For CrossYoga instructors
👉🏼 Please read both “Guidelines” and “Ethics” below that. Read it all carefully as you need to agree to become a CrossYoga instructor member
Guidelines and Expectations for CrossYoga Instructors
Thank you for considering being a CrossYoga instructor member ! We hope and pray that you want to serve the world by guiding people to God’s love through movement, prayer and meditation.
It is important that CrossYoga is, and remains, a Christ-centered yoga practice. This means that we move and work in the same direction so that people can enter into a relationship with God to receive peace, healing and abundant love. The leadership team has made this document to ensure that both you, and your CrossYoga class participants, have the best experience possible.
CrossYoga is a Movement or Network Organization
CrossYoga is a network, and it only exists because of committed instructors who give their time and energy to change the world. This also means that CrossYoga trusts and expects that instructors to teach CrossYoga within the context that is described here. CrossYoga is also a membership movement. We encourage all certified instructors to become “Instructor members.”
For the instructor the membership includes great resources, support and online inspiration. CrossYoga as a network is dependent on the financial recourses from your membership to keep on providing good support and recourses such as creating opportunities for people to find information about your classes, retreats, etc. through online resources or off line marketing such as reading about us in a postcard or a poster. Last, but not least, your support will help CrossYoga grow and reach more people.
CrossYoga certified instructors are free to host retreats, offer sessions and workshops etc. (The only one thing you can’t do is to teach a “CrossYoga teacher training” without connecting with Rie first).
We welcome good initiatives, so if you have an idea and want to contribute with something within the community of CrossYoga, please don’t hold back. You don’t need to ask for permission. Just make sure that you:
Coordinate dates with the leadership team (or Rie)
Make sure that your plans are aligned with our “Theological Foundations.”
We would love more people to support the growing community!
If you don’t want to become a member, your classes will still be listed on the website. Please note, however, that we won’t be able to help with marketing your retreats or classes on Facebook, or on the website. You also won’t receive our postcards or posters, membership discounts on trainings, clothes or be invited to use the resources on our online intranet.
Expectations of CrossYoga Instructors
We have learned that it is important to be clear about expectations and guidelines. The following is our attempt to make things clear :-) The CrossYoga logo states to participants that you are a certified CrossYoga instructor and that you teach Christ-centered yoga. You must, therefore, agree on:
You perceive yourself as a believer and you are familiar with the Christian faith, prayer, meditation and study of the Bible.
You only use yoga practices that are aligned with evangelical Christian theology (as described in “Theological Foundations” of CrossYoga). If you are in doubt, you are welcome to talk with a member of the leadership team.
You prayerfully prepare every class you offer and are able to guide participants safely through the yoga poses and meditations.
You do not use CrossYoga to promote ideological messages, political parties or religious beliefs other than Christianity. We want to stay clear of all topics that could divide the unity in our network as we are from different backgrounds.
You are responsible for finding another CrossYoga instructor if you cannot make it to your class. Alternatively, you should make it clear if a class is cancelled. If you have found a substitute instructor to teach your class who is not CrossYoga certified, make sure to notify your participants.
You contribute to CrossYoga fellowship, for example by making videos, posting on social media (use the #crossyogaeurope & #crossyoga hashtags on Instagram), “liking” or sharing instructors’ events on Facebook, and/or taking part in workshops for instructors. You contact the leadership team with new ideas or with things that trouble you. We strive to trust that people have the best intentions in whatever they choose to do. Please be constructive and solution-minded when communicating with others in the CrossYoga community, particularly in cases of misunderstanding and/or conflict.
CrossYoga’s General Guidelines
As a means to get people to attend your classes we’ll share CrossYoga classes, workshops, etc. in our calendar at the website. We will also present CrossYoga Instructor members with their name, picture and a description of you as an instructor.
You are responsible for finding a location and marketing your classes in your environment. We will also help you as best we can with our CrossYoga contacts.
Be sure to cover both basic information (time, place and price) as well as the following details on all marketing material that you create:
A presentation of you as an instructor (e.g. name and picture).
The CrossYoga logo and website address (www.crossyoga.org) when possible.
Description of the type of class you offer (e.g. CrossYoga Intro, CrossYoga Slow, CrossYoga Flow or CrossYoga Power).
That CrossYoga is based on Christian faith (you can find your own words to describe it).
Any questions? The leadership team is happy to talk to you about it!
About the leadership team
The leadership team consists of volunteers that have God-given skills and interests in leading CrossYoga. The team works together, as a board, with Rie as the day-to-day volunteer leader.
You Can Expect the Following from the Leadership Team
The leadership team ensures that CrossYoga has a healthy theology, a loving, spiritual practice and a growing community.
The leadership do their best to ensure that instructors are competent in teaching yoga. If the leadership team experiences that an instructor is teaching unhealthy theology or is highly incompetent in their teaching, they will address the issue at hand and try to solve it. The instructor might be asked to name the classes something other than CrossYoga if the classes are not aligned with the expectations stated here.
The leadership team, as well as Rie, are available if you need to talk or if you are in doubt of anything related to CrossYoga.
