THE YOGA REGISTER

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A YOGA TEACHER

(YR-102) Certified by a Non-YR Registered School

(Click on "SCHOOLS" tab to see which schools are registered with The Yoga Register. Registration with another body, eg BWY or Yoga Alliance, does not necessarily indicate that your school is registered with YR.)

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Level(s) Applied For (200 500 1000)(See General Notes below for explanation.)

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUPPLY:

Please prepare a document based on Sections 1 – 4 below, giving evidence from the curriculum and teaching materials supplied by your school and any other documentation you think will be useful. Please supply the documentation you have referred to as evidence in your submission. Please look upon this exercise as an opportunity to present your work to your peers and to participate in building a real solidarity within the Yoga community which will keep Yoga independent, vital and growing. Organise your presentation under the four headings, Safety and Care, Practical Skills, Knowledge and Practice. A typical submission might be 1500 – 2000 words long, though there is no rule about this. This part is the core of your application to register as a teacher.

THE GENERAL NOTES AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT WILL HELP YOU TO PROCEDING WITH THIS PART OF THE APPLICATION.

Please also supply what you can of the following. (Items marked * are mandatory.)

a short history of the school;
a short account of its philosophy;
a brief description of the style it teaches, its goals and means;
course calendar;
breakdown of hours spent on various components of the course (e.g. homework and coursework in contact with course tutor);*
total length of course;*
You CV or bio-data with particular reference to your Yoga studies and teaching history;*
a copy of your certificate(s);*

N.B. We realise that if you graduated some time ago it may be impossible for you to supply the documentary evidence to support your case for registration. In this circumstance it might be easier for you to apply as an Independent Applicant on the basis of experience and training (Registration Document YR-103).

SECTION 1 – SAFETY AND CARE

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

For Yoga to be effective it must be taught safely. Its teaching and practice rest upon the Yogic principle of ahimsa. The practice of asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, and meditation must be based upon an approach that doesn’t invite physical and or psychological injury. We will be looking at your references for an assessment of the safety of your teaching.

(b) Your submission

With reference to your documentation:
Please show how your teaching is informed by the principle of ahimsa. Please add any further comments which you feel may clarify your training with respect to the requirement for your students to receive safe instruction and to learn how to practice safely on their own.

SECTION 2 – PRACTICAL SKILLS

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

The Register requires a Yoga Registered (YR) teacher to have those specific practical skills necessary for teaching Yoga. We recognise that different Yoga styles have teaching requirements peculiar to themselves. We require evidence that, in keeping with satya, a Yoga Teacher has gained the practical skills needed to teach his/her approach to Yoga and that those practical skills are rooted both in the individual’s Yoga practice and in the reflective practice of teaching itself.

(b) Your submission

With reference to your documentation:
Please show what practical skills inform your teaching. You might indicate here how your structure your classes and according to what rationale. You might outline your method of presentation, e.g. does it employ teacher demonstration, do you teach practice classes etc.

SECTION 3 – KNOWLEDGE

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

The Register requires that the Teacher (YRT) work from a foundation of sound knowledge. YR Teachers must be well versed in those Yoga traditions which are relevant to the style of Yoga they teach. Relevant, pragmatic knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology and philosophy is required. We recognise that different Yoga styles will emphasise these according to the requirement of their particular approach. Theoretical knowledge must be grounded in the teacher’s practice and experience in order to fulfil the principle of satya. The (YR) Teachers need to be grounded in self-knowledge gained through self-study (svadhyaya) and to be continually reflective in both personal practice and teaching.

(b) Your submission

With reference to your documentation:
Please indicate the knowledge-base utilised by your style. How is this related to your practice and your continuing acquisition of self-knowledge? You should indicate what Yoga texts and other texts relating to the human condition you’ve studied and to what depth and how this study informs your teaching. Please add any further comments that you feel may clarify your training with respect to the knowledge you have gained.

SECTION 4 – PRACTICE

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

The Register takes the view that practice on the part of the teacher is at the heart of any teaching of integrity. In keeping with the Yogic principles of satya and ahimsa, teachers must teach what they honestly know though their own practice. Practice should also be the basis of the practical skills a teacher has come to possess. The teacher’s knowledge should also be grounded in the experience gained through diligent practice, rather than only in theoretical studies.

(b) Your submission

With reference to your documentation:
Indicate how your teaching is rooted in your own diligent practice. Show how the safety of your teaching, and the knowledge and practical skills which inform it are rooted in your own personal practice. Please add any further comments which you feel may clarify your teaching with respect to the requirement for personal practice to be central to a teacher’s teaching.

AGREEMENT
The information I have provided is true. I agree to uphold the standards of the Yoga Register and teach safely, responsibly and in a manner which enhances the reputation of the Register and Yoga in general. I understand that breach of this agreement will result in the withdrawal of registration.

