History

One of the first concerns that the IYN felt it necessary to address was that of the registration of Yoga teachers and Yoga teacher training schools. This was a task that such independent-minded souls naturally approached with some misgivings, but the determination of the fitness industry to impose an entirely inappropriate standard on Yoga teaching made it necessary.

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. 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 a standard that needed to be met by a teacher or school wanting to be registered. We decided to develop a standard both flexible and rigorous and based on fundamental principles with which any authentic Yoga school can agree. We wanted to register authentic teachers who were safe and who had integrity. Beyond that we were happy to be non-prescriptive and to allow for and encourage diversity.

Philosophy

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, then, were translated into concrete requirements that a good teacher had to embody and a good training programme had to enable them to embody.

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. This is simply a matter of honesty (satya). The teacher needs to operate from a sound knowledge base which is rooted in some aspect of the Yogic traditions and on appropriate scientific knowledge (e.g. anatomy). Crucially, they need to function as a teacher from the ground of their own experience and diligent practice. Given the primarily experiential nature of Yoga of whatever type, it is a matter of satya that a teacher teaches what they know based on their experience and self-study (svadhyaya). A teacher training programme needs to have assessed that a prospective teacher has mastered all of these components. 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 needs to have taken place. Notice that there is no stipulation of the Yoga style to be taught or the philosophical and textual underpinnings a teacher training must have. 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. The use of fundamental principles to develop the standard allows for this flexibility whilst simultaneously ensuring rigor.

The application forms

The forms are designed to help an applicant demonstrate to the register that the training in question thoroughly addresses the issues raised above. In fact, they are scarcely forms at all, but an invitation to create a case for registration and to illustrate it with course materials and/or materials from the applicant’s portfolio. Trialling this process ourselves, we have found it seems to bring about reflection on one’s teaching and practice, even in the most experienced teachers. This is no bad thing! For more details look at the actual forms and the supporting documentation on the Registration page.

Help with application

We realise that filling out the application is not as straightforward as filling in a more conventional form. Help is at hand. Email me at yates@heartyoga.co.uk with any problems. If necessary I will be happy to discuss the matter with you over the phone and send you a sample applications so you can get a sense of what we are after.

Pete Yates

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: yates@heartyoga.co.uk or through www.heartyoga.co.uk or by phone to the Parkdale Yoga Centre (International tel: + 44 1902 424048 UK tel: 01902 424048).