Privacy Policy

IYAC/ACYI Privacy Statement

The Iyengar Yoga Association of Canada/Association canadienne de yoga Iyengar (“IYAC/ACYI”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of its members’ personal information. IYAC/ACYI is also committed to complying with the privacy legislation that governs the collection, use, disclosure, storage, and ultimate disposition of its members’ personal information in ways that safeguard the privacy of its members.

Personal information means information about an identifiable person, such as your name, home or email address, and your level of certification. We collect, use and disclose your personal information in order to identify you, communicate with you, determine if you are eligible for membership, provide you with services and information you wish to receive and to sell you goods and services from the IYAC/ACYI shop. We will not collect, use or disclose your personal information other than for the purposes that we have identified, or for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

Most of the personal information that IYAC/ACYI collects, uses and discloses is provided by you. By providing IYAC/ACYI with your personal information, you consent to IYAC/ACYI’s collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this policy. . In this way, your consent to our collection, use and disclosure as set out in this policy or as required or authorized by law is also implied. Members are considered to have given implied consent when IYAC/ACYI’s purpose for collecting, using or disclosing personal information would be considered obvious and the member voluntarily provides their personal information for that obvious purpose. You may withdraw your consent at any time, but not where the withdrawal of your consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation, and in many cases such withdrawal may well result in a reduction of services available to you.

We collect your personal information when you:

• apply for or renew your membership (your name, contact information; and for Teaching Members, your certification level, professional development hours and teaching hours);
• apply for or renew your certification mark (your name, contact information, your level of certification, professional development hours and teaching hours);
• apply for and participate in an assessment (the personal information contained in your application form, any written test, your assessment scores and the assessors’ comments);
• apply through IYAC/ACYI to attend RIMYI (the personal information contained in the application form);
• register for the IYAC/ACYI annual general meeting or conference (your name, contact information and credit card information; note that we do not retain your credit card information);
• buy goods or services from the IYAC/ACYI shop (your name, contact information, and credit card information, but note that we do not retain your credit card information);
• use the library services (your name and contact information);
• under the IYAC/ACYI By-laws, if you register a complaint about another member or another member makes a complaint against you (your name, contact information and a description of the subject matter of the complaint); and
• any other communications with IYAC/ACYI (your name, contact information, and the personal information you provide in that communication).

When you visit the IYAC/ACYI website, we also collect information about the computer on which you access the web site including: your IP address, the type of operating system and the browser you use, the pages you visit on the IYAC/ACYI site, and the links you click on the IYAC/ACYI site. We collect this information to facilitate the operation and security of our website. This information is collected in the system logs for a limited time and for review only if required. Only system administrators or persons provided with access for the purpose of web development can log into our protected website to see the logs, which are only available for a limited time. Our system only uses cookies to collect session ID information to “bookmark” that a specific computer accessed our website on the particular day and time. We also have an extension (that is, a third-party cookie) for Google Analytics that collects additional details such as the type of device used and, if “location services” are enabled, its location. If you have a Google account, these cookies may also store some of your personal information that you agreed to when signing up for one of Google’s services.

IYAC/ACYI will only collect, use and disclose personal information that is necessary to fulfill the purposes identified in this policy, unless we receive further consent, and only in a manner that is consistent with the privacy legislation. IYAC/ACYI will only collect, use and disclose personal information as authorized or required by law. We will not sell or rent your personal information without your consent.

IYAC/ACYI will not disclose your personal information without your permission unless we have advised you previously or we are required or authorized by law to do so. For example:

