An interesting blog post over at Yoga Journal just caught my attention. It deals with the ethics of romantic relationships between yoga teachers and their students. On the one hand, no one wants to see a teacher abuse their position to "score" with students. On the other, we're all adults here, and is a yoga teacher really in that much of a position of power anyway? I guess I see a fine line between a teacher who sleeps around and one who happens to encounter a potential soul mate who shares an interest in yoga. Unfortunately, fine lines aren't very helpful when trying to establish codes of conduct. What do you think?
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I was also torn on how to feel about this as well. I heard about how Rodney Yee and his current wife met in a yoga class and it was love at first sight and this caused kind of an uproar in the yoga world. I think when it comes to a male teacher I would like to be pretty positive that while I am doing a pose such as downward dog that my teacher is checking out my positioning and not my butt. But when a teacher dates a student it means that he/she looked at that person in a “romantic” way. Yoga is all about accepting yourself and not feeling vulnerable in some of these poses and in life, but can we really do that if the teacher blurs the lines?
I think the Rodney Yee uproar had something to do with him being married at the time!
I guess the “Guru-Student” lines are crossed here… but, life is life and some “things” can happen. In my case, I can tell when my male students are paying attention to “me” more than the “yoga teacher” – Frankly, the teacher should know when to begin a romantic relationship, instinctively. I have not done this and have not thought about it either so, I don’t know what I would do if I felt a sudden attraction to a Student…
I believe we are not able to read other persons’ minds, either the teachers or the other students but we can control our own mind. Be what you want to be in learn yoga from others. Be courteous, and firm to tell him/her not to do so if you feel or sure that the teachers, others have hidden motives toward you. So you will be safe.
I have just join about.com. And I want to comment/request toinclude more photos of different angles on a pose known as “hip opener”.