RYS and RYT: Decoding the Yoga Alliance Registrations

Thinking of enrolling in a Yoga Teacher Training Program? Well, in our previous blog, we had gone through a list of things to be considered when choosing a TTC, one of which was the credentials held by the school and its affiliation to a particular governing body. In this blog, we will understand the credentials offered by Yoga Alliance, and what holding an RYT or RYS 200/ 300/ 500 entails.

What is Yoga Alliance?

To begin with, let us understand what Yoga Alliance is. It is basically a registry, or a listing maintained by a professional entity that deems individuals, groups, or institutions credible to conduct Yoga classes or teacher trainings. This credibility is based on Yoga Alliance’s published guidelines, knowledge base, and codes of conduct. It is important to note that Yoga Alliance is not a certification or accreditation body.

What is RYS?

RYS stands for ‘Registered Yoga School.’ Institutions that conduct Yoga Teacher Trainings that meet Yoga Alliance Standards are called RYS.

How does a school become RYS?

For a school to become an RYS, it should conduct Yoga teacher trainings that meet Yoga Alliance Standards. Once the school’s TTC syllabus is submitted to and approved by Yoga Alliance, the school must pay the annual fee to maintain their registration with Yoga Alliance.

What is RYS 200, RYS 300 and RYS 500?

A school can register itself as RYS 200 (providing basic level training), RYS 300 (providing advanced training) or RYS 500 (providing a combination of 200 and 300-hour trainings.) Yoga Alliance provides a list of educational categories with the minimum number of hours an RYS needs to be appointed to each category.

What is the need for RYS credential?

An RYS registration represents the high standards of Yoga Teacher Trainings set by Yoga Alliance. It is an assurance of a well-designed curriculum and a safe teaching and learning environment. It enables access to the global yoga community that adheres by Yoga Alliance Standards, thus setting themselves apart.

What is RYT?

Simply, RYT stands for ‘Registered Yoga Teacher.’ Yoga teachers whose teacher training standards as well as teaching experiences meet the requirements of Yoga Alliance are given and RYT distinction. Yoga teachers can register for RYT 200/ 500 if they have completed a 200/ 500-hour training with a registered yoga school. The entirety of the 200/ 500 hours must be finished in the same school for each credential.

How does one become RYT 200?

Teachers can register as RYT 200 when they complete a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training from a school registered as RYS 200 or RYS 500 with Yoga Alliance. These hours should be from a single training and not a combination of multiple trainings. After the training is completed, the teacher needs to register with Yoga Alliance. No prior teaching experience is required to become an RYT 200.

Additionally, an RYT 200 can be completed either from an RYS 200 or an RYS 500. However, an RYS 200 cannot offer RYT 500 training.

What is E-RYT 200?

E-RYT stands for Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher. Teachers can register as E-RYT 200 after

• Teaching Yoga for at least 2 years post registering as RYT 200.
• Completing at least 1000 hours of Yoga classes in those 2 years.

What is the road ahead for E-RYT 200?

After registering for E-RYT 200, teachers

• Can provide Continuing Education workshops to RYT 200 participants.
• Are eligible to become Lead Trainers for any RYS 200.
• Can further work towards becoming an RYT 500.

How does one become RYT 500?

Teachers can register as RYT 500 after

• Completing a 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training from an RYS. In this case, the 500 hours can be from one school (RYS 500) or a combination of a 200-hour training (from an RYS 200) plus a 300-hour training (from an RYS 300).
• Completing at least 100 teaching hours post their 200 or 500-hour training.

What is E-RYT 500?

Teachers can register for E-RYT 500 if they meet the following requirements:

• Have completed a 500-hour teacher training from an RYS.
• Should have a teaching experience of a minimum of 2000 hours post completing training from an RYS 200/ 500. (Out of the 200 hours, at least 500 hours must be taught post training from an RYS 300/ 500.)
• Has a teaching experience of at least 4 years post training from an RYS 200/ 500.

What are the benefits of E-RYT 500?

After registering as E-RYT 500, a teacher is eligible to

• Provide continuing education trainings to other teachers.
• Become a Lead Trainer for a 200/ 300/ 500-hour Teacher Training Program.

Also, the experience amassed by an E-RYT 500 is of great value, both in terms of the quality of teaching as well as career opportunities.

What are the conditions of registering with Yoga Alliance?

In order to maintain any of the registrations with Yoga Alliance, teachers must

• Abide by Yoga Alliance’s code of conduct,
• Complete their Continuing Education Requirement every three years
• Pay the renewal fees annually.

What is Yoga Alliance’s Continuing Education Requirement?

Continuing Education or CE refers to extra training hours post RYT registration. This enables the teachers to maintain high standards of teaching and instruction through continued learning and growth. The current standard is 75 hours of CE which includes 45 hours teaching Yoga and 30 hours of online/ offline / distance Yoga training. These CE hours are essentially for learning something new in the field of Yoga via study, research or experiential education.

So, we can see that Yoga Alliance has laid out pretty clear steps for Yoga Teachers and Yoga Schools to obtain the RYT and RYS credentials. These credentials come with a stamp of distinguished teaching standards and are sought after by serious Yoga teachers and students. In the next blog, we’ll take a look at the Elevated RYS by Yoga Alliance, the procedure to obtain the credential, and the benefits that come along with it.