• If you are a Teaching Member, we provide the public with your name, city and certification level so that the public may know how to find you as an Iyengar yoga teacher. A link allows someone to send you an email, but does not reveal your email address to that person. If you opt to respond to any such email, any recipients will receive the email directly from your email address and each such recipient will have your email address after you send your first response. If you do not wish the public to access your personal information on a public list, you can advise us not to include your information on this public list.
• If you are a member of the Board of Directors or a committee chair, your name, position, and committee is listed on the website together with a link to allow contact with you without revealing your actual email address. If you opt to respond to any such email, all recipients will receive the email directly from your email address and each such recipient will have your email address after you send your first response.
• If you register for RIMYI through IYAC/ACYI, some or all of the personal information you provide on your application form will be sent to RIMYI in Pune, India.
• If you purchase the Yoga Rahasya magazine through the IYAC/ACYI shop on the website, some or all of the personal information you provide during the purchase process will be sent to RIMYI in Pune, India.
• If you are a Teaching Member, basic contact information about you is sent to RIMYI and RIMYI may provide the public with your name, city and certification level and basic contact information about you on the website.
• If you are a Teaching Member, basic contact information about you is included in IYAC/ACYI’s teacher member directory, which may be accessed by members of the public.
• If you register for any online video instruction offered by IYAC/ACYI, either from IYAC/ACYI teachers, from RIMYI or from any other internationally-certified Iyengar yoga instructor, some or all of the personal information you provide on your application form may be sent to the relevant instructor.
• If you attend an online video meeting for or with IYAC/ACYI or register for any online video instruction offered by IYAC/ACYI, our online video service provider is Zoom and you must register with Zoom; your participation in the relevant meeting or instruction will be subject to Zoom’s privacy and security practices and policies. Details of Zoom can be viewed at https://zoom.us/
• Our third party developer, AOShield Solutions Inc., and a limited number of IYAC/ACYI member volunteers have administrative access to our website to fix bugs, to optimize the website performance, or to continue to develop new software applications to work for or with the IYAC/ACYI website. Details of AOShields Solutions Inc. can be viewed at https://www.aoshield.com/
• Much of the personal information that IYAC/ACYI holds is stored on our website hosted on servers owned and managed by our third party developer, AOShield Solutions Inc. in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Details of AOShield security management can be viewed
  at: https://webstore.aoshield.com/legal-agreement?id=privacy

Within IYAC/ACYI, some of your personal information is used and disclosed. For example:

• If you apply for an assessment, the personal information in your application forms will be sent to the IYAC/ACYI assessors and moderator.
• If you have a question for IYAC/ACYI, the personal information contained in your question (for example, your name and email address) may be forwarded to an appropriate IYAC/ACYI person for response.
• We provide an online members’ directory that is available to members only, and sets out your name, address, phone number, email address, and certification level. If you do not wish to be listed in the members’ directory, you can change your contact details online to reflect that.
• If you make a complaint under the By-laws, or a complaint is made about you, the President of IYAC/ACYI will set up a complaint panel and they will receive copies of the complaint and any responses provided, as well as any other complaint-related materials, all of which will include personal information.

IYAC/ACYI will make reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal information is accurate and complete. You may ask IYAC/ACYI to correct your personal information by contacting the President. If IYAC/ACYI is satisfied that your request for correction is reasonable, we will make those corrections. If IYAC/ACYI does not agree with your request for correction, we will note the requested correction on copies of the personal information under our custody or control.

We employ appropriate security measures and ensure that only authorized individuals will have access to your personal information.

We will keep your personal information only for as long as it is required, but where your personal information is used to make a decision that directly affects you, your personal information will be kept for at least one year after that decision is made. When your personal information is no longer required, IYAC/ACYI will destroy it in a confidential, secure manner. Assessment information is retained for IYAC/ACYI records and is only accessible by the Assessment and Certification Co-ordinator and the Assessment Administrative Assistant in the event that it is needed for past or new Assessment purposes.

There are rules about how IYAC/ACYI may collect, use, disclose, retain, and dispose of your personal information. Depending on where you live in Canada, and whether the personal information at issue has crossed provincial boundaries, different pieces of legislation could apply. Generally, the federal legislation applies to information that crosses provincial boundaries, or where the province at issue does not have privacy legislation that has been declared to be “substantially similar” to the federal legislation. The privacy legislation in B.C., Alberta and Quebec has been declared “substantially similar” and applies to personal information that is collected, used, disclosed, retained and destroyed within those provinces. Other provinces may also have their own private sector privacy legislation that has not been declared substantially similar.

Questions about IYAC/ACYI’s handling of your personal information should be sent to the President. If you are not satisfied with IYAC/ACYI’s response to your question, you may advise the President that you remain unsatisfied. If, after IYAC/ACYI responds, you remain unsatisfied, you may complain to the applicable Privacy Commissioner, as set out above.

Updated: June 11, 2020  

For the prior version of the privacy policy, click here.