Below are the ethical dilemmas we will discuss in Avalon's Yoga Teacher Training today. We first review the yamas and niyams, then identify our own core yoga and teaching values, and use them to guide self-reflection and discussion.
1. You have the opportunity to sub a class in a style that is very different from yours. Further, you don’t personally enjoy this style. Should you take this opportunity? If you do, how do you approach the class and students? What thoughts, emotions, and behaviors do you need to bring special awareness to?
2. A student in your class invites you out to lunch “to talk more about yoga.” You suspect he or she is interested in friendship or a romantic relationship. What do you do? Does it matter whether you find this person interesting or attractive? What does your decision say about how you perceive your role as a yoga teacher? Does having an outside relationship with a student change or limit how you interact with them in a class setting?
3. You have gotten very busy teaching yoga, and are excited to have so many classes to teach! Unfortunately, this is getting in the way of your personal practice. You haven’t attended a class in a few months, and you aren’t practicing formally at home. You tell yourself that your life is your yoga practice, and you don’t really need to practice asana, pranayama, meditation, etc. Is there an ethical component to this decision? What are the risks in this situation? How will you respond if you find yourself feeling like a “fraud”?
4. You witness one of your favorite, most inspiring yoga teachers outside the classroom doing something that really strikes you as “unyogic” but not necessarily illegal (pick behavior that conflicts with your personal yoga values/ethics). How does this make you feel? Will you tell others about this? Will this person continue to be an important teacher for you? What standards do you hold yourself to as a yoga teacher? How will you feel when you fail to live up to your own or another person’s standards?
5. You are so excited! You just received a request for private yoga instruction. The potential student is new to yoga, and his doctor recommended he learn yoga to help recover from hip replacement surgery (or knee surgery, or back surgery, or heart surgery…something you don’t know much about). Do you agree to help the student? Why or why not? If you do, what are you going to do to prepare? Where might you start? Who can you consult in this situation? How can the potential student be involved in making this decision or making any yoga lesson safe and helpful?
6. You have been teaching at a few different places that pay you very different amounts. One studio pays you by the student, and your classes have been very small but building a base of regulars. Another gym pays you a very low per-class fee, but the class is full and you love teaching it. Your corporate class pays a very high per-class fee, but attendance is poor and there are few regulars. Because of time constraints, you feel like you need to drop at least one class from your schedule. What are the ethical dimensions of this decision? How would you make this decision? What factors—besides class size and pay rate—would you consider?
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Can working out help you avoid or recover from a cold or flu?
My latest Science of Willpower column on Psychology Today is a response to a wonderful article in the NYT:
"A recent New York Times article by Gretchen Reynolds asked and answered the question: Does exercise boost immunity? The answer may surprise some, and its lessons extend well beyond the world of working out."
My Science of Willpower class starts at Stanford this Monday (still time to register, through 10/26) -- I look forward to blogging some of the interesting insights and questions that come up!
Friday, September 25, 2009
New Science of Willpower Study: The Virtue of Pessimism
Check out my latest post on Psychology Today.
"Two people are beginning a weight-loss program. One is an optimist and the other a realist -- perhaps even a pessimist. Who has the better chance of losing weight?
According to a new study from Doshisha University in Japan, it's the pessimist. People who began a six-month program of nutrition, exercise, and counseling were less likely to lose weight if they had an optimistic personality.
This at first doesn't make sense. We usually associate optimism with greater success and better health. There's plenty of research showing that optimists have stronger social relationships, are happier, and even live longer. So why wouldn't optimism help people lose weight?"........ [click to read full column]
Study: Saito, H., Kimura, Y., Tashima, S., et al. (2009). Psychological factors that promote behavior modification by obese patients. BioPsychoSocial Medicine 3:9 (in press).
