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Yoga Teacher Training
You know those huge framed diplomas in your doctors' office. What about the xeroxed 5x8 piece of paper next to your manicurist with a name you can't pronounce even though your nails are being done by "Nancy". Your local restaurant has one. These are licenses or certification either regulated or not by some licensing or regulatory agency or board. Even your salsa- strutting Zumba instructor has a license to teach Zumba.
What about your yoga teacher? Surely he/she is "certified" or something. Nope, nada needed. Really, you say? That doesn't mean your teacher is "untrained" it just means there is no requirement that they be trained. A long-time practitioner can most certainly offer a class to their neighbors. So can a brand new teacher who wants to jump on the rising trend of yoga.
William Broad in his new, highly publicized (read, brilliantly marketed), The Science of Yoga, has researched the vast rewards of yoga practice along with some of the risks of injury.(1) According to Broad, 68% of respondents to a survey blamed "inadequate teacher training" to explain their yoga injuries. Ouch. As a yoga teacher, that stings.
In 1999 Yoga Alliance (www.yogaalliance.org) established a national Yoga Teachers' Registry to recognize and promote teachers with training that met their minimum standards. Teachers who meet these standards are able to use the term "Registered Yoga Teacher" or RYT. Yoga Alliance also maintains a registry of yoga schools to recognize teacher training programs that meet their 200-Hour and 500-Hour standards. Additionally, registrants must agree to conduct themselves according to a code of conduct.
J. Brown, founder of Abhyasa Yoga Center has his own personal rant about the efficacy of Yoga Alliance. Check out his article, "Yoga Alliance Approved, My Ass", right here. "Anyone who claims to be "approved," "certified" or "licensed" by the YA is either grossly uninformed or disingenuous. The YA maintains a registry of yoga teachers and training programs. [Y]oga teachers and training programs purport to follow a vague set of curriculum guidelines...," says Mr. Brown.
Although many teachers, and I'd say most, are registered with Yoga Alliance, there are many other styles and schools of yoga that have their own specific "certification." There's Bikram, Iyengar, YogaFit, and CorePower, to name a few. Iyengar Yoga has an impressive training program with a minimum of two years, various levels of proficiency complete with examinations. Bikram (you'll know this as "hot yoga") has a 9-week training program for a whopping $10,900(2) (training and lodging).
For sure, various states have taking notice of the rise in yoga teachers and schools and we've begun to see a few attempts to regulate the business of yoga. This, of course, was met with a strong resistance from the yoga community. I anticipate we'll see some changes in the future of yoga as the states view it more as a "trade school" and an opportunity for much needed revenue.
Maybe yoga studios should post the training of their instructors, at least on their websites. For instance, YogaTree in San Francisco has beautiful black/white photos and impressive comments about their teachers, but many did not share their training.
Do you know about your yoga teachers' training? Maybe you should ask like Jeffrey Z did. A friend and student, he asked me about my training(3). I liked that he cared and I appreciated the opportunity to share my training with him.
(1) Of course the New York Times article sensationalized the risks, which has caused a flurry of blogs and tweets in the yoga community.
(2) Check out the photo above. You do the math.
(3) FYI, I'm a 50-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance, I received a Certificate from The Institute for Holistic Health at San Francisco State University and an Certificate of Completion of Advanced Relax & Renew restorative yoga. See more at www.cherylthomas.com.
Did you want to read some of my past columns? You can right here. | 
