seem designed to prove that she is a genuine redhead. Consider an intervention plan for before, during and after the situation.... plan for addressing the general dress code for your class... if you are a center director, also consider the dress code of the teachers"

She has 12 more cases like it (including: refunds, teaching family members, student pressure, lateness, gray zones, etc.)
All in all the book leaves you thinking and coming to terms your own boundaries. With how YOU would handle difficult situations and how YOU would stay sane in a high charge environment produced by deep transformation and loose standardized guidelines.

The book is an invitation to continue the exploration of what it means not just to be a teacher, but also a student!
From the point of view of a teacher, helping a student progress on his or her own journey without getting involved in unhealthy ways is a difficult proposition, to say the least. Donna helps clarify and frankly all I can feel is gratitude for her work.

If you have not read it yet I highly recommend it.

This book provided some wonderful insights and examples regarding things to consider when engaged in a student-teacher relationship while teaching yoga. Great food for thought!