Yoga teacher training is the training of teachers ofyoga as exercise, consisting mainly of the practice of yogaasanas, leading to certification. Such training is accredited by theYoga Alliance in America, by theBritish Wheel of Yoga in the United Kingdom, and by theEuropean Union of Yoga across Europe. The Yoga Alliance sets standards for 200-hour and 500-hour Recognized Yoga Teacher levels, which are accepted in America and other countries.
In America, theYoga Alliance sets the 200-hour and 500-hour Recognized Yoga Teacher levels (RYT-200 and RYT-500). Training courses (200 hours initially for the RYT-200, then 300 hours to reach RYT-500[1]) to qualify at these levels are provided by many independent yoga schools, teaching varied styles of yoga, both in America and other countries, including Britain.[2] Yoga International notes that established yoga studios often require their teachers to pass the studios' own training courses.[1]
TheBritish Wheel of Yoga (BWY) in the United Kingdom offers Level 4 qualifications (Certificate in Yoga Teaching, Diploma in Teaching Yoga), stated to be equivalent to anHNC or the first year of a university degree. Training is provided by BWY itself; accreditation is by a separate organisation, BWYQ which split from BWY in 2009.[3] The BWY is recognised by Sport England as the governing body of yoga in Britain (and in Northern Ireland, the Yoga Fellowship of Northern Ireland), though without power to enforce decisions.[4] Qualifications are in turn regulated by the regulator of qualification standardsOfqual.[5] By 2015, nine schools were accredited to teach to BWY standards; other schools were free to offer their own courses, often shorter and cheaper than the BWY's, as long as they did not claim to be to approved by the BWY.[6]
Across Europe, standards are set by theEuropean Union of Yoga (EUY), which has some 24 member associations in at least 15 countries including Austria, Belgium,Britain, Finland,France,Germany, Ireland, Israel,Italy, Netherlands, Portugal,Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland. The EUY standards require a minimum of 500 hours of class instruction over a period of four years, assessed by an oral examination, a written examination, and a practical teaching demonstration.[7] Member organisations such as Germany's Yoga Teachers' Union, theBDY [de], organise their own training in compliance with EUY standards.[8]
| Hatha yoga | Other activities | Yoga context | Practical skills |
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Meditation | Yoga history | Teaching methods |
The syllabuses taught to trainee teachers vary with the school but include the components ofhatha yoga, namelyasanas,pranayama, andbandhas, and sometimes details of thesubtle body withchakras,nadis andkoshas;meditation;anatomy andphysiology;psychology andphilosophy of yoga; teaching methods; and the practicalities of running a yoga business. Some attention may be given to specific techniques such asRestorative Yoga andyoga nidra. Syllabuses are more tightly constrained if they are for registration with the Yoga Alliance or the British Wheel of Yoga.[9]
Yoga teacher training, as of 2017, could cost between $2,000 and $5,000.[10] It can take up to 3 years to obtain a teaching certificate.[6] Shorter courses are offered in India, especially in the yoga hubs ofRishikesh andMysore, and many Westernerstravel to India hoping to learn "authentic"[11] yoga inashrams there.[11][12]
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