Ethical Policy
First, do no harm. Make no mistake about it, yoga begins and ends with ethics. The more deeply the teachings are embodied the more responsibility to uphold moral and ethical standards. We envision a field and a profession that is 100% committed to agreed-upon ethical standards with avenues to address grievances and hold one another accountable for stepping outside the bounds of this basic set of agreements regarding professional behavior and yogic ethics.
YU is committed to providing resources and support to anyone who has suffered due to professional misconduct and to address their grievance in a professional and non-bias manner. YŪ intends to address the issue of professional ethics and the need for students to feel safe and honored when they show up to learn by seeking the wisdom deeply rooted in the yoga tradition and referring to the texts that guide us in these principles.
YU is doing this by implementing policies for yoga teachers and students alike, focusing on prevention and education, and providing a secure, downloadable app – powered by #NotMe – to Yoga Unify members to easily report misconduct in the field of yoga, anonymously if they so choose.
Phase I policies are currently being developed for recommendation by the Founding Governing Council on Ethics and systems of accountability will be put in place for not adhering to the YU ethical agreement, with restorative or transformative justice models being considered along with where to draw the line for investigation.
Schools, studios, and professional members of YU agree to prominently display and actively inform students about access to this reporting tool.