Yoga Instructor Shop Talk: Thoughts On Consent In Our Spaces
This week we talk about the ever-evolving topic of consent in our yoga rooms.
How do we address consent to touch our students in 2023?
How do we navigate assists, adjustments, and using skillful language?
What do we really understand about the power dynamics and public nature of our classes?
Let's talk about answering this ever-evolving question: What DO students consent to when they purchase a ticket to a yoga class?
Consent is the conversation of the hour this week.
Join us around the water cooler and let's discuss.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
-Our conversations around consent need to change. Our thoughts should include not only touch, but also words, and ideas. Our students do not necessarily consent to hearing your lecture about the environment or GMOs in food when they come to your room to take a yoga asana class.
-COVID gave us some gifts as an industry, including the ability for us to gift the trajectory of their yoga practice back to them. Zoom has allowed for more body autonomy, more skillful verbal cuing, and the ability to use the techniques educators have long employed for distance learning.
-Consent is not a topic that we figure out and forget. As we evolve and up-level as a profession, we will need to continuously revisit this topic as we continue to grow and change as a profession.
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