History of the Independent Yoga Network
For those of us involved in Yoga, this is the most exciting time. Anyone seeing the enthusiastic crowds at the Yoga Show last year will be in no doubt that Yoga is moving into the mainstream of our culture, a development with tremendous potential to improve the lives of many and make our society more peaceful, more vibrant and more compassionate.

But promise, as always, is accompanied by danger. The recent explosion of interest in Yoga is without a doubt fuelled by a genuine thirst for the peace of mind that yogis have long told us is our birthright. But it is also accompanied by commercialism, sectarianism within the Yoga Community and the threat of bureaucratic intervention by government and other large, powerful bodies.

It was with these concerns in mind that a number of Yoga teacher trainers, myself amongst them, met up at the Yoga Show in November last year and formed the Independent Yoga Network. At that time, it seemed that many Yoga teachers who also trained others to teach were going to be marginalised or even put out of business by the fitness industry’s moves to regulate Yoga teaching and Yoga teacher training and that there was a real urgency for us to prevent this. Naturally we wanted to continue doing what we loved, but we also had a conviction that for Yoga to thrive and for its promise for our culture to become a reality, it needed to remain both independent and diverse and not to fall under any kind of domination – whether commercial, sectarian or bureaucratic.

What struck me at that meeting was the breadth and depth of committed practice that these remarkable people had quietly been putting in. There were centuries of collective experience here and this was obvious from the abundance of energy that the group seemed to generate. We were all excited by the creative possibilities of this energy and friendship and we were planning festivals, publishing projects, teacher exchanges and more, from the very outset. Our solidarity had begun in reaction to a perceived threat but had quickly become something altogether more positive, and we saw that we could be of real creative service to Yoga and the Yoga Community. Since that original meeting more teacher trainers have joined us and there are now a dozen members encompassing a very wide range of approaches to Yoga.

The Yoga Register
But the first problem that we had to address was the need for some kind of register, specifically for Yoga teachers and Yoga teacher training schools. Without it, Yoga in the UK would be dominated by the fitness industry and none of us were prepared to see Yoga teachers “officially” defined as exotic fitness instructors. Moreover, if correspondence we were receiving was anything to go by, the absence of truly appropriate registration for Yoga teachers would leave quite a large number of excellent teachers dispirited and perhaps in limbo. In our view, an alternative had to be put into place if the integrity of Yoga was to be maintained. The Yoga Register was conceived as that alternative. It would enable the public to find competent and authentic teachers, and those wanting to become teachers, to find excellent in-depth teacher training with teachers they resonated with. It would never seek to be anything other than entirely voluntary and would only seek the influence that comes from a well-deserved reputation. It would be created by Yogis, for Yoga.

Our next task was to determine the standard of competence that Yoga teachers and teacher training schools would need to meet in order to be admitted to the register. This was a difficult job because it had to reconcile the commitment to diversity with the obvious need for rigour.

At first, we thought we might model our registration standard on that of the Yoga Alliance and the International Yoga Federation. This standard at least had the virtue of having been devised by yogis. It has proved itself serviceable in the US where 10,000 teachers and 400 schools have registered with the Yoga Alliance since 1999. We did feel, though, that the standard was rather crude and mechanical, being based on a requirement to study various curriculum components for stipulated numbers of hours. In a flash of creative optimism, we decided to attempt a bolder solution to the problem of devising the registration standard. We decided to develop a standard both flexible and rigorous and based on fundamental principles with which any authentic Yoga school can agree.

What we came up with is this. A teacher’s approach to teaching and a school’s approach to training teachers needed to flow out of the Yogic principles of satya – truthfulness, ahimsa – non-violence, and svadhyaya – self-study. These somewhat abstract considerations were then translated into concrete requirements that good teachers had to embody and a good training programme had to enable them to embody.

The result of this exercise turned out to be quite common-sensical. A good teacher has to be safe. That is, they have to embody ahimsa. They need certain practical skills appropriate to the type of Yoga they teach. (E.g. if the style they teach requires hands-on adjustment of yoga asana, they need the ability to do this effectively.) They need to operate from a sound knowledge base which is rooted in the Yogic traditions and in other areas of knowledge (e.g. anatomy) appropriate to the Yoga they teach. Both of these requirements are simply a requirement for honesty (satya) on the part of the teacher: honesty requires that we can do what we profess to be able to do and that we do know what we profess to know. Crucially, the Yoga teacher needs to teach on the basis of their own experience and diligent practice. A particularly important aspect of their practice is self-study (svadhyaya) and this should have given her the self-knowledge that informs really effective teaching. Honesty, again, is the key here to the requirement. There are also ramifications of the application of these Yogic principles for teacher training programmes. A teacher training programme needs to have assessed that a prospective teacher has mastered all of these four components. Yet again this is a matter of honesty: a certificate awarded to a teacher needs to be truthful in its assertion that the teacher is competent and so some assessment of the teacher needs to have taken place.