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Diabolic Secret Powers of Junk Food
My latest column on Psychology Today features a new study that will make you question the loyalty of your favorite comfort food:
"It seems too clever, too diabolic to be true. A recent study shows that foods high in saturated fat -- ice cream, cheese, red meat -- cause your brain to secrete chemicals that tell the body to ignore biological signals of fullness (like leptin and insulin). The result: you don't "feel" full, and you keep eating. It's as if junk food had been shaped by the forces of evolution, learning to fool humans into ever-increasing consumption. And it explains why we seem to have an endless appetite for some foods, like pizza and a pint of Ben and Jerry's."
Read more here....Enjoy!
Friday, June 19, 2009
STUDY: Nature better than TV at reducing stress
Great post at Psychology Today about a new study that compared the stress-reducing effects of looking out a window at nature, viewing a similar nature scene on a large plasma TV, and staring at a blank wall.
Real nature outside the window outperformed the virtual nature and blank wall. The outcome in this study was physiological recovery from a stressor--exactly the kind of calming down we need to do each time we overreact to an email, hear bad news, feel overwhelmed, get into an argument, or whatever the stressor du jour is.
A great reminder to look out your window or better yet step outside. Consider it a booster shot of health and well-being.
Real nature outside the window outperformed the virtual nature and blank wall. The outcome in this study was physiological recovery from a stressor--exactly the kind of calming down we need to do each time we overreact to an email, hear bad news, feel overwhelmed, get into an argument, or whatever the stressor du jour is.
A great reminder to look out your window or better yet step outside. Consider it a booster shot of health and well-being.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
STUDY: Wealth, Fame, and Beauty Make You Miserable
“I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I’m living, so different now from how it seemed….now life has killed the dream I dreamed.”
When Susan Boyle first sang those lyrics on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent, they seemed to herald a lifelong dream come true.
They take on a different meaning now that her meteoric rise to fame has landed her in the hospital. At the time I’m writing this, Boyle is being treated for a nervous breakdown. Her reported last words at Britain’s Got Talent: “I hate this show.”
Why did the story have to end this way? As we watched her triumphant debut, the crowd’s standing ovation, and the judges’ sentimental praise, we all felt that a life was being changed before our eyes.
And so it was. Susan Boyle’s performance earned her instant fame and wide acclaim. There was talk of book deals and record deals. Even her image got an upgrade, thanks to a Hollywood-style makeover.
It was everything an aspiring singer could hope for. And that may be exactly why things went wrong for Susan Boyle.
We expect that when our dreams come true, happiness will at last be ours. But a new study by psychologists at the University of Rochester, NY, finds exactly the opposite. Achieving fame, wealth, and beauty does not guarantee happiness. Instead, it can be a quick road to hell.
For this study, the researchers asked 246 adults to rate the importance of six life goals: three that sound pretty wholesome (to be physically healthy, to grow and learn new things, to help others improve their lives), as well as three goals that sound more like the modern American (Idol) dream: to be wealthy, to be admired by many people, and to achieve a desired appearance.
One year later, researchers checked in to find out how well the participants had attained their goals. They also tracked how happy and healthy the participant were. Those who pursued and attained the more wholesome goals were, as you might expect, feeling great. But attaining fame, money, or appearance had absolutely no relationship to happiness. There was no boost in self-esteem, satisfaction with life, or mood. The more participants succeeded at these goals, the worse off they were: higher anxiety, worse mood, and more health problems.
How does success turn into depression? Consider it a contrast effect. No matter what spiritual or psychological advice we are given, it’s almost impossible to imagine we won’t be happier when we’re famous, wealthy, and beautiful. In modern society, we accept as self-evident that stardom leads to happiness. This belief is part of our collective story about how the world works. Talent discovery shows—like Britain’s Got Talent or American Idol—are popular in part because they tap into and exploit this deeply-held belief.
But while some accomplishments are truly satisfying, the rewards of fame, fortune, and image are all smoke and mirrors. They look wonderful from the outside, but from the inside, you can see through the illusion. Instant fame is a poor substitute for real connection. Personal fortune is less nourishing than personal growth. And a makeover is a shallow achievement—even for a 48-year-old Scotswoman who claims to have never been kissed.
