The Yoga Alliance is a U.S.-based
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
membership
trade and professional organization for
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
teachers.
The organization is headquartered in
Arlington,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Registered Yoga Teacher, a title in the United States that designates a yoga teacher who has received a certain standard of
yoga teacher training
Yoga teacher training is the training of teachers of yoga as exercise, consisting mainly of the practice of yoga asanas, leading to certification. Such training is accredited by the Yoga Alliance in America, by the British Wheel of Yoga in the U ...
at a Registered Yoga School, is offered by the Yoga Alliance at 200-, 300- and 500-hour levels.
As of 2007, there were 9,940 yoga teachers who had met the criteria for registered teachers.
The Yoga Alliance states that its registry is a voluntary credentialing system.
The teacher registry is not a certification program, but a listing of teachers who meet Yoga Alliance's Requirements for teaching experience and have completed their training at a Registered Yoga School.
Standards
RYS 200
The Yoga Alliance has since 2021 published "Elevated Standards" for its basic Registered Yoga School 200 hours teaching credential. The core curriculum consists of 75 hours of techniques, training, and practice in
asana
An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...
,
pranayama
Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...
and
subtle body
A subtle body is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. This contrasts with the mind–body dualism that has dominated We ...
, and
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
; 30 hours on
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
,
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
, and
biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...
, of which 20 can be taught online; 30 hours of yoga humanities, covering
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and ethics (such as from the ''
Yoga Sutras
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The '' ...
'') of yoga; and 50 hours of professional skills, covering teaching methodology, professional development, and teaching practice ("practicum").
Ethical commitment
In addition to the technical standards, the Yoga Alliance has published an "Ethical Commitment" which consists of a code of conduct, a scope of practice, and a commitment to equity in yoga. All members are required to abide by this commitment. The code of conduct covers behavior on training programs and classes, appropriate student-teacher relationships, touching only by consent, and honesty. The scope of practice sets out the yoga teacher's role including teaching and advising. Equity in yoga draws attention to existing inequities in and around yoga practice and sets out to remedy those.
See also
*
British Wheel of Yoga The British Wheel of Yoga was set up in 1965 by Wilfred Clark as a co-ordinating body for yoga groups throughout Britain that welcomed all schools of thought.
It provides level 4 yoga teacher training leading to the Certificate in Yoga Teaching an ...
*
European Union of Yoga The European Union of Yoga (EUY) is an international non-profit organisation which co-ordinates a network of yoga teachers, training schools and yoga federations. It was founded in 1971, and has since 1973 held an annual congress at Zinal, Switzerl ...
*
Sexual abuse by yoga gurus#Policy
References
External links
*{{Official website, https://www.yogaalliance.org/
Non-profit organizations based in Arlington, Virginia
Yoga organizations
Yoga training and certification