RYS-200
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Affordable, flexible, thorough Yoga Teacher Training from
The Spiritual Life Society and Yoga Center of Hudson

"Ohio's oldest Yoga school" founded in 1978.
We are a "Registered Yoga School" at the 200 hour level (RYS-200) with Yoga Alliance.
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namasté


We practice and teach the classical eight‑limbed Astanga Yoga
(a.k.a. Raja Yoga)
as codified by Patañjali
in the Yoga Sutras.

  1. Yama
  2. Niyama
  3. Asana
  4. Pranayama
  5. Pratyahara
  6. Dharana
  7. Dhyana
  8. Samadhi



This symbol is for 'aum' or 'om'.

Our Mission: To train qualified Yoga instructors that teach safely and inspire their students to seek and discover their inner self.

Spiritual Life Society & Yoga Center of Hudson

Ethical Guidelines for Yoga Teachers

When we began modifying our Yoga Teacher Training and Certification program to meet the requirements of Yoga Alliance, we needed to have an official set of ethical guidelines for our staff and trainees. After much searching and discussion, we choose to use the the document below, which was developed by the Yoga Research and Education Center. During our training program, we spend at least one session discussion these ethical guidelines. If you choose become an RYT with Yoga Alliance when you graduate, you will also need to agree to abide by their Code of Conduct, which you can read here.

Click here to open or save the SLS's Ethical Guidelines for Yoga Teachers as a downloadable Word document.



Yoga is an integrated way of life, which includes moral standards traditionally called—"virtues"—that any reasonable human being will find in principle acceptable. Some of these standards are encoded in the first limb (anga) of Patanjali's eightfold path (astanga-yoga), called yama ("discipline" or "restraint"). According to Patanjali's Yoga-Sutra, this practice category is composed of the following five virtues: nonharming (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), nonstealing (asteya), chastity (brahmacarya), and greedlessness (aparigraha). These have been explained by traditional authorities and also by modern interpreters.

In other key scriptures of Yoga further moral principles are mentioned, including kindness, compassion, generosity, patience, helpfulness, forgiveness, purity, and so on. All these are virtues that we connect with a "good" person and that are demonstrated to a superlative degree in the lives of the great masters of Yoga.

In light of this, it seems appropriate for contemporary Yoga teachers to endeavor to conduct their lives in consonance with the moral principles put forward in Yoga. As teachers, they have a great responsibility toward their students, and they can be expected to clearly demonstrate the qualities one would associate with a good teacher. As practitioners and representatives of Yoga, their behavior can be expected to reflect the high moral standards espoused in Yoga. At the same time, we must take into account the present-day socio-cultural context, which differs in some ways from the conditions of pre-modern India.

The Yoga Research and Education Center (and the Spiritual Life Society) views the formulation and publication of these ethical guidelines as part of its effort to help preserve the traditional legacy of Yoga and improve the quality of Yoga teaching and practice in the modern world.


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This symbol is for 'aum' or 'om'. Ethical Guidelines for Yoga Teachers

  1. Yoga teachers understand and appreciate that teaching Yoga is a noble and ennobling endeavor, which aligns them with a long line of honorable teachers.

  2. Yoga teachers are committed to practicing Yoga as a way of life.

  3. Yoga teachers are committed to maintaining impeccable standards of professional competence and integrity.

  4. Yoga teachers dedicate themselves to a thorough and continuing study and practice of Yoga, in particular the theoretical and practical aspects of the branch or type of Yoga that they teach others.

  5. Yoga teachers are committed to avoiding substance abuse and, if for some reason, they succumb to chemical dependency will stop teaching until they are free again from drug and alcohol abuse. In that case, they will do everything in their power to stay free, including full accountability to a support group.

  6. Yoga teachers will accurately represent their education, training, and experience relevant to their teaching of Yoga.

  7. Yoga teachers are committed to promoting the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of their students.

  8. Yoga teachers, especially those teaching Hatha-Yoga, will abstain from giving medical advice, or advice that could be interpreted as such, unless they have the necessary medical qualifications.

  9. Yoga teachers particularly embrace the ideal of truthfulness in dealing with students and others.

  10. Yoga teachers are open to instructing all students irrespective race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and social or financial status.

  11. Yoga teachers are willing to accept students with physical disabilities, providing they have the skill to teach those students properly.

  12. Yoga teachers will treat their students with respect.

  13. Yoga teachers will never force their own opinions on students but appreciate the fact that every individual is entitled to his or her worldview, ideas, and beliefs. At the same time, however, Yoga teachers must communicate to their students that Yoga seeks to achieve a deep-level transformation of the human personality, including attitudes and ideas. If a student is not open to change or if a student's opinions seriously impede the process of communicating yogic teachings to him or her, then the Yoga teacher is free to refuse to work with that individual and, if possible, find an amicable way of dissolving the teaching relationship.

  14. Yoga teachers will avoid any form of sexual harassment of students.

  15. Yoga teachers wishing to enter a consensual sexual relationship with a present or former student should seek the immediate counsel of their peers before taking any action.

  16. Yoga teachers will make every effort to avoid exploiting the trust and potential dependency of students and instead encourage them to find greater inner freedom.

  17. Yoga teachers acknowledge the importance of the proper context for teaching and agree to avoid teaching in a casual manner, which includes observing proper decorum inside and outside of class.

  18. Yoga teachers strive to practice tolerance toward other Yoga teachers, schools, and traditions. When criticism has to be brought, this should be done in fairness and with appropriate regard for the facts.

  19. These Ethical Guidelines are not exhaustive, and the fact that a given conduct is not specifically covered by these Guidelines does not say anything about the ethical or unethical nature of that conduct. Yoga teachers always endeavor to respect and, to the best of their abilities, adhere to the traditional yogic code of conduct as well as to the law current in their country or state.

© 2000 Yoga Research and Education Center (YREC). Reproduced with permission.
Note: We were no longer able to find www.YREC.org on the web, but we did find the document here: www.traditionalyogastudies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Ethical-Guidelines-for-Yoga-Teachers.pdf.
That page has a new copyright notice as follows:
You may copy these guidelines on your website or a bulletin board providing you use the copyright notice below. No prior permission is needed.
You may not distribute multiple copies of the guidelines without explicit prior permission from TYS.
Copyright © 2003, 2006, 2011 by Georg Feuerstein. All rights reserved.

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 YogaTeacher.org in conjuntion with
 The Spiritual Life Society and Yoga Center
 at The Old Church on the Green
 One East Main Street
 Hudson, Ohio  44236   USA
Contact us at
  330.656.0100
  330.342.2479
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Classes take place at the Old Church on the Green in Hudson
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© 2005-2015 YogaTeacher.org and the Spiritual Life Society and  Yoga Center of Hudson.   All rights reserved. Last update 10/23/2015.