What we’ve witnessed in the reality TV journey of Susan Boyle is the cruelest kind of reality check. When a lifelong dream comes true, and the gap between what you expected and what you experience is so vast, the only rational response is a breakdown.
Many of us fear that we will never achieve a lifelong dream that seems out of reach. But perhaps we should be more afraid that we spend our lives chasing goals that cannot provide lasting happiness.
The same study points to how we might achieve more satisfying happiness: participants who pursued learning, community, and health were better off over time. It might be time to take a look at your own goals, and devote your energy to the less glamorous but reliably rewarding sources of well-being.
Study source:
The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life. Christopher P. Niemiec, Richard M. Ryana, and Edward L. Deci. Journal of Research in Personality 43 (June 2009) 291–306.
When Susan Boyle first sang those lyrics on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent, they seemed to herald a lifelong dream come true.
They take on a different meaning now that her meteoric rise to fame has landed her in the hospital. At the time I’m writing this, Boyle is being treated for a nervous breakdown. Her reported last words at Britain’s Got Talent: “I hate this show.”
Why did the story have to end this way? As we watched her triumphant debut, the crowd’s standing ovation, and the judges’ sentimental praise, we all felt that a life was being changed before our eyes.
And so it was. Susan Boyle’s performance earned her instant fame and wide acclaim. There was talk of book deals and record deals. Even her image got an upgrade, thanks to a Hollywood-style makeover.
It was everything an aspiring singer could hope for. And that may be exactly why things went wrong for Susan Boyle.
We expect that when our dreams come true, happiness will at last be ours. But a new study by psychologists at the University of Rochester, NY, finds exactly the opposite. Achieving fame, wealth, and beauty does not guarantee happiness. Instead, it can be a quick road to hell.
For this study, the researchers asked 246 adults to rate the importance of six life goals: three that sound pretty wholesome (to be physically healthy, to grow and learn new things, to help others improve their lives), as well as three goals that sound more like the modern American (Idol) dream: to be wealthy, to be admired by many people, and to achieve a desired appearance.
One year later, researchers checked in to find out how well the participants had attained their goals. They also tracked how happy and healthy the participant were. Those who pursued and attained the more wholesome goals were, as you might expect, feeling great. But attaining fame, money, or appearance had absolutely no relationship to happiness. There was no boost in self-esteem, satisfaction with life, or mood. The more participants succeeded at these goals, the worse off they were: higher anxiety, worse mood, and more health problems.
How does success turn into depression? Consider it a contrast effect. No matter what spiritual or psychological advice we are given, it’s almost impossible to imagine we won’t be happier when we’re famous, wealthy, and beautiful. In modern society, we accept as self-evident that stardom leads to happiness. This belief is part of our collective story about how the world works. Talent discovery shows—like Britain’s Got Talent or American Idol—are popular in part because they tap into and exploit this deeply-held belief.
But while some accomplishments are truly satisfying, the rewards of fame, fortune, and image are all smoke and mirrors. They look wonderful from the outside, but from the inside, you can see through the illusion. Instant fame is a poor substitute for real connection. Personal fortune is less nourishing than personal growth. And a makeover is a shallow achievement—even for a 48-year-old Scotswoman who claims to have never been kissed.
What we’ve witnessed in the reality TV journey of Susan Boyle is the cruelest kind of reality check. When a lifelong dream comes true, and the gap between what you expected and what you experience is so vast, the only rational response is a breakdown.
Many of us fear that we will never achieve a lifelong dream that seems out of reach. But perhaps we should be more afraid that we spend our lives chasing goals that cannot provide lasting happiness.
The same study points to how we might achieve more satisfying happiness: participants who pursued learning, community, and health were better off over time. It might be time to take a look at your own goals, and devote your energy to the less glamorous but reliably rewarding sources of well-being.
