Soulfit Code of Conduct
Please find below details of our Code of Conduct.
On Signing our Training Agreement, you are confirming your acceptance of these terms.
Soulfit Purpose Statement
We are committed to holding high ethical standards for our yoga teachers. We believe that it is the responsibility of a teacher to ensure a safe environment in which our students can grow physically, mentally, & spiritually. Students are looking for guidance from teachers with authenticity, experience, & wisdom. Our Code of Conduct was developed to protect our students in this potentially vulnerable relationship with their teachers & to uphold the highest professional standards.
Financial Practices
Teachers will be honest, straightforward, fair, & conscientious in conducting all of their business affairs. Teachers will manage their business affairs according to recognised standard business & accounting practices. Teachers will discuss all fees & financial arrangements in a straightforward professional manner.
Teachers will seek opportunities to render service to individuals or groups who are underserved by the broader yoga community on a pro bono basis.
Professional Growth / Continuing Education
Teachers shall maintain the integrity, competency, & high standards of the yoga profession by continuously striving to improve their skills through keeping current in new developments in yoga practice, maintaining a regular yoga practice that includes asana & meditation, & the ongoing improvement of their professional knowledge & skills by participating in continuing educational programmes.
Teacher Student Relationships
The relationship between a yoga teacher and a student is based on trust. To establish & maintain that trust, the teacher must be polite, considerate, & honest with their students. They will treat them with respect & value their individuality, dignity, & privacy.
Teachers shall commit to promoting the physical, emotional, & spiritual well-being of their students. They will create & maintain a safe, clean, comfortable, & positive environment for the practice of yoga. Teachers should practice good communication with their students, listen attentively, respect their point of view, beliefs & culture.
Teachers will need to be continually aware of their position of power & influence in their relationship with their students. They will be mindful not to project their own agendas, perceptions, & outcomes on their students. Teachers shall maintain professional boundaries in relationships with students & avoid any activities that may exploit or be in conflict with their students’ best interests.
Integrity
Teachers are committed to maintaining impeccable standards of professional competence & integrity.
Teachers are committed to promoting the physical, emotional, mental, & spiritual wellbeing of their students. Teachers are committed to practicing yoga as a way of life, which includes adopting the fundamental moral principles of yoga & making their lifestyle environmentally sustainable.
Scope of Practice
Teachers shall represent their qualifications honestly & provide only the services they are qualified & certified to perform. Teachers shall not give medical advice. Teachers shall not recommend treatment, diagnose a condition, or suggest that a student disregard medical advice. Teachers shall refer their students to medical doctors or complimentary licensed professionals when appropriate.
Confidential Information
Teachers shall respect and protect the welfare of all of their students or clients. Teachers shall keep all personal information disclosed by their students or clients strictly confidential. All discussions among teachers concerning students or clients shall be conducted in secure, non-public environments.
Teachers shall not disclose personal information belonging to a student or client except:
(a) To comply with the law or the order of a court.
(b) To prevent bodily harm or danger to the client or to others.
(c) Where the information has already been disclosed to the public.
Our studio will maintain the confidentiality of all private information disclosed by our teachers, students & clients. We will maintain commercially reasonable policies & procedures to protect the confidentiality of all private information disclosed by our teachers, students, & clients.
Inter-Professional Relationships
Teachers are part of the health care & well-being community & should strive to develop & maintain relationships within the community for the benefit of their students & their professional development. Teachers shall conduct themselves in an honourable manner in their relations with their fellow yoga teachers & other wellness practitioners. Teachers shall work to build the unity of their community by embracing diversity, collaboration, & a commitment to the benefit of all.
Teachers shall practice tolerance & acceptance toward other yoga teachers, schools & traditions. Teachers shall not openly criticise practices followed by other yoga schools or teachers. However, teachers recognise that differences of opinion are to be expected, & they may be discussed in a sensitive & compassionate manner. When criticism must be made, it should be done with fairness, discretion & with a focus on the facts to protect & enhance the wellbeing of the yoga community.
Advertising & Public Communications
Teachers shall provide students & colleagues with good quality & factual information about their professional qualifications, the services they provide & their teaching arrangements. Teachers shall put students first, preserve their trust & maintain the professionalism of the yoga community.
Teachers shall not misrepresent their professional qualifications & affiliations or falsely imply sponsorship or certification by any organisation or group.
Yoga Equity
Teachers will welcome, accept, & support all students regardless of religion, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, political, or cultural background.
Teachers will embrace yoga equity. Teachers shall seek to have an awareness & a commitment to making yoga more equitable, inclusive, accessible, & diverse. This encompasses diversity, inclusion, & accessibility in yoga. Teachers will make the conscious decision to address each of these issues thoughtfully & intentionally throughout their work in restoring equity to the yoga community.
Teachers will emphasise the importance of learning, teaching, & practicing yoga honestly, which means promoting equity, reducing harm, honouring & leveraging cultural differences, & fostering diversity & inclusion in all areas of yoga while honouring the integrity of yoga’s cultural & historical roots.
As a studio, Soulfit will not discriminate against or refuse to provide teaching or professional help to any student, client or employee based on any protected class such as age, gender (including pregnancy), race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status or genetic information. We will not discriminate in the workplace.