CODE OF CONDUCT
Purpose
The purpose of our Code of Conduct is to help our teachers serve in their purest spirit and to protect our students and community.
We have adopted our Code of Conduct which applies to all our teachers. We believe that it is the responsibility of our teachers to ensure a safe and protected environment in which a student can grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. We believe our teachers must aspire to and express the highest possible standards of conduct as set forth in our Code of Conduct. Our Code of Conduct embodies the yamas and niyamas of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali which are rules of ethical conduct that apply to all practitioners of yoga.
Financial Practices
Teachers will discuss all fees and financial arrangements in a straightforward professional manner. Teachers will manage their business affairs according to recognized standard business and accounting practices. Teachers are encouraged to render services to individual or groups in need without regard to financial remuneration. Teachers will neither receive nor pay a commission for referral of a student.
Professional Growth/Continuing Education
Teachers shall dedicate themselves to the continuing study and practice of yoga, including asana, meditation, and study.
Teacher-Student Relationships
Teachers shall demonstrate high regard for the moral, social, and religious standards of their students. Teachers shall avoid imposing their personal beliefs on their students, although they may express them when appropriate in the class and in a sensitive and careful manner. Teachers recognize the trust placed in them by students and the unique power of the student-teacher relationship. Teachers shall avoid exploiting the trust and dependency of students. Teachers shall avoid dual relationships with students (e.g. business, close personal or sexual relationships) that may impair their judgment, compromise the integrity of the teachings and/or use the relationship for their personal gain. Teachers shall not engage in harassment, abusive words or actions, or exploit students. Teachers recognize that the teacher-student relationship involves a power imbalance and shall exercise caution if the teacher chooses to get into a personal relationship with a student.
Integrity
Teachers shall uphold the highest of moral standards. Teachers shall strive to ensure that their intentions, actions, and speech are based on honesty, compassion, selflessness, trustworthiness, and transparency. Teachers recognize that the process of learning is never complete, and they shall avoid portraying themselves as “enlightened” or “spiritually advanced.” Teachers recognize that they are walking on the spiritual path along with their fellow teachers and students. Teachers shall cultivate an attitude of humanity in their teaching and dedicate their work to something greater than themselves.
Scope of Practice
Teachers shall not abandon or neglect their students. If teachers are unable (or unwilling for appropriate reasons) to provide professional help or continue a professional relationship, they should make every reasonable effort to arrange for instruction for that student with another teacher. Teachers should avoid giving any personal advice concerning a student’s personal life. Teachers shall not give medical advice. Teachers shall not prescribe a treatment or suggest rejecting a physician’s advice. Teachers shall refer their students to medical doctors or complimentary licensed professionals when appropriate.
Our studio will not engage in the unauthorized practice of medicine. We will not recommend treatment, diagnose a condition, or suggest that a student should disregard a physician’s advice. We will refer our students to medical doctors or complimentary licensed professionals when appropriate
Teachers shall keep all personal information disclosed by their students strictly confidential.
Teachers are part of a network of health care and well-being professionals and shall seek to develop interdisciplinary relationships. Teachers shall conduct themselves in an honorable manner in their relations with their colleagues and other wellness practitioners. Teachers shall not openly criticize practices followed by other yoga schools or teachers.
Advertising and Public Communications
A teacher shall accurately represent his or her professional qualifications and certifications along with his or her affiliations with any organization(s). Announcements and brochures promoting classes or workshops shall describe them with accuracy and grace. These principles are designed to uphold the quality of our teachings and shall.
Yoga Equity
Teachers shall welcome all students regardless of age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and perceived gender expression), sexual orientation, color, race, national origin, marital status, parental status, veteran’s status, religion, or physical or mental disability, provided that the teacher has appropriate expertise.
Our studio will not discriminate against or refuse to provide teaching or professional help to any student, client or employee based on any protected class such as age, gender (including pregnancy), race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status or genetic information. We will not discriminate in the workplace.
Electives
All 500 hour teacher trainings must include 500 hours of training. Of the 500 hours, 450 hours must be contact hours. Of the 450 contact hours, 205 are assigned to specifc Educational Categories. The remaining 245 contact hours are distributed amongst the Educational Categories based on your training’s focus. The remaining 50 hours may be allocated as contact hours or non-contact hours.
If needed, you may add remaining training hours here. Please provide a breakdown of the topics and corresponding hours within the Educational Categories with complete descriptions, including which topic will be taught in the presence of your Lead Trainer(s) with the number of corresponding contact hours. For any topics that include non-contact hours, please describe this content as well and the number of corresponding non-contact hours.
Attendance
We require 100% attendance to graduate and receive a certificate of completion from our program. Class attendance will be taken throughout the training. In the case of any emergency absences, please notify the program director immediately.
If a student has planned absences that conflict with attendance in the program, please contact the program director to discuss options. Each student is responsible for scheduling make-up time with the program director. Students must pay an additional cost for private make-up sessions with a teacher.
Graduation from our program requires the student’s attendance at all training sessions. Any absence must be approved in advance by our program director. There is a maximum amount of hours that may be missed if arranged in advance and approved by the program director. We will provide make-up sessions totaling the hours missed included in the price of tuition. We do not accept unapproved absences and they may result in dismissal from the program. In this case, graduation will be at the sole discretion of the program director, and extra tuition may be requested to cover facilitator costs.
Tuition and Refunds
Refunds After the Program Start Date
There will be no refunds after the start date of the program. If the applicant withdraws from the program for any reason after it starts, the applicant will be responsible for paying the full tuition, regardless of any partial payments that have been made to date.
Anti Retaliation
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 anyone who is subject to this behavior to report it to the human resources department or school management. We will do everything possible to ensure that you are not retaliated against by anyone because you have reported misconduct.
Harassment 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 in the Workplace
We do not tolerate sexual harassment in our studio. 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 or working environment.
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 sexually hostile environment in a yoga class or studio.
• Blocking a person’s path or following • Giving unwelcome personal gifts • Displaying sexually suggestive materials • Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements • Unwanted sexual looks or gestures
Romantic Relationships Between Teachers and Students
Teachers shall not invite, respond to, or allow any sexual or romantic conduct with a student during the period of the teacher-student relationship.
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.
Reporting of Policy Violations
We encourage anyone who has been the subject of sexual misconduct or any other action that violates our policies and Code of Conduct to report the incident to our studio school management.
The report should contain the following information:
• Your full name;
• Your email and phone number;
• The name of the person who the grievance is against;
Grievance Policy gives teachers and students an easy and safe way to address troubling or sensitive issues and provides insight on how these issues will be handled.
A grievance must include
A statement /information and evidence
Studio management will evaluate and respond to grievance reports within 2 weeks (or sooner if needed)
Appropriate action will be taken for grievance reports that are found credible
We do not tolerate harassment or retaliation, so we will work to minimize bias when evaluating grievance reports by ensuring we follow all such policies
In the interest of fairness and privacy, all reports must be made by the person who has personally experienced the misconduct.
We will not investigate a matter based upon a third-party report of misconduct. All reports must be made in good faith based on information the person reporting the incident reasonably believes to be accurate.
We may request additional information from the person reporting the incident throughout the course of review of the report. We will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with our policies.
The reviewing body will impose any sanctions that it feels are fair, just, and reasonable under all circumstances. We will not allow anyone to retaliate against any person for making a report in good faith or providing information in connection with an investigation into an alleged violation.
Any information provided during a grievance report review will be treated on a confidential basis. Similarly, any actions that the taken in response to the report will also be confidential.