REPLAY: ASI Meeting – Code of Ethics Review
Thank you so much to all who joined us for this meeting! The video replay is available below.
Topic: ASI Code of Ethics and Good Practice – Revisions for Review
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Following many hours of work, the ASI Code of Ethics and Good Practice has been considerably revised. We wanted to make the Code more concise and easier to read. This is our first significant revision, which we hope makes it a document that better reflects the culture of our community.
We are ready to offer it to you and our community for feedback and comments. Tell us what we missed or omitted. Tell us what needs expansion so that we can add supporting text where required. The Code will never be etched in stone. It is important to us that it continues to evolve, reflecting the needs and values of our sector.
ASI Code of Ethics and Good Practice
Revised August 2020
As spiritual teachers and leaders, we commit to:
- Performing our work in accord with the highest standards of ethics, right behavior, and professional competency.
- Engaging in continuous and unending self-reflection, learning, and holistic personal growth.
- Cultivating essential personal qualities such as honesty, integrity, compassion, humility, and empathy.
- Respecting equally the rights, dignity, and privacy of all students and fellow practitioners.
- Holding in confidence everything conveyed to us in confidence, whether through direct communication or correspondence.
- Honoring local laws with respect to the disclosure of information in cases of sexual abuse, child endangerment, and the intention to harm oneself or others.
- Being honest and transparent regarding business and financial matters.
- Being self-aware, open, and humble about the limitations of our knowledge and experience.
- Treating students’ questions, concerns, doubts, and experiences with respect, and never trivializing or dismissing their inquiries.
- Listening seriously to honest feedback about our own methods and behavior—and, when appropriate, requesting and encouraging it.
- Fostering autonomy, empowerment, self-sufficiency, and emotional maturity in our students.
- Refraining from giving counsel in matters outside of our areas of training and expertise.
- Establishing and maintaining clear, concrete, and appropriate professional boundaries with all students, employees, and associates.
- Not seeking or presuming exalted privileges or glorified status because of our role as spiritual teachers.
- Using only with proper care and caution any techniques that can potentially cause harmful side effects.
- Addressing promptly any personal issues, concerns, or challenges that might affect our professional competency.
- Making only honest, realistic statements regarding the benefits of our teachings, practices, courses, and other offerings.
- Regularly reviewing our motivation for serving as teachers and monitoring the integrity of our words and actions.
- Acknowledging that, regardless of our spiritual attainment, we are human beings with human personalities, limitations, drives, and needs.
- Never attempting to satisfy our personal aspirations, needs, or desires by exploiting, abusing, or deceiving a student.
- Never abusing the trust of students to obtain sex, money, free labor, or other benefits.
- Refraining from intimacy, touching, and suggestive remarks that are, or can be construed as, inappropriate in a student-teacher context.
- Using skillful means to teach in a kind, loving, compassionate manner.
- Offer support to teaching colleagues and ASI members to the extent they are able and available.
Note: We intend to develop a supporting document to flesh out further nuances on some of the above points – particularly around sex.
We look forward to meeting with you soon! Please donate if you can, and then register by clicking on the Register Now button at the bottom of this post.
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1 Comment
Hi
As you are looking for contributions to the discussion on Ethics, I thought I would like to offer some of my recent experiences and thinking on this.
I have had a keen interest in Ethics for many years now and am qualified in Counselling / Psychotherapy and as a Yoga teacher.
Three years ago I was asked to deliver an Ethics module on a Yoga Teacher Training course. Students do not usually have a problem with agreeing or signing up to a Code of Ethics. However. I experienced something different happening when I introduced Ethical Dilemmas. I have been quite shocked by some responses from students…… Essentially just not understanding boundaries or the concept of Ahimsa. I was recently sacked by the Director of this Teacher Training for basically questioning his ethics and being quite direct about a number of questions around the issues of Ethics. No real surprise there !
So moving on now. I have been asked by another Yoga teacher to be a tutor on the Ethics module. This teacher is much more aware of how much abuse is currently being revealed around yoga and so called spiritual groups. I have been able to negotiate an Ethics module that I hope goes much deeper than simply offering a Code of Ethics and discussing Ethical dilemmas. In my training as a Therapist, Ethics were core to my training, always present and always an area to explore within myself. So on this new training I have suggested an integration of the Philosophy and Ethics module. So apart from the usual teachings of the Yamas and Niyamas, I will be guiding students through the Bhagavad Gita alongside teaching the module on Ethics. My thinking on this is that students over an 18 month period will really be able to absorb the teachings, reflect on how their thinking and their actions may have an impact on their future students and move into a space that offers more student centred learning. Issues of power and control will also be explored. I have no idea if this will make a difference but I do believe training is where it all begins and sound Ethical training can sustain us for a lifetime. I think alot of people only pull out a Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics when a complaint is either made or they fear a complaint may be made.
I am aware that I am talking about Yoga Teacher Training here and Association has a much wider remit. I suppose I wanted to comment on my feelings that an Ethical Framework is really important but in no way is an assurance of sound Ethical practice or teachings.
Hope to see you on Wednesday. Oh I live in the UK by the way
Roisin