I wrote this text in 2017 to provoke change and reflection in the international yoga scene in Ibiza. The Manifesto gradually extended itself into the Spanish yoga community with great response and success.
I copy here the original Manifesto because I think it can inspire anyone who wants to lead with ethics, intellectual refinement and efficacy.
It is divided into categories, including micro and macro, gross and subtle. It reminds us about human core values and it guides professional development for sustainable growth and positive social impact. You can use it as it is or write your own personal declaration and guidance to give you light in moments of change or confusion.
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MANIFESTO SAMYAMA
One body, many cells.
· As a yoga teacher and educator I recognize myself as a unique, specialized and talented cell that belongs to one only body. That body is made up by all the teachers and educators that are spreading the wisdom of Yoga, creating a culture and a legacy for the next generations.
· I acknowledge that a body works well thanks to the cohesiveness, coherence, cooperation and truthfulness of each of these cells.
· I believe that the aim of this body is to serve, modeling and inspiring the world through thought, word and action.
· I recognize my power to transform and affect the world. I believe that we teachers are here to remind each other each day that this collective goal of transformation is a priority and more important than our individual goals of personal success. I know that true success is the success of the community.
Around skills, development and knowledge.
· I take 100% responsibility for my skillfulness and the state of my career and professional development as a teacher.
· Finding my own voice and sharing my truth is the best way in which I can serve this community. Other teachers can be a reference of style or wisdom, but none of them can see and feel my truth as I can do it. Thus, I ́m happy to listen to others, and at the same time I ́m grounded in my convictions and values.
· I ́m happy to revise my teaching and assumptions every day. Keeping updated my knowledge and skills through inquiry and study is my obligation, not a choice, but a responsibility I have with this community.
· I strive for learning, not perfection. I know that there are many blind spots in my experience and knowledge. Therefore I keep my humility, honoring the diversity of schools and teachings.
· I accept jealousy, fear and envy as part of the human experience. I decide to feel it, not to feed it.
Sharing.
· I wish to make yoga accesible to everyone, honoring each context and each student, always.
· It ́s my desire to share the experiences and the learning that have served me, helping the people around me to find their own training, inspiration or learning resources.
· Students have a right for freedom and decision making in their evolution and practice, my commitment is to offer as many intellectual and practical knowledge as it ́s necessary and possible in each case.
· I ́m willing to share the deep values and philosophy of yoga, and happy to accept the degree in which each student wants to commit to these values.
Ethics, intentions, awareness.
· Minimizing others breaks the ethical rules of a true teacher.
· Judging others will not help them and will interfere in my ability to communicate with kindness, compassion and clarity. I decide to stay open to the needs of the students and aware of my own emotions in every moment.
· I believe that community awareness puts the emphasis on our capacity to support each others in our transitions. As teachers we all have fears, doubts and weak areas. In our vulnerability lies our power for transformation. Being fierce and brave to share these vulnerabilities will get us closer to each others hearts and to the heart of Yoga, and we will be able to serve better.
· I believe that there ́s enough for all and that sharing naturally and effortlessly increases our health, wealth and true success, both individually and as a community.
Core values, true yoga, belonging.
· I ́m happy to break the patterns in my mind and heart that give me a sense of fragmentation and separation. Yoga is about wholeness, connection, union.
· I wish a long life to Yoga and to myself as a teacher. I work for the longevity of this tradition and my own longevity as a teacher. When I take actions I consider the effects of those actions in the long term more that the immediate rewards of those actions.
· The power of Yoga is much stronger that the power of my yoga. I ́m willing to recognize that this power is not coming from me, but through me.
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About the meanings of Cooperation in a
Community of Yoga Educators
· Owning the beliefs of cooperative teaching might be a slow process, I ́m willing to honor it ́s rhythms and take them into my own language and emotion. Creating a new culture requires time, dedication, intention and patience. New habits and behaviors are necessary for a new teacher to be born.
· When we cooperate we don ́t sum up our parts, we become something new by joining these parts.
· The aim of a community of teachers includes supporting new teachers in developing the skills and overcoming the challenges of this profession.
· Humility and tolerance are absolutely necessary for the health of this movement, there ́s no human hierarchy but different states of experience and knowledge.
· A community or body of teachers is a creative space, not a space of followers. Each cell has intelligence and the capacity to take it ́s own decisions, it simply never forgets that its behavior affects the whole body, and thus takes the right responsibility and integrity always.
· Willingness and attitude are the roots of our strength as a community. All the members of a community need some time to reflect on the right balance of freedom and commitment.
· Spiritual maturity will give us the courage to move forward in these roots and grow our branches.
· Empathy is the basic tool for understanding each others, even if we don ́t agree.
A community does not absorb the individuals and their personal path and development, it just reminds us that we can also refine ourselves through interaction with our peers.
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MANIFESTO SAMYAMA BY DIANA NAYA (IBIZA, 2017)
