Teaching Yoga: Ethics and the Teacher-Student Relationship Book

Having read 2 of Donna's books already, I've come to deeply appreciate her frank & professional writing style - and this book is no exception. Donna addresses the complex reality of the student-teacher relationships & the lack of stable/established regulations in the Yoga industry. This book was published in 2006 and, sadly, I think we still haven't made much progress in that area.

Back to the book! Donna firmly established the need for professionalism on the part of Yoga teachers & reinforces how much power we have to help or harm our students. Mainly geared toward Yoga teachers, I find this book to be quite useful for Yoga students as well, giving them an inside view on what Yoga teachers experience. Even if I hadn't taken a Yoga teacher training program, as a Yoga student of 12 years, I found this book extremely useful from the student angle as well.

After a wide overview, Donna delves into the myriad of ethical issues Yoga teachers face on a regular basis, including money, class numbers, certifications, communication with students, boundaries, appropriate wardrobe, & much much more. Last but not least, she also includes some sample ethical situations at the end of the book, giving you an opportunity to brainstorm how to handle these (possible) issues before they present themselves in your own career (& hopefully they never do!).

Being a Yoga teacher is a big responsibility on many levels, and Donna's book expressed that beautifully. The book also gives teachers an informed perspective & a useful reference for making sound, ethical decisions through the entirely of their teaching career. This is another one of those books that will have a life-long place on my shelf, re-reading it every so often to reconnect with the complexity (and joy) of being a Yoga teacher.

P.S. I have not yet listened to the CD included with this book, but I've heard from other Yoga teachers that the CD alone is worth buying the book. Since I've already found the book to be wonderfully useful, I am looking forward to hearing the CD :)