Signed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAYMENT
Please include a cheque for £45 for an initial registration or £25 for a renewal made payable to “IYN” to cover the cost of one year’s registration from the date of completion of the registration process. 80% of the cost is refundable if the application is unsuccessful.

SEND TO IYN, c/o Worralls Grove, Upper Arley, Bewdley, DY12 1XL

REGISTRATION
Current registration entitles you to use the title of Yoga Register Teacher (YRT) and the Yoga Register logo on your publicity material. Your details will be entered on the Yoga Register data base which is accessible to the public on-line and by phone or post.

GENERAL NOTES

(to be read in conjunction with your application)

Raison d’être for the Yoga Register:

Types of application for Registration:
The Yoga Register registers Yoga teachers and Yoga Teacher Training Schools who meet its Registration Standard. Teacher applicants can be one of the four types outlined below.

	Graduates of Registered Schools gain automatic registration on presentation of their certificate and payment of the appropriate fee.
	Graduates of non-registered schools will need to demonstrate that their training meets the Register Standard.
	Elder Teacher Applicants who can document 5000 hours of successful teaching can apply to be registered as Yoga Elders.
	Independent Teacher Applicants outside these categories can apply for registration on the basis of a combination of experience and non-certificated training. They will need to demonstrate that their teaching is to the Registration Standard.

Derivation of the Registration Standard:
The teaching of Yoga is determined by the nature of Yoga itself, rather than general principles of conventional education. The Yoga Register Standard is therefore derived from fundamental principles which all traditions can subscribe to. These are ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness) and svadhyaya (self-study).

Satya requires that

1. the theoretical and practical accomplishments asserted by a certificate (whether issued by a registered or non-registered teacher training school), letters of recommendation, CV or any other means do actually exist, and are based on a genuine, pragmatic understanding of how the body, mind and Yoga practices work;

2. that teachers teach what they know from their own practice and experience;

Svadhyaya requires that the Registered Yoga Teacher’s training and practice are based on a commitment to ongoing self-enquiry focussed through the principles of Yoga.

Ahimsa requires a Registered Teacher to be able to teach Yoga, on the basis of their knowledge, training and experience, without inviting physical or psychological harm.

The Registration Standard recognises four areas of significance:

Safety - A Registered Teacher must teach safely and a Registered Teacher Training School must enable its graduates to do so. (ahimsa)

Practical Skills – A Registered Teacher must possess practical skills appropriate to the style of Yoga she teaches and a Registered Teacher Training School must enable its graduates to do so. (satya)

Knowledge – A Registered Teacher must possess the factual knowledge and the self-knowledge necessary to teach her chosen style of Yoga effectively and safely and a Registered Teacher Training School must enable its graduates to do so. (satya)

Practice – All of the above must be grounded in the Registered Teacher’s dedicated practice and it is the responsibility of a Registered Teacher Training School to ensure that its graduates are so grounded. (svadhyaya)

A Registered Teacher Training School must assess its students to ascertain that they have met their requirements in all of the above areas before certifying them. Independent Teacher Applicants, of both categories, must demonstrate that their training has been adequate in all four areas. (satya)

Content of teacher training courses:
Because of its profound and multifaceted nature Yoga can be systematised in many equally authentic ways. The Registration Standard therefore allows for flexibility of course curricula and does not prescribe their textual and theoretical underpinnings. The Register is equally flexible about assessment methods and does not prescribe them. Many are possible and those used are only required to be effective and honest.

Application of the standard:
Teacher Training Schools seeking registration have their courses examined by the Register to ascertain their ability to produce graduates who are competent in the four areas of concern and that they confirm this through assessment. Independent Individual Trainings are assessed by the Register to ascertain that the individual concerned is competent in the four areas of concern.

Duration of Training:
Although the Register rejects the idea that adequate Teacher Training can be prescribed according to a breakdown of hours spent on various arbitrarily demarcated areas of study, it does require courses to have minimum study and contact hours as follows:

Basic Yoga Teacher Training: 200 hours,
(at least 160 hours spent in direct contact with course tutors).

Intermediate Yoga Teacher Training: 500 hours,
(at least 360 hours spent in direct contact with course tutors).

Advanced Yoga Teacher Training: 1000 hours,
(at least 750 hours spent in direct contact with course tutors).

Yoga Elder: 5000 hours of successful teaching.

The Registry entry for a registered school (YRS) or registered teacher (YRT) will specify if the school or teacher meets the 200, 500, 1000 hour, or Elder level.

Verification:
A Registered School enters into a legal agreement with the Register. This entitles it to use the Register’s name as long as it continues to teach the essentials of the curriculum it originally submitted and uphold the principles of the Register. Its graduates are then automatically eligible for registration. When a teacher is registered, he or she similarly enters a legal agreement with the Register.