Hi all! finally, got my US certificate;) now I’m proud legal yoga teacher! 
What do I have to do with it? Register with YA? How would it benefit me?
Is it ever expires? Do I have to take certain number of hours to maintain the registration with YA?
Thanks
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)
Congratulations!
If you intend to teach as you grow your practice than I would recommend registering with Yoga Alliance. At least one time. Then you can at least say you are and later you were? registered with Yoga Alliance, you can then use their Yoga Alliance Watermark on your business cards, profile, resume if you wish, you can add RYT at the end of your name.
Not everyone here is a fan of Yoga Alliance and that is okay too.
Up here in Canada, I have had more doors open for me in my Yoga teaching because of my Certification and Registration. I have been asked whether I was registered with Yoga Alliance at at least 3 interviews. I am very proud to say yes.
I have also looked up other teachers to see if they were registered with Yoga Alliance.
Finally I have recommended schools and teachers based on the fact that they were registered with Yoga Alliance Schools RYS, RYT or E-RYT’s.
Enjoy the next stage of your journey and path.
Namaste
Hi CityMonk, I to am registered with YA and yes they have continued education requirements currently requiring what amounts to very little (in my opinion) every 3 years.
Some practical benefits are evident in the post above.
I would recommend avoiding naysayers and going with what you feel is right for you. For me and my partner, that was registering with YA as we feel it can inspire confidence in potential students, employers and doesn’t detract at all from the impression presented.
Thank you guys, it is comprehensive…
Since it is IYT certificate, do U think registering with them would benefit as well or YA would be just enough?
With a 200 hour certificate we can become legal, but does it really make a person eligible to teach yoga or is it only about the asanas, the physical part? Is there a personal evaluation for registering with the YA?
[QUOTE=charliotte;66591]With a 200 hour certificate we can become legal, but does it really make a person eligible to teach yoga or is it only about the asanas, the physical part? Is there a personal evaluation for registering with the YA?[/QUOTE]
There is not a personal evaluation.
I had to upload my certificate from my YA registered teacher training in order to be YA registered myself.
The teacher training place has to meet some criteria (naturally) as well. So that said, you should be well prepared to at least continue learning by apprenticing (the realistic outcome in my opinion) with a more experienced teacher… unless your teacher training was poor… or your attitude about it poor (which I’ve also seen).
There is a requirement to stay educated - every 3 years a chunk of educational training + experience must be proven to maintain the membership.
I wrestled with the same questions for a while, and eventually looked into it… but YA answered my question for me today. As of last month they no longer accept registration applications from non-alliance schools, which totally outs the 500hr training I just finished. Thankfully my certification came pre-registered with a global organization that is highly reputable, but applying to work in any studios in the US will have some hurdles without it. Kind of a shame, but it is what it is!
As I understood, I can register any time from the moment I got my certificate, even in 10 years from now?
[QUOTE=CityMonk;66822]As I understood, I can register any time from the moment I got my certificate, even in 10 years from now?[/QUOTE]
Yes, I believe that is correct. I was told that if my organization registers with them at any time in the future, my certification is retroactively accepted… so I imagine that you are free to register at any time as long your school is still registered as a certificate-granting organization.
Negative. My registration was back-dated to the date of my certificate.
Register ASAP or the 3 years will end sooner.
And whats up with this reply box. every time I click into it an advertisment page opens. I’ll be not coming back here ever if that tactic continues.
(edit in response to the post below: yes I agree, it appears to be an error re the clickable area of the ad showing on the full response page. thanks!!)
[QUOTE=yogasiam;66827]Negative. My registration was back-dated to the date of my certificate.
Register ASAP or the 3 years will end sooner.
And whats up with this reply box. every time I click into it an advertisment page opens. I’ll be not coming back here ever if that tactic continues.[/QUOTE]
There seems to be some error on the page. I’ve never seen this happen when posting here before, but it is also happening to me. I’ll send a message to the MOD about it.
I agree, it appears to be an error re the clickable area of the ad showing on the full response page. thanks!!
He-ehe… another abrakadabra… I can teach yoga therapy but I can not call myself a yoga therapist:))
I do think it is worth it to be certified through the Yoga Alliance. I work at Anamaya Retreat Center and we offer YTT a few times per year. I do registration and I find that almost all of our students ask if our programs are accepted by the YA (which they are). I have also found that even though I am teaching in Costa Rica, people still want to know that you are certified by the YA. I think it’s worth it!
agree…if one is pursuing yoga as a money-making profession he must be certified, registered, insured, fill taxes properly, have a well written waiver, etc…
i just dont think i want and can keep up with all that layerish stuff…there are so many things going on in yoga studying and teaching:))
I think it is wise to register with YA. With YA registration you are able to get insurance, which you will need. Also, many studios will not hire an instructor without YA certification. The registration doesn’t cost that much and as one person mentioned the CEU requirements are quite fair.
I am glad that we have YA. I don’t know if some of you know this, but the federal government is trying to encroach on the yoga world. They are trying to create federally governed/licensed yoga teachers and training programs. That means more cost to us and also more co-opting by the government. Imagine a world where some bureaucrat tells you what you can and can not teach as an instructor? The yoga alliance is lobbying against it. And the fact that we have some type of self regulation (yoga alliance) helps us keep the government away.
Someone questioned the value of a 200 hr certificate. I agree that it is not alot of training. But I feel that it allows one to start teaching and they learn as they go (through teaching, practice and ongoing study). I started teaching immediately after getting my 200 hour cert. I’ve been teaching now for six years. My students are happy. I feel like I bring much value to the world. And I’ve never had a student get injured.
If students had to get 1000 hours of training it would be far more costly to train, and as such, teachers would have to charge more, which means less students would get to take classes.