Chances are, if you are considering signing up for a 300 Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training, you already have heard of, and possibly have joined, the organization called Yoga Alliance. If you are considering signing up for a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training, it’s likely that you have seen trainings stating that they are Yoga Alliance approved, but you may not really understand what that means. You may not really even know what Yoga Alliance is, and that is totally normal! A lot of my trainees are unfamiliar with Yoga Alliance until we cover its purpose during teacher training.
Yoga Alliance describes itself as “the largest nonprofit association representing the yoga community, with over 7,000 Registered Yoga Schools (RYS) and more than 100,000 Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT) as of April 2020. We foster and support the high quality, safe, accessible, and equitable teaching of yoga.” Based in Virginia, Yoga Alliance attempts to provide standards to the yoga industry. They do not certify yoga teachers; rather, they accredit teacher trainings, allowing students who complete accredited trainings the opportunity to register in their directory, and to take advantage of member benefits. If you complete an accredited program, you have the option to register, should you choose to- or you can decide not to.
When trainees complete my 200 Hour Trainings, we spend some time discussing the pros and cons of joining Yoga Alliance, allowing them to make an informed decision. To be honest, when I first completed my initial teacher training, I did not register right away. I already had 2 classes at the studio where I trained, and I couldn’t justify spending the money on a membership at that time.
About a year later, when I moved, I decided to register in case the studios in the area I moved to required a registration (they did not). I even have let my membership lapse in the past. But when I decided to lead my first training, I knew I wanted it to be accredited, and to give graduates the option to register should they choose to. Since then, I have maintained my own membership (a necessary requirement to be a lead teacher in an approved teacher training), as well as my RYS (Registered Yoga School) credential for my 200 Hour Training. When I decided to offer a 300, I decided once again to go through the recently updated and elevated application procedure to have that program accredited as well. To me, it is worth the stress (and cost) to have the validity of the Alliance behind my program.
The attempt to regulate an industry with numerous paths and lineages is not an easy task, and Yoga Alliance has faced numerous critiques. Over the last couple years, they have up-leveled their standards for approving teacher training programs, but yoga continues to grow and evolve, making it hard for an organization to keep up with the integrity of the programs they accredit. In the next few blog posts, we will review the pros and cons of joining Yoga Alliance, and the struggles they face in their intentions. We also will take a look at the different levels/ credentials that are available.