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| I have always thought I would apply for yoga alliance, pay for the cert, then not keep paying them to keep it current. (That's how it works right? You get CEC's and every 2 yrs pay them a fee again for the cert? Please correct me if I'm wrong.) But lately, I just want to get my 200 hour cert from my school, then not even bother with YA. I fully plan to continue taking trainings for all my yoga life, but I can't wrap my mind about paying for a piece of paper. It's not that I can't afford it, I can, it's just that I find it redundant.
Is that naive? Is it a jungle out there and I don't know it?
I'd love to know your thoughts. Some I can guess, and ultimately, I know its' a personal choice. I guess I'm looking for practical advice b/c I already know that on a certain level, I think that paying YA to show people that I've done training (vs the people who GAVE me the training) is hooey. |
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| Having spent some time with you here I have a real appreciation for your posts and perspective.
Of course if one thinks this thing or that thing is "hooey" then it would be disingenuous to have it.
It should perhaps be clarified that Yoga Alliance does not appear to hand out "certifications". They are an alliance with some parameters for membership. My most recent packet contained an RYT card and a logo for print material (I presume this is for my marketing). My certification however comes from Aadil and the State of Washington.
Until such a time that teaching yoga offers or requires licensing, we sort of do the best we can with what we have. So I value the registry not as an end all for determining who is or is not qualified (any more than a kindergarten teaching certificate tells you who can teach kindergarten well) but as another tool for students to connect with a teacher.
If you are a very sound teacher and you are not pursuing anything that requires an RYT registration (jobs at a gym, running a studio, doing teacher trainings, etcetera) then it's fine.
I believe this sort of "accreditation" will become more important. I have it because I worked for it and I'm proud to let others know that I'm qualified in that way - for those who are more comfortable with that information. Some students will come to me and not know or care. But for the ones that do, I'm on board.
I don't think the folks at YA are getting rich off your membership fees. They're really trying to do good work on behalf of yoga for everyone and I believe they deserve support from those who are interested in same. |
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| Thanks for the compliment Purna. 
The one thing niggling in my mind is that things will evolve into a situtation where we are required to have the paper. My mother once told me that sometimes you have to go along to get along. Maybe I should get over myself and just pay YA for the paper. I should look at the positives of why YA is in existance and not bother with being frustrated by the bureaucracy of it. The paper won't be for me, it will be for the comfort level of others. I guess that's not such a bad thing.
Another thing I've heard someone say, which I think is germane here, is that sometimes you have to get out of your own way. I need to get out of my own way on this issue.
Edited by Kym 2008-05-01 9:53 AM
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| From my personal experience, I found those teachers without YA membership are too often the ones with egos that make taking their classes intolerable (see Brian's thread on what makes you crazy about teaching). At the very least, YA has criteria that lets one know the teacher went through a legit training program and has a basic knowledge of anatomy and safety--not just a limber cheerleader or dancer who put an ad on Craig's List or something. |
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| That's a broad paint brush you are painting with Bruce.
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| Bruce has been banned from Home Depot and Lowes for hoarding all the broad paint brushes. LOL! |
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| I see YA as a baseline for credibility and it's one step in working towards getting yoga more widely accepted in the West as part of holistic health care. Already, some health insurance companies are creating programs to encourage subscribers to take yoga by offering discounts or subsidies for yoga classes. Many doctors and physical therapists are now prescribing that their patients take yoga classes. While I'm certainly not the biggest fan of Western medicine, and certainly no fan of US health insurance companies, I think the outreach between doctors and yoga teachers is healthy for the general public. Without some sort of certification entity, even one as loosely structured as YA, these developments might not be happening.
I've been less than pleased about the way YA has changed the rules of continuing education credits and at how long they can take to process paperwork (maybe they've gotten better but my initial paperwork took several months to process). But overall, I'd say that it opens more doors for you. If you don't plan on moving in the next 20 years, you don't need it, but if you move to a new area, and the studio you wish to teach at has never heard of the studio where you trained, the YA credentials are a good common ground. Of course, anyone hiring you should observe you teach, but it's a way of getting your foot in the door and assuring a new employer that the training you underwent has undergone some sort of peer review process, which is essentially what YA does for teacher training programs. |
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| hnia - 2008-05-01 9:21 AM That's a broad paint brush you are painting with Bruce. I used qualifiers--"...my experience..." and I can name names if necessary. And Purna, I gave up on brushes--using a roller nowadays. Saving up for a sprayer. |
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| Kym, your question spurred me to look at my YA card, and it's a good thing I did, because my registration with them expires next month! It's once a year for the renewal, btw, not every two years, though you do have three years in between having to submit accounting for your classes taught (45 minimum) and CEUs accrued (30). As for whether you register with them or not, that's a personal decision and I have no advice for you there. Listen to your heart on that one, and good luck! |
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| Just trying to give you a hard time Bruce.
