Yoga Risk Management Information

Disclaimer: The following is risk management information and is not intended, nor should it be used as legal advice. You should always review and consult with your local legal professional to be sure you are providing best practices for your locale.

Raising safety awareness and practices takes an entire community: Students, teachers, yoga therapists, studio owners, the health club and spa industries, and the medical and legal systems. Please contact us directly if you don’t find what you need, or if you have a new idea for how we might work together to make ahimsa the rule, not the exception in yoga.

Yoga Safety for Yoga Teachers/Therapists

Dr. Taylor has led the campaign for safe yoga practice beginning with his seminal publication of Risk Management: Conscious Ahimsa in 2004, followed by his presentation by the same title at the 2007 Symposium of Yoga Therapy and Research in Los Angeles, CA. Very few yoga training programs go beyond reviewing the traditional precautions for asanas in safety instruction. Teacher, therapists and studio owners enter their communities without adequate safety systems in place which leave their students, themselves and their teachers vulnerable to accidents and avoidable harming.

We must work together to make ahimsa the rule, not the exception, in yoga.
- Dr. Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT
We must work together to make ahimsa the rule, not the exception, in yoga. - Dr. Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT
We must work together to make ahimsa the rule, not the exception, in yoga. - Dr. Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT
Matthew Taylor books

Yoga Safety For Students

“Where can I go to do yoga in a safe and effective way for me?” That’s the number one question Dr. Taylor has fielded from the public for over 18 years. There still isn’t a good way to answer that question directly, but this site is intended to give students of any age and ability to ask better questions and evaluate their local options. Our blog posts, newsletters and online trainings will give the consumer powerful tools to determine their needs, issues of personal safety they should be aware of in practicing. and new resources as they become available in the future.

Yoga Safety For Studio/Fitness Facility Owners

Dealing with an accident or injury incident affects your entire organization. While unavoidable incidents can occur, many incidents can be avoided with proper systems in place. And every incident can be handled more effectively if procedures, training and policies are in place BEFORE they happen. Smart Safe Yoga is your resource as a business person to invest in making your establishment known as the safe, smart place to go for yoga. We are all in the business of serving our clients to make them as fit and robust in life as possible. Why not invest in your business to maximize the delivery of your mission, while caring for your staff and clients health?

Yoga Safety For Healthcare Professionals

The most frequent questions Dr. Taylor addresses with healthcare professionals are:

  • If I don’t have a yoga training certificate, can I still say I teach yoga/yoga therapy?
  • What are the legal concerns of teaching yoga when I hold a license as a healthcare professional?
  • What are the medical contraindications for the many yoga technologies so I can keep my patients safe?
  • How do I find a safe local yoga therapy professional?

When Dr. Taylor first started in asking these questions in 1996, with only the just starting dial-up Internet, healthcare professionals were on their own dealing with these unknowns. Today there remain many “gray” areas, but there are now ways to weigh other’s experience and expertise to inform your answers. Our publications will address these and the questions you submit. Chances are if Dr. Taylor doesn’t know the answer, he’s one call away from finding the person or resource you need. Send in your questions on our Contact us page and review our archived materials here.