Registration is Not Certification or Accreditation

Definitions

• Accreditation = the action of officially recognizing someone as having a particular status or being qualified to perform a particular activity, or the acknowledgement of a  person’s responsibility for or achievement of something
• Certified = officially recognized as possessing certain qualifications or meeting certain standards
• Registered = entered or recorded on an official list or directory

Yoga Alliance is a Registry

Yoga Alliance is purely a registration service. Acceptance for both RYTs and RYSs is based entirely on paperwork and fee processing.

Prior to availability of the Internet, registries provided lists that people needed because their phone books only had phone numbers and addresses for contacts located in their local geography. Registries gave them access to contacts they couldn’t easily obtain any other way. With the advent of the Internet, any organization or individual can of course be accessed directly. Now, registries have lost the value they once held. In order for a list to be valued above free, presumably it would provide something more useful than contact information and confirmation of fees paid.

That being said, a Yoga Alliance certificate is absolutely not necessary to teach yoga. It’s the norm, yes, and it has a lot of big marketing money behind it. But an RYT certificate does not automatically mean that you are knowledgeable, that you are reliable, or that you are trustworthy. Nor does it mean that your selected training program is any of those things, either. While many commercial yoga studios will prefer yoga instructors who are certified with the Yoga Alliance, not all do, especially not those who are more interested in the ancient yogic philosophies and traditional practices. – Brett Larkin, What is Yoga Alliance and Do I Need an RYT Certificate to Teach Yoga? link

* * *

No one really wants to admit there is no accreditation for Yoga. Anyone who claims to be “approved,” “certified” or “licensed” by the YA is either grossly uninformed or disingenuous… In filling out the paperwork and paying the fees, yoga teachers and training programs purport to follow a vague set of curriculum guidelines … The registry amounts to a digital rubber stamp or paid advertising. Not to mention, the YA does not disclose what they do with the money they collect from the Yoga community. Even if everyone is being true to their word, referring to the YA guidelines as “standards” is quite a stretch. – J. Brown  link

The following screenshots are from the Yoga Alliance web site, September, 2019.

YA is a Registry: RYT

YA is a Registry: RYS

RYT Requirements

RYS Requirements

Benefits

No Upcoming Workshops

Results & Implications

Hours-Based Certification is a Charade

One of the unintended consequences of the migration to online yoga education is that hours-based certification has been exposed for the charade that it always has been. Anyone who has assumed the role of yoga teacher trainer likely knows the extent to which the number of hours a person spends in physical attendance is not necessarily any indication of understanding or competency. It is undeniable that there is a wide range of factors that play into where someone is in relation to yoga, and their ability to teach it effectively, that have nothing to do with fulfilling arbitrary time requirements. – J. Brown, Yoga Training, Teacher Revival, Nov 23, 2022 link

Widespread Misperceptions

It’s a verifiable fact that being on the Yoga Alliance registry has no relationship to teaching competency and that teacher and trainer insurance may be obtained without Yoga Alliance (or any other) registration. Many widely recognized and influential teachers (and less well known teachers as well) are NOT registered with YA.

However, misperceptions appear to be widespread:

1. A common misperception is that Yoga Alliance “certifies” teachers and/or that YA recognition has some relationship to teaching competency, professionalism or legitimacy.
2. There is an implication that newly trained teachers who have completed a 200-hour training with an RYS have achieved a particular standard level of competency, but that is incorrect. Yoga Alliance does not propose, assess, certify or enforce teaching competency.

The reasons for these misperceptions can only be speculated about and likely include:

• Simple misunderstanding
• Misinformation
• Having participated in YA at a time when there were different intentions or efforts than there are now

More Implications

1. Teachers who have applied for Yoga Alliance as an RYT tend to be unaware of the burdens and issues associated with the trainer registry (RYS). They also tend to fall prey to the myth that having attended an RYS means having attended a training that meets particular standards.
2. The Yoga Alliance creation of “levels” (E-RYT 200, RYT 500, E-RYT-500) implies an effort by a standards body to equitably evaluate teachers when in fact “achievement” of these designations is entirely dependent upon self-based reporting of hours and the payment of fees.
3. While teachers who pursue advanced learning deserve to promote what they have achieved, it’s unclear how Yoga Alliance adds any value in that task.
4. Rather than benefiting the teacher or the consumers, the levels perpetuate a myth that skills, knowledge and integrity can be identified via the money paid and the forms submitted to Yoga Alliance. There is no relationship between the Yoga Alliance levels and characteristics of highly capable teaching such as wisdom, integrity, experience, lineage and competency. (This does not dishonor those who have, with integrity, pursued such designations. It simply notes the fact that designations themselves do not add value in verifying the skill or other characteristics of teachers.)
5. Teachers with few skills are represented in the Yoga Alliance registry as being on par with far more capable, even elite, teachers.
6. The knowledge of highly qualified teachers is unrecognized within the Yoga Alliance system. These teachers are instead burdened with an hours-based bureaucracy that depletes their time and finances that presumably could be used in legitimate pursuits of study and teaching.

