Teacher Manifesto

I’m committed to making this practice an accessible, fun, and transformative experience.

I teach what I relate to. What I practice and have experienced. What I can transmit with authenticity with my own words. I set aside what I don’t relate to for now and I’m ready to reassess that at some point later.

The only alignment I’m interested in is whether my actions are aligned with my values.

I aim to demystify teachers and teachings. I support students in being empowered and connecting to their inner teacher and inner truth.

Teachings are alive and evolving human creations. They are not pure and they are not immutable.

My practice is an ongoing exploration. It’s bound to change over time. It will shed its name and skin over and over again.

Teacher are tools to be used by the students. They are not all knowing and they are by all means not perfect.

I believe that asking questions is absolutely crucial: why? how? what if?… And it is ok to sometimes not have any answers.

I strive to question power structures: teacher-student relationship, mystifications, shady scientific explanations, highly normative and restrictive views of the world.

I treat all of my students equally and do not push any roles or expectations onto them. I acknowledge that every student is different, in their body, their mind, and their own practice.

I embrace the experience of otherness as a means of awakening and liberation.

I create a space where every student can hopefully feel safe, brave, and supported.

I remind my students to stay curious, playful, and kind. I invite them to practice with dedication, to practice with care, to practice self-care.

I acknowledge that yoga has its origins in the Indian subcontinent. As a yoga practitioner I cannot shy away from an honest and challenging ongoing reflection on (de)colonization and capitalism.

Yoga is a messy word now used to describe a lot of things, often improperly. At its essence it’s way more than just postures. My practice is one of the many evolutions of postural yoga in a space called post-lineage yoga. And until I find a better word I’ll stick to calling it yoga*.