Why can't I say no? The future of yoga teaching

In Yoga Quota’s teacher training, run by Lead Trainer Harriet McAtee, students are encouraged to interrogate why they choose to touch in the first place, and to consider their own experience of consent before going near a student.

McAtee says: “Consent is a practice just like asana or meditation: as you practice more, you become more attuned to situations where students might be giving consent even when they don’t want to, or a situation where a different approach to consent might be necessary.”

She continues: “I invite [my students] to become aware of consent in their practice and life: have they been to classes where they teacher adjusted without explicit consent? How did that make them feel?

“I teach them that consent has to be:

Informed: explain in plain language what you want to do
Enthusiastic: no response means no
Ongoing: check in as you perform the adjustment, reaffirm consent throughout the class if you offer more than one adjustment”(7)

This should be the standard for all teacher trainings, shouldn’t it? But it is not – without regulation and things like the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visiting hospitals to do checks, or OFSTED popping into schools with little warning, there’s no way of ensuring this is the case.

So with what we have at the moment, I would like to see Yoga Alliance, BWY and others, along with individual teacher trainings, working more with organisations like Trauma Sensitive Yoga (8) and Movement for Healing, which “provides perspectives and considerations for yoga teachers on how to create a more trauma-informed framework for a sexual violence population in general yoga classes” (9).

Having done a lot of research into the matter, I’m now pretty sure I know why I have struggled so much to say no over the years to hands-on assists; understanding the inherent power imbalance has helped me feel a lot better about my past (and current!) experiences as a student, and drives me to strive harder as a teacher to create a supportive atmosphere in my classroom.

I don’t personally believe that you shouldn’t ever touch a student, for me touch isn’t inherently bad, it’s everything that surrounds it that needs to be considered, but I can’t agree with Feldmann’s point of view about trust starting with touch. I believe in the judicious use of consent tokens, of care with language, and that incredibly firm boundaries have to be put in place from the start. I believe that teachers must be open from the offset about what they offer when it comes to informed consent for hands-on assists and must understand hidden trauma and respect it – it’s not just lip service.

More than anything, I want teachers in the studio to first consider whether it is their ego driving them to undertake a hands-on assist; is it because it looks good, or because they truly feel there is a benefit they can offer the student? Can the teacher express themselves verbally without needing to go near the student? If not, then perhaps they need to reassess their skill as a teacher and take some relevant CPD.

Tips for teachers

I have written down some practical tips to help with this on both sides; I have already applied some of them, but will work hard to ensure I maintain boundaries as a student and continue to grow as a teacher.

Trial consent tokens and get plenty of feedback from students on the experience. You don’t have to use them, but if you’re going to, don’t hide them away, have them out and be proud of your commitment. Give them to everyone, and never assume. If you’re not, then it’s incredibly important you think about point number two…
When working with touch, consider language very carefully and be clear from the offset as to what kind of teacher students can expect; focus on inviting, not insisting, noticing, not forcing, and making sure your students know it’s their practice, their body, and not yours to control
Do your research in regard to the styles you choose to work with in the first place. Every lineage has something dodgy going on historically (and some today!), so know the history, the kind of students it attracts; have strategies in place for how you will mitigate this, and be prepared for your students, colleagues and others to call you out on it. Know yourself
Take CPD around trauma-informed teaching – be aware of what issues could come up during class, develop teaching strategies and ideas for if a student is triggered
Public peer networking – join online groups and ask questions; talk about the topics you find difficult – this can help with personal development for those lacking funds or without recourse to CPD and training. An excellent option I’d recommend is Diane Bruni’s Yoga and Movement Research Facebook (10) group, where we discuss everything from consent to somatic practice

What have I learnt?

Researching this series of blogs (it was originally an essay for my YTT) has been hugely informative and developmental for me. I’ve deep-delved into the world of yoga, into stories I could never have imagined, into technicalities I’d never considered. I’ve thought about language, I’ve counselled and been counselled, I’ve changed how I teach and practice, grown to appreciate my own power, and I’ve been able to step up and become a voice in the community, despite being in the very early days of my own teaching career.

What would/do I say to those coming to class with me?

This is your practice and your body – you are the only person who knows how you feel in any given moment
When using consent tokens, if they’re turned to ‘yes please’, I will always work to give verbal cues first and refrain from anything more unless it is necessary to help you with remaining safe, or to develop your work in the pose in a safe way. I will always ask if I would like to assist you in any way, and explain what I would like to do. Please feel free to say no at any point
You will never be surprised by my presence; I will never approach from behind
You do not have to have a reason to not want to be touched
We all live in different bodies. There is no one true pose; I will give options
There are no prizes for injury from forcing something that doesn’t work for you