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Drawing on decades of experience in training Yoga teachers, Donna Farhi offers the first book to set professional standards for yoga teachers. Teaching Yoga explores with depth and compassion a variety of topics both practical and philosophical, including how to create healthy boundaries; the student-teacher relationship (including whether a sexual relationship is acceptable); how to create physical and emotional safety for the student; what is a reasonable class size; how much a class should cost; and how to conduct the business of teaching while upholding the integrity of Yoga as a philosophy, a science, and an art. A bonus CD features the author speaking about yoga ethics at a 2002.

Is it a starting point for newcomers?

The description is aimed at teachers, not at people starting their own practice, and it does not say whether the book suits someone new to yoga.

Who is it for?

It is written for yoga teachers and people who train to teach yoga. The description presents it as the first book to set professional standards for yoga teachers.

Who wrote it?

The author is Donna Farhi, who the description says has decades of experience in training yoga teachers. The edition described includes a bonus CD of her speaking about yoga ethics.

What topics does it cover?

The topics are practical and philosophical: how to create healthy boundaries, the student-teacher relationship, how to create physical and emotional safety for students, a reasonable class size, how much a class should cost, and how to run the business of teaching while keeping the integrity of yoga as a philosophy, a science and an art.

Everything above comes from the book description on its Amazon page.

What qualifies someone to teach yoga?

Yoga is not regulated like medicine, and training standards vary by country, school and studio. The NCCIH guidance on yoga gives a practical tip for students: ask about the instructor’s training and experience. Good questions cover how long the teacher has trained, whether they have worked with injuries or pregnancy, and how they adapt poses.

For teachers, ongoing learning matters because each class contains different bodies. The same page notes that older adults have a higher rate of yoga-related injuries treated in emergency departments, which is one reason sensitive pacing and options matter when you teach mixed groups.

Students with health problems should check with their doctor and tell the teacher before class begins.

Related reading on this blog: What Is Yoga? and How to Choose a Yoga Class in the City: Questions to Ask Before You Sign Up

Book: Teaching Yoga by Donna Farhi
View this book on Amazon (affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no cost to you)