Qualifications

Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher. An E-RYT 500 teacher must have successfully completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training program that is registered with Yoga Alliance and taught a minimum of four years since completing training with a 200-hour RYS.

The 500 hours of training can either come from one school or can be a combination of a 200-hour program plus an additional 300-hour advanced training program from a different RYS. Applicants must submit 2,000 teaching hours for this designation which must be completed after completing training with a RYS 300 or 500.

Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher. Teachers can register as a RCYT if they have successfully completed both a 200-hour yoga teacher training program and a 95-hour kids yoga teacher training—in either order—that are registered with Yoga Alliance. Applicants must submit 30 teaching hours in children’s yoga which must be performed after completing a program with a RCYS (Registered Children’s Yoga School).

Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher. Teachers can register as a RPYT if they have successfully completed both a 200-hour yoga teacher training program and an 85-hour prenatal yoga training—in either order—that are registered with Yoga Alliance. Applicants must submit 30 teaching hours in prenatal yoga which must be performed after completing a program with a RPYS (Registered Prenatal Yoga School).

Registered Yoga School. This standard describes the Yoga Alliance’s requirements for a Registered Yoga School that offers the 200 hours yoga teacher training course. Topics for registered teacher trainings must be relevant to five educational categories.

Registered schools must provide a minimum number of hours of study for each category, and must also provide additional hours of study relevant to these categories, which may be distributed according to the school’s chosen emphasis.

Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. The YACEP designation is designed for experts in the yoga community to set themselves apart and teach courses that qualify as Continuing Education hours for RYTs. Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT’s) who take courses with a YACEP can trust that their training counts toward meeting their Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Requirements.

The Yoga Alliance. The Yoga Alliance is the US based, internationally recognised, credentialing organization of the yoga community. Yoga Alliance provides a set of educational standards and qualifications for yoga schools that specify hours or study in certain Educational Areas. The goal of Yoga Alliance is to ensure schools provide adequate training to yoga teachers, enabling them to teach safely and competently.