Yoga Alliance is introducing a new application process and a common core curriculum for Registered Yoga Schools (RYS).
This is another big change for Yoga Schools.
In the past, you would apply to Yoga Alliance (YA) for an RYS with a syllabus, get it approved, and that was it for the life of your school.
What happened to that syllabus after the application process was anybody’s guess.
Many RYSs would change their training, manuals, or schedule after approval and never have to worry about telling Yoga Alliance. I know, because we did a major update to our 200 hour training after running it for 2 years and Yoga Alliance did not review our changes.
It’s not necessarily that Schools are trying to cheat. It is because you don’t know what you don’t know when you start a Yoga Teacher Training. So it’s natural for a new RYS to fine-tune their training to make it better once they’ve delivered it to real people. Yoga Alliance did not have a system in place to check on these changes.
Now they do. They are tightening up the application process for Schools and will require Schools to reapply every 3 years and resubmit all the info below.
New: Yoga Alliance Application Process
Yoga Alliance will begin checking on each RYS every three years to make sure their RYS is maintaining the YA Standards.
What is submitted with the new application?
- a letter of intent from the RYS and Lead Trainer
- a syllabus, curriculum, and hours allocation
- New – schedule: how will you deliver the training listed in the syllabus? Fortunately, Ambassador already has very detailed Trainer Lesson Plans that outline every minute of our 200 Hour Training.
- New – manuals and training materials: I’ve heard of RYSs that don’t have their own manuals. They require students to take their own notes and buy books. It looks like this is about to change. I’m curious how much detail YA can go into, to review the manuals. Ours is 700+ pages!
- New – assessment methods (knowledge, skills, experience) – tests, exams, essays – how will the RYS assess their students? Ambassador already utilizes both tests and rubrics.
- New – Trainer: Trainee ratio: YA doesn’t prescribe a particular ratio. I think they just want you to tell your student’s what the ratio will be.
- New – Trainee prerequisites: Again nothing prescribed, but need to let students know what is required.
- New – Copies of policies: again nothing prescribed, but Schools need to let students know policies like the refund and withdrawal policy.
This is a more in-depth application process, considering the old process just required a syllabus to be uploaded.
New – from Educational Categories to Core Competencies
When it comes to the School syllabus, YA is shifting from five Educational Categories to four Core Curriculum categories and 13 Core Competencies.
4 Core Curriculum categories:
- Category – Techniques, Training and Practice (75 Hours): changes from 100 hours to 75 hours in a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training.
- Category – Anatomy and Physiology (30 Hours): changes from 20 hours to 30 hours. 20 of the 30 Hours can be Online Learning (in Part Three of this series we will look at what counts as Online Learning)
- Category – Yoga Humanities (30 Hours): this is a new name for “Yoga Philosophy, Lifestyle, and Ethics”. Remains 30 Hours of the 200 Hour Training, however 20 Hours can be Online Learning.
- Category – Professional Essentials (50 Hours): also a new category that combines the old Teaching Methodology and Practicum categories.
12 Core Competencies:
Take a look at the full details of the core competencies on the Yoga Alliance website here. Here is an overview of how they fit into the four educational categories.
Techniques Training and Practice (75 Hours):
- Asana
- Pranayama and Subtle Body
- Meditation
Anatomy and Physiology (30 Hours):
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Biomechanics
Yoga Humanities (30 Hours):
- History
- Philosophy
- Ethics
Professional Essentials (50 Hours)
- Teaching Methodology
- Professional Development
- Practicum
Timeline for the New Application and Syllabus
So how long do you have before the new Application, Educational Categories, and Core Competencies come into effect? That depends on whether you are registering a new School or if you have an existing School.
Here’s the timeline:
- New Schools: On Feb. 24, 2020 new Schools will begin to register under the new system.
- Existing Schools: For schools registered before Feb. 24, 2020, will need to go through the new process on their renewal date, either this year or next year. For example, our RYS, Ambassador Yoga, comes up for renewal on Feb. 28, 2020. We can choose to renew under the new or old standards for 2020. We must renew under the new standards, and submit a new school syllabus by 2021. (we choose to renew in 2021)
I know. this is a lot of information to digest. At Ambassador Yoga, we’ve been reviewing this information and calling Yoga Alliance regularly. Every time we look at it we have a new question or epiphany.
The latest epiphany came around the Affiliate School option ending. Although we don’t need to update our RYS Syllabus till February 2021, if we want to help Yoga Teachers start a school, we will need a Syllabus that they can submit after Feb. 24, 2020. So we are knee-deep in updates to our Syllabus and figuring this all out too!
Stay tuned for the next in our 4 Part Series: What counts as Online Training?
Yoga Alliance RYS Standards Series
- Enhanced Lead Trainer Requirements: what they are and when you will need to have them by if you are a Lead Trainer or thinking of becoming a Lead Trainer of a Yoga Teacher Training,
- New Application Process, Educational Categories and Core Competencies: This article, which includes all Registered Yoga Schools will require a new syllabus. Let’s look at the changes,
- Future Changes for YA Schools: What changes to expect for 300 Hour RYS’s, Children’s Yoga, and Prenatal Yoga.