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| I personally have never been a member of the yoga alliance. In the 8.5 years of teaching I have never once been asked if I was a Yoga alliance registered. Save your money, there is no real need to be a member in the business of being a yoga teacher. |
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| Brian makes a point but I offer the exact opposite--for teaching opportunities around this area (south central Texas), the RYT designation has been pass/fail criteria. That's been for the chain gyms, private studios, and the local community college system. It's an interview ticket at the least. For fun, here's a picture of my Northeast LakeView College "uniform."
 (YogiB.jpg)
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 YogiB.jpg (24KB - 35 downloads)
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| To be honest, as long as you have some documentation that your certification meets or exceeds YA standards, most employers will consider that "the same" and you don't have to be registered with YA in order to be "valid." But there does have to be some verifying paperwork.
In the past, i was registered with YA because it did create a standard. back then, there really weren't training standards--each school was different in how long the trainings lasted, etc, and on top of that, entirely inexperienced yogins without any teacher training could be hired to teach yoga. When looking for jobs, i would utilize this YA standard and educate them about utilizing this standard to determine whether or not they were dealing with an educated teacher.
As more and more employers adopted this standard, another thing happened--more and more schools started developing programs based on this standard. at a baseline, this is a good thing--it means that more teachers are better trained.
what i find ironic currently is that now i'm teaching employers how to discern between YA registered or 200 hr certified teachers. The programs often take just about anyone--at any level of experience in yoga, with or without talent for teaching, etc, and then train them very quickly because it makes a lot of money for the teacher or studio. Thus, you end up with a lot of teachers who have a very basic 200 hr training, but not a lot of personal yoga experience or the connection to the teacher that helps with ongoing learning which creates a great teacher.
For my own part, i have decided not to continue with registery (in fact, i've been unregistered for many years now), and i have also decided not to register my "yoga school" because i do not see it as necessary. I will, of course, help my apprentices fill out the paperwork if they feel it's n ecessary--but most do not.
what comes out of this, then, is that when i apply for a job at a new place, i simply assert what my process of education was/is, how long i've been practicing and teaching, and the registry doesnt' matter one bit. for my teachers, they find that simply asserting the methodology of our training and the number of hours they've been training--as well as their experience--leads to the same outcome. occassionally, i get calls from employers asking about a particular teacher-in-training, and I'm happy to answer that--including why we are not registered with YA.
It's expensive and unnecessary, and honestly, filling out the paperwork for the school itself is ridiculous. I know of many TERRIBLE teacher training programs out there who are registered, and many excellent trainings that are not registered. I explain this, and I explain that they are definitely equivalent of the YA before i give them permission to begin teaching classes (most apprenticeships go on and on and on--well over 500 hrs--but i don't let them teach until i feel they're ready, and that's generally somewhere around 250 hrs).
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| Interesting replies-thank you. I think I fall in the middle of liking YA and why it's in existance, and not liking having to continue to fund them after I've completed my 200, or 500, hours. I think that once I inititally earn it, apply, and I have all the proper docs, that should be enough and that any further training I get, which I will document, will be enough (rather than continuing to pay them each year). The origional YA doc that I will let expire, and letters of recomendations, the interviewing process, and demo-ing a class should be more than enough for any employer-at least anyone that I'd want to work with. Like ZB is pointing out, at some point, the YA cert only means so much and the rest is personal.
Okay, and the paintbrush talk is just plain funny.  |
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Expert Yogi
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| I get very impatient and cranky about paying for certifications and paperwork, as well. Usually right around the time I have to do the paperwork and pay the money. Very much like when I have to do my taxes. The rest of the time I am happy to have the various certifications. I am not talking about YA, as my Iyengar certification is enough for the places I work.
Other certifications (in my case, early childhood education) are bureaucratic nightmares where the requirements change dramatically and without warning as well. Our previous CE requirements were 12 hours over 5 years and that has changed to 40 hours. School teachers in my province apparently require 0 hours! Basically the whole thing is a pain.  |
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| Those are some very interesting looking tats on your arms Bruce. Could you post some better pics, maybe in the OT section? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| bumping to get to the next page - |
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| I wondered why you could see his name on the main page, but not see the post! Must be some kind of glitch. I see it now, tho. |
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Q about yoga alliance
