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

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 teachers: 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.

“This “real talk” approach to teaching yoga doesn’t just list ways “how not to teach yoga,” but truly empowers instructors to think of and implement better ways of teaching – starting with themselves. I’m looking forward to using this awesome book as a reference and resource in my upcoming 200-hour YTT.” -Katie Dorje Blakey