The use of these fundamental principles to develop the standard clearly allows for a wide diversity of approach whilst simultaneously ensuring rigour. Notice, for example, that there is no stipulation of the Yoga style to be taught or the philosophical and textual underpinnings a teacher training must have, and no need for such stipulation. If the commitment to satya is taken on board by a school, rigour will automatically follow. Schools are also free to assess their students by means appropriate to their style and philosophy. All that matters is that the assessment method is effective and honest. This freedom for teacher training schools is necessary, on our view, to allow Yoga to develop and adapt to our culture and to remain true to its experimental essence.

Types of Registration
We will continue to refine this work on the standard, but are now ready to launch the Yoga Register and take applications from schools and teachers. The registration of a teacher training school is quite straightforward, though perhaps daunting at first sight. A teacher training school wishing to register submits a range of documentation, including a sample of teaching materials, to the register. The main part of the submission is the presentation of a case which illustrates that the school equips its graduates with the four concrete requirements of safety in teaching, practical skill, knowledge, and bases all of this firmly on personal practice. They are given the opportunity to support their case by reference to their teaching materials, statement of aims, ethical statement and so on. As far as duration of courses are concerned: here we have followed internationally agreed guidelines and added a level of our own. Courses are categorised according to duration as 200 hours, 500 hours or 1000 hours. We have test-driven this application process and found that it makes even the most experienced teacher reflect on their teaching and practice. Of course, this is no bad thing!

As far as teacher registration is concerned: there are four different ways in which a teacher can apply for registration with the Yoga Register. Firstly, a graduate from a registered school can be registered automatically on presentation of their certificate and payment of a minimal fee annual fee (£25). A graduate from a non-registered school will need to demonstrate from the course material of their school that the standard of training matches or exceeds that of the Register standard. The third type of applicant is the one most likely to experience difficulties in the current climate. We are particularly keen to help these people because there are many excellent teachers amongst them. They are what we call “applicants by independent study”. They will be assessed on the basis of a portfolio of training and experience. This might apply to an uncertified training by apprenticeship with a guru or a combination of trainings from various schools. The fourth category applies to “Yoga Elders”. This is for those with 5000 hours of successful teaching under their belt. They will need to document their teaching career and supply two references.

In this initial phase, applications are being assessed by a panel of IYN members. In time a professional registrar will be employed and IYN will put the Yoga Register at arms length.

Invitation
I have only given a brief outline here of the work of The Yoga Register and the registration process. But I hope I have said enough to convince the Yoga Community of the necessity for this initiative.

At this point I want to appeal to teacher training schools to come on board and register their training and, if they want to be a part of the creativity at the heart of this work, to join the IYN. For us, this is a way of expressing commitment to diversity in Yoga and helping to keep Yoga independent and vital. It is a way of grasping the opportunity that Yoga has before it to seep deeply into the fabric of our culture to the good of all. It is a way of helping to bring about some solidarity within the Yoga Community, a solidarity that will make us a force for good and keep Yoga fresh and alive. It is also a way for teacher trainers to help their students to find their way in the world when they finish their training.

I also want to appeal to everybody out there who is actively teaching to apply for registration. Everything I have said to teacher trainers applies to you, too. Registration is also a way of getting your excellent work recognised by your peers. It will put you in the strong position of belonging to a family in which the members support each other in the momentous work to be done. For our part, we are ready to work very hard to promote the Yoga Register standard in order to be of service to Yoga teachers and those who they teach.

For further details and application forms see the web sites (www.theyogaregister.org and www.independentyoganetwork.org), send for a brochure to: Independent Yoga Network, Worralls Grove, Upper Arley, Bewdley, Worcs DY12 1XL.

May all beings be free!!!

The above contribution represents the personal views/researches of the author - a founder member of: www.independentyoganetwork.org. Peter Yates may be contacted directly at: yabyum@connectfree.co.uk or www.heartyoga.co.uk at the Parkdale Yoga Centre (International tel: + 44 1902 424048 UK tel: 01902 424048).