CrossYoga plans to develop the CrossYoga community by offering workshops for instructors and online meetings. These will be developed as the movement grows and as more people join and are able to help with hosting workshops etc.
The leadership team will listen and involve the instructors in key decisions being made, e.g. future plans for CrossYoga. The team will not make changes that could affect all the instructors, without first involving the instructors in the decision-making.
The leadership team believes in you and encourages you to develop as an instructor. We are praying for you.
We know that what you have just read, might challenge you. Please contact someone in the leadership team if you have questions or concerns. All questions are welcome!
Ethics in CrossYoga
In the yoga community at large you hear a lot of sad stories about famous people (so-called yoga gurus) that have misused their position as a person admired by many people. There are accusations of theft, sexual harassment and assault, manipulation, and the like. This has made the emphasis on ethics in the way we conduct ourselves an important topic in the yoga community.
We will introduce some important principals. They are linked, and some points are overlapping, with the expectations we have for CrossYoga instructors (see the section on Guidelines and Expectations for CrossYoga Instructors).
Ethics in Christian Faith
In Christian faith ethics is a big deal. You might say that the 10 commandments are fundamental ethics for Christians, but it goes beyond this and is a huge topic in itself. In this context one could say that the fundamental comes down to this question: Who is God? You, others, or God?
What does this mean? Often in cases of misconduct or manipulation two things happen. Firstly, the guru/leader gets so much adoration that he/she thinks of her/himself as God. As a person, they believe they are allowed to do anything without consequences. That they are somehow “above” the law of ethics - why else would they act the way they do? Secondly, the people that follow this person thinks of the guru as a God. The person is admired so highly that their motives or actions are not questioned until it’s too late.
A follower of Christ should never fall into either of these two pits. Only God is God. No man or woman will ever be beyond God and the ethics in the Bible. Everybody is flawed (sinning) and needs the grace of God. No man or woman is that amazing that they should be admired as “god” - no questions asked.
This being said, sadly we also see misconduct in the church. None of us avoid temptation or sin. Let’s never forget to be humble and bow down before God admitting our flaws and our need of God’s loving grace and forgiveness.
Ethics as a Yoga Teacher
When you are teaching yoga, whether you like it or not, you are in a position of authority. You tell people what to do and they listen. The following are a list of important ethics to consider as a yoga instructor to protect yourself as well as others.
Always use proper and professional hands-on assists. Never touch another person without permission and, of course, never on inappropriate places. It is better to show on yourself what you want people to do, if you are unsure if you are being inappropriate or not.
Put up personal boundaries. Due to your authority, some might fall in love with you or want to become your best friend. Especially if you share a lot of personal stuff. Some might see you as the “perfect person” and will be very disappointed to find out that you are not. Put up personal boundaries and find a way to work around becoming the therapist or best friend to everyone without being impolite.
Don't overshare personal stuff. Some can find this very unsettling. People are in your class to do yoga, not to listen to your personal life’s struggles, as such. Sharing a bit of your life is always great but you also need to know there is a limit.
No manipulation. With the use of music, the right words, and postures, you can make almost anyone cry or feel a specific emotion. Crying is of course fine in a yoga class, but not if it is only due to the teacher trying to make it happen for some reason. It might seem like a fine thing in the moment, but after the class students might feel something being off and have a hard time trusting you. Only God sparks the flame of faith so be mindful that your words do not become God’s words, as such. It’s manipulation if you say: “God is telling me that somebody here needs to hear this.” Or “God is healing right now. Receive his healing…” Instead say: “I sense that God might want to say this to some of you…” Or, “I believe that God can heal. Maybe you ask for his healing now…” It’s a matter of using humble words.
Choose your words carefully. We don't want to traumatize or re-traumatize people. E.g. never use phrases like: "Now, you can all feel this!" or, "Notice how happy and loved you feel right now." Not everyone will feel the same thing, and that might make them feel wrong or bad. Other phrases to avoid are: "Think of the darkest moments in you life. What did you feel?" This can re-traumatize people with some really bad experiences. And please don't do it even though your intentions might be right. You might have the idea to continue with the sentence: “Just let the light of God shine into your darkest places and let it heal you.” This can be okay to say if you phrase it like this: "If you feel any specific struggles or darkness is hard, try to let God's light and healing shine there." Be aware that some people might take every word you say very seriously, so don't joke around with subjects that in any way can be misunderstood.
Make room for people with all kinds of faith. This means that you should not take for granted that people know the stories in the Bible or are familiar with prayer. Speak and cue as if there are people that do not know what Christianity is about. Introduce or explain briefly words like worship, sin, redemption, salvation, and the like.
Let go of being perfect. Avoid thinking that everything must be perfect. It never will be, and you will never be perfect. Let go of judgmental thoughts like: “I’ll never be good enoug.” You are good enough! You’ll always have people that love your class and people that would rather go to another instructor. That’s life. Also remember: You are not a mind reader!! Just because people have a certain indifferent look on their face, it does not mean that they don’t like you or your class. You do not know what they are thinking!
Don’t give up too easily. You will encounter resistance or experience that things did not work out the way you hoped for. Let God and the vision of changing people’s lives, be your motivation. Don't let people’s approval or the amount of people attending your class, be your main motivation.