Yoga Australia uses a model that better addresses these issues. Learn more here: Yoga Alliance Alternatives.

YA Burdens Reduce Trainer Productivity

I’ve been teaching yoga since 1998 and training teachers since 2005. I’m finding that at best, YA has become a distraction to my training programs. The hours that I am spending figuring out how to shift my 200 hour curriculum — which was already above the YA “standards” — to fit their mold and then to enter my 300 hour curriculum into their system, which will be changing soon too, are hours that I should be teaching, training, and continuing my research and practice. – Teacher Trainer

Ethical & Other Considerations

After fifteen years of affiliation with Yoga Alliance, I have decided to revoke my registration. I will no longer be individually associated with Yoga Alliance as an RYT yoga instructor nor will I register any further yoga schools with Yoga Alliance. I will continue to teach workshops, immersions, retreats, and courses. They simply will not be associated with Yoga Alliance. I will also no longer call my immersions “Teacher Trainings.” There are several reasons for this decision. I encourage other yoga instructors to read this and consider the best way forward for themselves and for the practice of yoga. – Josh Schrei  link

Please see the original post by Josh Schrei for much more. He proposes and expands on these points:

1. Yoga Alliance is based on a faulty premise, and this is hurting Yoga in a big way.
2. Yoga Alliance standards were fabricated without any connection to how Yoga is traditionally taught, and this is culturally insensitive.
3. Low Yoga Alliance standards encourage studios to churn out low quality trainings, and Yoga Alliance does nothing about it.
4. The emphasis on the 200 hour YTT created by Yoga Alliance forwards a value system that runs directly contrary to the principles of Yoga.
5. Yoga Alliance does not actually monitor and regulate the standards that it sets.
6. It is difficult to reasonably conclude that Yoga Alliance exists for any other purpose than to make money.

$31 Million in Assets & $13 Million in Revenue

In a Nutshell

Financial data retrieved from Guidestar (March 1, 2024) reveals staggering figures for Yoga Alliance as a registered nonprofit:

• Assets: $31 million
• Gross Receipts: $13 million annually

Off the Backs of Teachers

Looking at the teacher registry numbers from September 2019:

• Trainers: 7,748 registered schools paid a $400 application fee ($3.1M) plus $240 annual dues ($1.8M+).
• Teachers: 86,928 registered teachers paid application and upgrade fees ($4.3M) plus $65 annual dues ($5.6M).
• Total Membership Revenue: Roughly $7.4 million in one-time application processing fees, plus $7.5 million in annual dues every year.

Note: These calculations exclude other revenue streams such as advertising partnerships, product sales, and any other ways the organization may make money off its list of teachers.

Context

When these massive inflows are weighed against generous operational projections — including robust tech infrastructure, marketing, and full-time executive and administrative salaries totaling roughly $550,000 to $1,000,000 annually — it becomes evident that the vast majority of funds collected go far beyond basic administrative upkeep.

Unusually High Application Fee

To apply for the YA registry in 2019, trainers paid an initial $640 ($400 application fee + $240 dues). This entry cost is remarkably inflated compared to standard administrative services:

• The College Application Contrast: An application fee is supposed to cover the baseline administrative cost of reviewing a request (such as background checks or reference vetting). For perspective, the average application fee for U.S. colleges in 2015 was $44, with Stanford University charging the highest at $90. An application fee for an organization like Yoga Alliance could reasonably be expected to mirror administrative costs — roughly $50. Instead, YA charged trainers $400.
• Paying Just to Be Considered:  Yoga Alliance’s fee is entirely non-refundable, with documented instances of applications being rejected while YA kept the $400.
• Stacked Fees: Application fees are billed entirely above and beyond annual participation dues. Trainers are forced to pay a $400 barrier-to-entry fee just for the right to be considered, followed immediately by $240 every year to stay on the list.

How YA Spends the Money

It was deeply sad for me to do the math and see how much money was siphoned out of the pockets of yoga teachers — many of whom sacrifice a great deal financially just to pursue their calling to teach.

