How Not To Teach Yoga: Lessons on Boundaries, Accountability, and Vulnerability - Learnt the Hard Way

by Tori Lunden

Tori has done a lot of f*cked up things in the pursuit of being a "good" yoga teacher. She didn't mean to be f*cked up; f*cked up things just happened while she was busy attempting to be a personable sage and humble expert on philosophy, mediation, anatomy, functional movement, energy healing, and everything else a yoga teacher is supposed to be good at. It never occurred to her that how she was going about teaching all this expertise might be, well, f*cked up, or potentially even harmful to herself and others. It's a common misstep for yoga we get so focused on learning everything there is to know about yoga that we overlook the importance of learning how to skillfully teach these things to people. Despite our best of intentions and, usually without realizing it, we fall into common traps like manipulation, elitism, imposter syndrome, and bewilderment when it comes to applying any sort of personal and professional boundaries to what we do. This is a book about how we all mess up and how we can all do better. No Shame. No right or wrong answers. No arbitrary life advice. Through a mix of personal stories, guided reflections, and best practices taken from her experience as a social worker, Tori offers up an easy-to-follow guide for any teacher wanting to show up more reliably for themselves and those whom they teach.

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2021

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I'm not a yoga teacher. Who I am is a person who has gone to many different yoga classes in 3 different cities over the last 20 years. This book gave me a great insight into what goes into teaching yoga, how I may have tried to cross boundaries, how my teacher's have crossed boundaries, how to be stronger with my boundaries in my yoga practice and damnit how to have stronger boundaries in my every day life. Thank you!

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've not read anything like this! it was so helpful - not about what you teach but the ethics of teaching i guess. Power dynamics, boundary setting, people pleasing... would love to read more things like this if anyone knows of any.

[Christy Farnsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book. It should be required reading for YTTs!

[Ely Bakouche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so fed up of the lack of transparency in the wellness space and this has been such a refreshing read. Being change makers in capitalist, patriarchal societies also looks like this; admitting that we are still learning while building honest wisdom along the way (what? We aren’t robots or gods who have it all figured out? *gasp*)

A must read for every yogi looking for blatant honesty and real vulnerability, not the shiny, pretentious, and tired “influencer yogi” Instagram shit (for whom I definitely have honest compassion for after reading this book).

[Mary Elizabeth]

Short book but a great read packed with down-to-earth, simple wisdom and learning. I’m not a yoga teacher (yet- I hope it’s in my future), but a lot of what’s talked about in the book is relevant to ANY type of teacher or anyone in any kind of “spiritual” or coaching business. I feel like this book put into words many issues that I’ve felt/seen in the “spiritual wellness entrepreneur” space, but felt like no one else was talking about. Also a great read for any yoga practitioners who want some advice with recognizing good and not-so-good teaching practices from their instructors. Should be a must-read for any yoga teacher!

[Chandler Majewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast read! Encourages self reflection and the opportunity to do better when you know better!