Study source:
The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life. Christopher P. Niemiec, Richard M. Ryana, and Edward L. Deci. Journal of Research in Personality 43 (June 2009) 291–306.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Kids who can focus grow up to be healthier adults
A recently released study from the Harvard School of Public Health has found that children's ability to focus on a task at age 7 predicted their physical health thirty years later.
Children who persisted longer on a difficult task were less likely to have experienced a serious health problem such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or cancer. The same was true for kids who were less easily distressed by, or likely to withdraw from, a difficult situation.
It's not clear whether these kids were simply born with better attention and perseverance, or whether focus is something that can be taught. However, I know a few folks who are betting on the latter--going into schools to teach kids how to focus their attention and regulate their emotions. For example, Little Flower Yoga is teaching kids in inner-city schools in NY and Yoga Calm brings yoga to classrooms in the Midwest and Northwest.
Although yoga is often "sold" to schools and parents as a way to increase physical fitness, the physical practices of most yoga-for-kids programs also do an incredible job teaching relaxation, mental focus, and emotion regulation skills.
Study source: Early manifestations of personality and adult health: A life course perspective. Health Psychology, 13 (1).
Authors: LD Kubzansky, LT Martin, SL Buka.
You can read the full article here.
Children who persisted longer on a difficult task were less likely to have experienced a serious health problem such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, or cancer. The same was true for kids who were less easily distressed by, or likely to withdraw from, a difficult situation.
It's not clear whether these kids were simply born with better attention and perseverance, or whether focus is something that can be taught. However, I know a few folks who are betting on the latter--going into schools to teach kids how to focus their attention and regulate their emotions. For example, Little Flower Yoga is teaching kids in inner-city schools in NY and Yoga Calm brings yoga to classrooms in the Midwest and Northwest.
Although yoga is often "sold" to schools and parents as a way to increase physical fitness, the physical practices of most yoga-for-kids programs also do an incredible job teaching relaxation, mental focus, and emotion regulation skills.
Study source: Early manifestations of personality and adult health: A life course perspective. Health Psychology, 13 (1).
Authors: LD Kubzansky, LT Martin, SL Buka.
You can read the full article here.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
How Swine Flu is Paving the Way to Gay Marriage
At the beginning of any crisis, it is impossible to predict the final outcome. Every step we take to prevent catastrophe can carry unexpected consequences.
The current hysteria over the H1N1 pandemic may come with a particularly surprising side effect—fear of the flu may be paving the way for gay marriage.
Just how could a pathogen 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair be accomplishing a political task that until recently seemed impossible?
The answer lies in something innocuous and even virtuous: hand-washing.
Everyone from the World Health Organization to President Obama has begged us to wash our hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Even Randy Cohen, resident ethicist of the New York Times, has argued that washing your hands is, in times like these, a moral obligation.
A new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health reports that two-thirds of Americans are soaping up more often to ward off the flu. All that hand-washing should slow down the spread of the flu virus—a consequence that is both predictable and positive.
But even actions as simple as washing your hands can have unintended consequences. Case in point: A 2008 study published in Psychological Science found that washing your hands makes you less morally judgmental about other people’s behavior.
Researchers at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom asked participants to evaluate a range of morally suspect actions, such as keeping the money in a found wallet, killing a terminally ill plane crash survivor to avoid starvation, and engaging in a deviant sex act. Half were asked to wash their hands before rating the scenarios. These participants rated all of the behaviors as less “wrong” than did the participants with less pure hands.
The connection between clean hands and a forgiving heart was not logical but emotional. Hand-washing reduced participants’ feelings of disgust. That change in emotion tempered participants’ willingness to throw the first stone.
Why would a change in the physical feeling of disgust dampen moral outrage about other people’s actions? Psychologists now believe that many moral judgments are based on feelings, not rational decisions. We use emotions—including disgust—to quickly “know” whether something is right or wrong. We then try to rationalize our feelings by developing a logical explanation.
