The Yoga Register

T H E Y O G A R E G I S T E R

(YR-105) Application for Registration of a Yoga Teacher Training School

Name of School:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name of Director of Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Telephone: (home/evening) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(daytime) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(mobile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Email: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Website: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Level(s) Applied For – 200 hours 500 hours 1000 hours. (See INTRODUCTION below}

Do you give your permission for the details of your school to appear on the IYN and Yoga Register Web Sites? YES | NO

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: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SEND THIS PAGE WITH YOUR APPLICATION TO IYN, c/o Parkdale Yoga Centre, 10 Parkdale West, WOLVERHAMPTON, WV1 4TE.

INTRODUCTION

(to be read in conjunction with your application)

Raison d’être for the Yoga Register:

1. to ensure that safe and effective teaching of Yoga is available to the public;

2. to provide the public with access to safe and effective Yoga teachers;

3. to inform aspiring Yoga teachers of safe and effective Yoga Teacher Training schools;

4. to provide services to Yoga Teachers, e.g. insurance, advice on setting up classes, etc.;

5. to promote and publicise the Yoga Register standard.

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.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUPPLY:

Please prepare a document based on Sections 1 – 4 below, citing evidence from your curriculum and teaching materials 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 words long, though there is no rule about this. This part is the core of your application to register your school.

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, hours spent on various areas such as anatomy, philosophy, practice etc.);*
total length of course;*
CV or bio-data of its Director of Studies and any other tutors;*
a sample copy of your certificate(s);*
your ethical statement, if you have one;
your continuing education requirements.*
A copy of the agreement between the school and the Yoga Register signed and dates by the head of your school. (Page 7)*

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. The Register requires that students are observed teaching by a competent tutor from their school or an examiner appointed by their school and assessed for the safety of their teaching.

(b) Your submission

With reference to your curriculum, teaching materials and any other documentation:
Please show how the principle of ahimsa is imparted to your students and becomes central to both their teaching and their practice. How is this assessed? Indicate how your school discharges its duty of care towards its students in accordance with 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 practice and teach safely.

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 schools have teaching requirements peculiar to themselves. We require evidence that, in keeping with satya, a Yoga Teacher Training School ascertains that its students have gained the practical skills needed to teach its approach of 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 curriculum, teaching materials and any other documentation:
Please show how your students come to master the teaching method of your school. What is its rationale and how are the students assessed? Please add any further comments which you feel may clarify your training - with respect to the practical skills your course requires its students to have mastered. (e.g. You might offer workshops in adjusting asanas).

SECTION 3 – KNOWLEDGE

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

The Register requires that the (YR) Teacher 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 schools 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 curriculum, teaching materials and any other documentation:
Please show how your students come to master the knowledge-base utilised by your school. How is this related to the student’s practice and acquisition of self-knowledge, and how the student is assessed in this respect? Please add any further comments that you feel may clarify your training with respect to the knowledge your course requires its students to have mastered. (e.g. you might offer a series of discussions on the Yoga Sutras and assess your students on the basis of an essay).

SECTION 4 – PRACTICE

(a) What the Register is looking for and why

The Register takes the view that practice is at the heart of any Teacher Training course 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 student comes 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 curriculum, teaching materials and any other relevant documentation:
Indicate how your students establish the safety, practical skills and knowledge-base of their teaching in their own diligent practice. Show how this is assessed. Indicate how, and to what extent, you supervise your students’ practice through face-to-face instruction in the techniques of your approach to Yoga. Please add any further comments which you feel may clarify your training with respect to your requirements for personal practice on the part of your students.

PAYMENT

Please include a cheque for £200 made payable to IYN to cover the cost of one year’s registration from the date of completion of the registration process. This amount also includes one year's membership fee to IYN. 80% of the cost is refundable if the application is unsuccessful.

REGISTRATION

Current registration entitles you to use the title of Yoga Register School (YRS) 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. A registered school is also becomes a voting member of the IYN.