While there are no specific regulations regarding the level of training necessary to teach yoga, choosing to pursue teacher certification, signifies a commitment to yoga. CYT certification reveals that the yoga instructor has pursued some level of education in yoga techniques.
There are many different programs that offer certification for yoga instructors, and it is up to individual organizations to determine the appropriate professional requirements. Globally, there is very little regulation of yoga. There are some registries, in different countries, that serve to set standards for yoga teachers and the public.
It is important to understand the difference between obtaining certification and registering as a yoga instructor. You can teach yoga as either CYT or RYT. The difference comes from enrolling in the Yoga Alliance after completing a certain level of training, as per their requirements.
The Yoga Alliance posts RYT exam requirements on their website. As of this writing, they are the only recognized association in the United States that registers yoga instructors. The main difference between these two acronyms comes from the RYT designation, which is a registered trademark by the Yoga Alliance.
To become a CYT, or Certified Yoga Teacher, one goes through an educational program with a Yoga Teacher Training School. A certificate is evidence for students that you have pursued an active education in the practice of yoga. Certification allows you, as a yoga teacher, to teach yoga classes and start your own practice.
The key elements of yoga: asanas, breathing, meditation, mantras, and more, focus on them in certification programs. In addition, learning to modify asanas for beginners, knowing the basics of posture and alignment, how to explain the posture verbally, and correcting common mistakes is crucial to becoming a certified yoga teacher.
Many training programs set their standards such as the Yoga Alliance, so that graduates move forward and can become registered upon certification completion. Other schools are intensive in their training and offer accredited graduates the opportunity to gain higher qualifications, in other ways, to reach their training objectives. They may choose to enroll after further teaching.
A minimum of 200 contact hours (face-to-face training) is required by the Yoga Alliance to be considered a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT). The framework for these coaching hours is divided into five categories of Techniques, Coaching and Practice, Anatomy and Physiology, Yoga Philosophy and Ethics, Teaching Methodology, and Practical Training. The goal of this program is to have a deep understanding of yoga, as well as the all-round ability to teach others.
Maintaining CYT or RYT status is an indication of your commitment to continuing education (CE) hours to maintain status. Continuing your education is, as you know, the best way to grow, while adding experience as a yogi and teacher. Having a certified or registered yoga teacher certification will provide comfort about competence to the students who are looking for you.
Consider your training to become a yoga instructor as part of a lifelong learning experience, but you must achieve steps and levels. Just like any other career that requires progression in grades, the practice of teaching yoga begins with becoming a certified yoga teacher.
© Copyright 2008 – Paul Gerard / Aura Publications