Yoga Alliance

Yoga Alliance ^[1][2] is a U.S.-based non-profit membership trade and professional organization for yoga teachers.^[3] The organization is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs), whose training and experience meet Yoga Alliance's minimum standards, along with Registered Yoga Schools (RYSs), whose curriculum meet Yoga Alliance's minimum standards, are listed on the organization’s online directory for one-year terms. RYTs and RYSs that continue to meet the organization’s minimum standards can renew their registration on an annual basis.

Yoga Alliance's mission is to promote and support the integrity and diversity of the teaching of yoga, and aims to achieve this goal through:

• Celebrating the diversity of yoga styles, traditions and lineages;
• Advocating for self-regulation in the yoga industry and universal access to safe yoga practices;
• Upholding the worldwide growth of yoga through education and community;
• Educating the public on the value and credibility of voluntary registration with Yoga Alliance Registry, their related 501(c)(3) non-membership public charity;
• Encouraging safe yoga instruction by promoting adoption of Yoga Alliance Registry’s quantitative standards;
• Inspiring members to foster an informal yoga community by providing fair and full feedback to Registered Yoga Schools, which fosters accountability and continual improvement;
• Advocating to protect the yoga community from unfair or unnecessarily burdensome patents, taxation or government regulation;
• Guiding yoga teachers and schools in achieving success with conscious and effective business practices; and
• Serving the member community by supporting scholarship programs, providing benefits, and developing strategic alliances.

Currently, the organization has over 60,000 Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) and more than 3,700 Registered Yoga Schools (RYSs).

Yoga Alliance Registry

Yoga Alliance Registry is a voluntary, internationally recognized credentialing system.^[4] More than 60,000 active yoga teachers and more than 3,200 active yoga schools are7registered with Yoga Alliance Registry in more than 130 different nations and territories. Approximately 70 percent of Yoga Alliance registrants are based in the United States and affiliated territories. Yoga Alliance is not affiliated with other credentialing organizations outside of the U.S. that subsequently chose to be named Yoga Alliance.

The Yoga Alliance Registry offers certifications for teachers who meet certain criteria at the 200, 300 and 500 hour levels. The Yoga Alliance Registry offers the following certifications for teachers:

• RYT 200
• RYT 500
• E-RYT 200
• E-RYT 200, RYT 500
• E-RYT 500

RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher. E-RYT stands for Experienced Registered Yoga Teachers, a certification intended to distinguish yoga teachers with extensive teaching experience. The numbers adjacent to the acronyms indicate how many hours that program took to complete.

Two specialty certifications are also available:

• Registered Children's Yoga Teacher (RCYT)
• Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT)

History

Yoga Alliance opened its first office in Reading, Pennsylvania. The organization moved to a larger office in Clinton, Maryland in 2004 and moved to its present building in Arlington, Virginia in 2009.

References