Statement on potentially leaving the Yoga Alliance

We are considering leaving the Yoga Alliance and their registration service at the end of 2019. I have personally been a member of YA since 1999, and have found absolutely no utility to the entity of the Yoga Alliance and its governing body over these 10 years as a registered school, other than in name only. It is my concern that they lack ethical oversight or accountability protocol for their schools or teachers, and thus we do not feel that they represent a significant source of credibility in the teaching of yoga.

According to the Yoga Alliance, no specific curriculum is required, nor is there any required assessment of a registered teacher’s skill. Ever. And there are no plans to change that. It is this massive omission that has gotten us where we are with modern yoga yoga right now-- trainings with arbitrary curriculum being taught to prospective teachers who don’t know any better, and the situation was borne of and is propelled forward by Yoga Alliance.

Instead of telling schools what should be taught and regulating that (and of course there is always the question: How do you regulate yoga?) Yoga Alliance simply requires that a certain number of hours be spent covering each of five areas of study, with no specificity given on how to fill those hours, nor any follow-up on whether or not a school, once registered, ever actually sticks to that curriculum. As listed on their website, registered 200-hour training (the level that 85% of their registered yoga teachers hold) must include 100 hours of practice, 25 hours of teaching methodology, 20 hours of anatomy, 30 hours of philosophy and ethics, and 10 hours of practice teaching. But, the content of each area of study is left up to the school and once submitted (in the loosest possible terms, believe me, these applications have no oversight) that is the last you hear of them except to tell you your dues are up and you have to pay again. As a school with high integrity we have always insisted on more than 200 hours in our basic training (ours is 300 hours at the Foundations level) a focus on safety and current science in movement theory, a strong basis in the lineage and philosophy of yoga, and also require continuing education and advanced study for our teachers rather than simply the ERYT-500 stamp from the YA.

We realize that this is controversial, and may cost us some students, but as they are simply an online registration body/directory and have offered little else since their inception, they offer nothing other than a logo after one's name or school with no real follow-through or follow up on curriculum, compliance enforcement of standards, ethics and beyond. But someone, somewhere, has to break the iron fist that this organization has around the throats of the yoga industry, simply because "they are the only thing available." We have always maintained the highest ethical and curricular standards in our programs, and will continue to offer this in the Advanced Study modes of study.

So, I wonder your thoughts on how this might affect you and your decision to study here. Would you to continue in the program knowing that where you are currently in terms of hours could be completed by the time we exited the YA in 2019? Know that either way when you finish, you'd receive a certificate from us stating your advanced study happened here. I also wonder in general what your experience is in the wider world of yoga in terms of whether these letters after your name have been useful in gaining employ or credibility. If we were to join with other teachers and schools in the region and beyond to form a new body/association/coalition that had member oversight and an advisory board of skilled teachers and offered credibility through a different organization, would that be a fair or reasonable substitute after 2019?

Would you be willing to send me a note and let me know your thoughts on this? I would be grateful to hear them at weloveyou@thebhaktishop.com