While Yoga Alliance states that it is a “nonprofit association representing the yoga community,” how they spend their multi-million dollar revenue remains largely opaque. Without a transparent accounting from YA, we can only look at ballpark operational expenses for a digital registry business:

• Tech Infrastructure: Even an ultra-expensive, custom-built website initialization runs between $30,000 to $50,000 once. Annual hosting, maintenance, and periodic overhauls rarely exceed $50,000.
• Marketing & Salaries: Allocating a generous $100,000 annually for marketing, plus $300,000 for three full-time staff salaries ($100k each), brings high-end administrative overhead to roughly $550,000.

Even if you double that generous allocation to account for miscellaneous corporate costs, total expenses struggle to reach $1 million. Yet YA pulls in over $13 million annually alongside millions in reserves. Where does the surplus go? Registered members have every right to ask for a clear accounting of funds.

References

This screen shot was taken Mar 1, 2024 on Guidestar, a site for searching nonprofits. Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit, has $31 million in assets taken off the backs of yoga teachers, who notoriously struggle to get by financially.

The following screenshots are from the Yoga Alliance web site search results for registered yoga schools and teachers, September 27th, 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Am I required to register with Yoga Alliance?
  

No.

• Should I register with Yoga Alliance?
  

It’s entirely your choice.

• Isn’t YA registration required to get teaching or studio insurance?

No. Teaching and studio insurance can be easily obtained without Yoga Alliance — or any other — registration. See a list of insurance providers here.

• I applied to work for a studio that requires YA registration as a condition for hire. What can I do?
  

You can choose to register with Yoga Alliance. Regardless of your choice, you may also wish to share enclosed facts with the hiring manager, highlighting the points you find most relevant.

• Yoga Alliance is not perfect, but they serve an important purpose. YA is an entity that shows that instructors have a standard of training to protect their students. If it weren’t for them, yoga would already be regulated by massage and acupuncture which would increase fees and barriers to entry.
  

In a Nutshell: That is a common narrative, but it is incorrect. Yoga Alliance does not fulfill the purpose of providing a “standard of training to protect students.” Presumably all teachers and trainers would agree with you that they do not want to be government-regulated. However, voluntary self-regulation requires an organization to actually propose, measure, or enforce standards. Because Yoga Alliance does neither, it fails to act as a true self-regulatory body. Its primary legacy has been the commercialization of 200-hour trainings and a glut of underprepared teachers.

More Details: People in any occupational field tend to prefer self-regulation. Nonprofits are usually created to help with the task of self-regulation. Regulation refers to an attempt to prevent people from holding a title without proving a predetermined level of skill and precaution. From a legal perspective, regulated occupations are those controlled by a governmental regulatory body. For example, professions such as nursing and skilled trades such as plumbing are regulated industries in some nations. In effect, these occupation titles are put into a reserved status, and the law requires a certificate, license, or registration obtained from a body overseen by the government. (See also: The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials)

In contrast, people within many occupations voluntarily “self-regulate.” The intention is often to ensure a basic standard of competency. Sometimes, the efforts are to validate greater-than-average or specialized skills. Such self-regulation often takes the form of nonprofit organizations that are said to represent those in a particular occupation and that is responsible for registering, accrediting or certifying individuals according to whatever criteria they determine.

Typically there are multiple organizations fulfilling such a role within a single field. For example, U.S. universities and colleges may be accredited by regional organizations or by national ones, and they may be institutionally accredited or programmatically accredited by various organizations.

The efforts by yoga teachers and trainers to self-regulate has at least two problems:

1. The misperception that the big job of self-regulation is being taken care of by Yoga Alliance when in fact it it not.
2. The “200-hour” model popularized by Yoga Alliance and its “approval” of “trainers” based only on paperwork and fees, resulting in a commercialization of teacher trainings and a glut of unprepared teachers.

• How can we keep yoga safe and also allow freedom?

That is arguably the fundamental challenge facing yoga teachers as a group.

Every teacher and trainer must choose their own approach to this subject. Yoga Teacher Central advocates for:

• Self-Responsibility: The only sustainable model for professional integrity is personal and institutional responsibility, rather than policing by an outside commercial entity.
• Empowerment Over Bureaucracy: True improvement comes from information, mentorship, and support rather than administrative red tape.
• Clarity: Recognizing that official standards enforcement does not exist allows the community to pursue real, meaningful ways to elevate teaching competency (such as adopting independent Knowledge Standards).