This may be especially true for political positions that are colored by moral judgments. Opposition to same-sex marriage is often emotional and rooted in a visceral discomfort with homosexuality. Rational discourse on civil rights and the definition of marriage comes later. A study published just this month in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that conservatives are more likely than liberals to use instinctive feelings about “purity” and “sanctity” as the basis for moral judgments.
Changing a person’s views on such matters may be less about logical argument and more about changing that underlying feeling of disgust. In other words: you’re your mouth shut, but carry hand sanitizer.
This leaves us with an improbable but theoretically possible consequence of the H1N1 pandemic. Look around: same-sex marriage legislation is marching forward with far less outrage than conservatives or liberals would have predicted just one month ago.
Gay marriage may not feel right to you yet, but it is starting to look inevitable. So let me be the first to pass the soap and pump the sanitizer. You’ll feel better, and the CDC will thank you.
Studies cited:
Washing away your sins: Threatened morality and physical cleansing. Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist. September 8 2006. Science, Vol 313, 1451-2.
Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. Jess Graham, Jonathan Haidt, and Brian A. Nosek. May 2009. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 96, 1029-46.
The current hysteria over the H1N1 pandemic may come with a particularly surprising side effect—fear of the flu may be paving the way for gay marriage.
Just how could a pathogen 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair be accomplishing a political task that until recently seemed impossible?
The answer lies in something innocuous and even virtuous: hand-washing.
Everyone from the World Health Organization to President Obama has begged us to wash our hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Even Randy Cohen, resident ethicist of the New York Times, has argued that washing your hands is, in times like these, a moral obligation.
A new poll by the Harvard School of Public Health reports that two-thirds of Americans are soaping up more often to ward off the flu. All that hand-washing should slow down the spread of the flu virus—a consequence that is both predictable and positive.
But even actions as simple as washing your hands can have unintended consequences. Case in point: A 2008 study published in Psychological Science found that washing your hands makes you less morally judgmental about other people’s behavior.
Researchers at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom asked participants to evaluate a range of morally suspect actions, such as keeping the money in a found wallet, killing a terminally ill plane crash survivor to avoid starvation, and engaging in a deviant sex act. Half were asked to wash their hands before rating the scenarios. These participants rated all of the behaviors as less “wrong” than did the participants with less pure hands.
The connection between clean hands and a forgiving heart was not logical but emotional. Hand-washing reduced participants’ feelings of disgust. That change in emotion tempered participants’ willingness to throw the first stone.
Why would a change in the physical feeling of disgust dampen moral outrage about other people’s actions? Psychologists now believe that many moral judgments are based on feelings, not rational decisions. We use emotions—including disgust—to quickly “know” whether something is right or wrong. We then try to rationalize our feelings by developing a logical explanation.
This may be especially true for political positions that are colored by moral judgments. Opposition to same-sex marriage is often emotional and rooted in a visceral discomfort with homosexuality. Rational discourse on civil rights and the definition of marriage comes later. A study published just this month in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that conservatives are more likely than liberals to use instinctive feelings about “purity” and “sanctity” as the basis for moral judgments.
Changing a person’s views on such matters may be less about logical argument and more about changing that underlying feeling of disgust. In other words: you’re your mouth shut, but carry hand sanitizer.
This leaves us with an improbable but theoretically possible consequence of the H1N1 pandemic. Look around: same-sex marriage legislation is marching forward with far less outrage than conservatives or liberals would have predicted just one month ago.
Gay marriage may not feel right to you yet, but it is starting to look inevitable. So let me be the first to pass the soap and pump the sanitizer. You’ll feel better, and the CDC will thank you.
Studies cited:
Washing away your sins: Threatened morality and physical cleansing. Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist. September 8 2006. Science, Vol 313, 1451-2.
Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. Jess Graham, Jonathan Haidt, and Brian A. Nosek. May 2009. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 96, 1029-46.
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