• It’s not a problem, because you don’t have to join, so why address this at all?

Many teachers have used the fact that everyone has the freedom to NOT join Yoga Alliance as reason to stay quiet about YA alternatives and competency standards. Staying quiet remains an option.  However, this means the yoga teaching field and the public continue to live with these widespread misperceptions:

• Misperception #1 – There is verifiable reasoning for the designation of 200 hours as a model for trainings, when in fact no explanation was ever given for an hours-based training, nor for 200 hours in particular.
• Misperception #2 – Teaching competency standards have been set and are enforced when neither is true.

By facing this truth, we are more likely to realize we have an opportunity to work with others to create options more closely aligned with true training excellence and teaching skill.

• Why do you care?
  

Some may be curious why we are publishing so much information on this topic. I’m the founder of Yoga Teacher Central and I personally haven’t been a member of Yoga Alliance since my first experience with them as a new teacher around 2009. It was then that I learned that they don’t oversee or enforce standards with the schools they “approve.” They didn’t even have a way to take simple feedback on my experience with one of “their” schools. From that point forward, I didn’t engage in any conversations about Yoga Alliance as it was clear to me that they were irrelevant to my work of providing teaching and training resources.

On a side-note, my sense is that the organization was originally founded by wonderful people. But I understand that when an organization continues in name only, disconnected from the humans who founded it, it morphs into a non-human entity — as with corporations. Despite incredible amounts of money always being spent by organizations to make themselves appear to be human, organizations that are disconnected from their founders are non-human entities. Entities have as their primary objective to sustain themselves. Humans come and go, secondary to the system which no longer has the accountability its human founders once did. Even when we think the organization is “run” by the “heads” or “faces” we are shown, the people are always secondary to the entity itself. In 2018, J. Brown wrote:

“The charismatic CEO of the Yoga Alliance, David Lipsius, hired to overhaul the failed industry standards for yoga teacher training just over a year ago, has departed his position right at the very moment his master plan is set to be implemented. Lipsius’ unexpected farewell aside, the proverbial writing has surreptitiously appeared on the wall: The organization is planning to assert new power, but whose interests are being served is not clear.” – J.Brown, Nov 29, 2018 link

So although I have no personal interest in Yoga Alliance, in 2019, I was inundated by requests from trainers who were reacting to the news of the upcoming YA change in requirements. They shared information, experiences and issues that I felt should be widely known. These resource pages are my effort to bring that information to light and to support those who are making efforts to evolve the field in a positive way.

Self-Governance & Proposed Standards

The common misperceptions described above prompt some considerations:

1. If you were previously under the impression that Yoga Alliance was a governance body or an enforcer of standards, you can consider the reality and draw conclusions from your perspective.
2. You might choose to help those who are misinformed to know that Yoga Alliance is not a standards or governance body and that there is no industry-wide standard-bearer for yoga.
3. Consider your thoughts on the subject of teaching standards and how those in the field might be most effective in improving industry-wide competency. (For more resources, inspiration and contacts, see Yoga Alliance Alternatives.)

Each teacher and trainer may choose their own approach to this subject. Yoga Teacher Central takes the position that:

1. The only wise and sustainable model for virtually anything is self-responsibility as opposed to policing by an outside authority.
2. Real and true improvement is more likely to be successful with support and empowerment as opposed to bureaucracy.
3. Thus, the information highlighted here is not meant to imply advocacy for outside or industry-wide governance. Rather, this is an effort to make more people aware that there’s a widespread misperception that governance and standards-enforcement exists when, in fact, it does not. With our eyes open to the facts, we’re better prepared to approach the subject of standards and improving industry-wide teaching competency.
4. Yoga Teacher Central now offers Minimum Knowledge Standards for yoga teachers. We encourage adoption of these knowledge standards by yoga teaching professionals, and welcome feedback.

Moving Forward: Your Options

• Stop Propagating the Myth: Consider whether you wish to perpetuate the false narrative that Yoga Alliance registration equals competency or legitimacy. Describing programs as “certified by” or “approved by” Yoga Alliance spreads an unearned illusion of quality.
• Exercise Your Freedom: Be confident in the fact that you are entirely free to register or not register with Yoga Alliance.
• Build Real Credibility: If your goal is to legitimize your teaching or studio, you can do so directly by promoting your background, lineage, and skills, or by participating in alternative organizations that align with your values. (See also: Yoga Alliance Alternatives – Other Registries, Accreditation Services & Certification Programs.)

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