What kind of training has your yoga teacher had?

I suspect that most folks don’t really know. My purpose in raising the question is to prompt you to think about the person(s) to whom you’re trusting some of the most important things in the world: you own health and well-being. Let’s take a brief look then at some aspects of yoga teacher training here in the US.

First: There are no national standards nor, as far as I know, are there regional or local standards, either. Any one who wants to can hang out their yoga teacher shingle. Generally, most folks take classes, and after awhile, for whatever reason, decide they would like to teach.

Then what?

Many prospective teachers look around to find out what kind of training is available and pick the one that suits them. Criteria for choosing can vary from geographical convenience, to amount of time required, cost, style of yoga, the qualifications of the program’s teacher(s), and more.

Here are some things I think are worth considering in judging the quality of a teacher training program:

What qualifications does someone have to have to get in the program? If the only requirement is having enough money to cover the tuition, then be suspicious of such a program and the products thereof. For many teacher trainings, NO PREVIOUS YOGA EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED! Someone could walk in off the street without having taken a single class, sign up for teacher training, and by the end of the program, be a certified teacher. This is preposterous because, believe it or not, good teaching isn’t based primarily on knowledge. Knowing how and what to teach comes from the experience gained in the teacher’s own practice. This is very different from memorizing a few details about a pose and then reciting them to the student. If a teacher training program is a one month course and complete novices can join, there is not enough time to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to teach safely and well. It’s just not possible. Substantial time (read years) spent practicing is necessary before embarking on teacher training and should be a prerequisite of any meaningful teacher training program.

Duration of the teacher training program is another consideration. Some are as little as a weekend. Many are a month. I wouldn’t want to trust my well-being to someone with only a month’s training, no matter how intensive. It not only takes time to acquire the knowledge needed to teach, it takes time to absorb that knowledge, to practice it, understand it, to experience the variations and subtleties. Six months would be a bare minimum in my estimation, and even that isn’t really enough.

Who is teaching the teacher training program? If the teacher(s) running the program are not knowledgeable and deeply experienced themselves, there is no chance that they are going to produce knowledgeable and skillful teachers. They can’t give to the trainees what they themselves haven’t got.

How can you tell what your teacher’s training and qualifications are? Ask! If the teacher evades or resents your questions, find someone else. S/he should be happy and proud to give you his/her qualifications. To go a step further, don’t be satisfied with just seeing some letters after a teacher’s name. For instance, lots of teachers have RYT200 or RYT500 after their name. What’s that mean? RYT is a designation from an organization called the Yoga Alliance that means Registered Yoga Teacher. It does NOT mean they are certified. Despite suppositions to the contrary, Yoga Alliance is not a certifying body. It registers teachers as having completed 200 or 500 hours of some kind of study. That training can vary widely and is not really monitored in a thorough and systematic way.

Large organizations and longstanding traditions tend to have more extensive and organized training and/or certification processes. Anusara, White Lotus, and YogaWorks, for example, have relatively comprehensive training programs. But size and longevity are no guarantee. The Sivananda teacher training program, one of the oldest around, is a one month course.

Here at Unity Woods, most of our teachers are certified through the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS). If you look at the teacher page in the newsletter and/or on the website, you see the term “certified Iyengar yoga teacher” in their bios. Here’s what that means.

To be certified at the Introductory level (the most basic of five degrees), an applicant must have had a minimum of three years of study with certified Iyengar yoga teachers while maintaining a continuous regular practice during that time. After three years or more of study, s/he must complete a two or three year teacher training program, 150 hours of apprenticeship, or a combination of the two; be recommended by two certified teachers; and pass an assessment by three Intermediate or above certified teachers. The assessment includes: a written exam covering aspects of anatomy, philosophy, and teaching; a 11/2-2 hour demonstrated practice of basic yoga asanas (postures) and pranayamas (breathing techniques); and teaching a forty minute class. The candidate is graded and passes or fails. If s/he passes, s/he then studies with a mentor for at least another year and takes a second assessment similar to the first in format with more difficult asanas and a more challenging written exam. After passing the second assessment s/he is awarded an Introductory teaching certificate. S/he must teach only Iyengar Yoga without mixing in other styles, must observe the IYNAUS Ethical Guidelines, and must continue to study with a more senior teacher. Only then can s/he legitimately claim to be a certified Iyengar yoga teacher.

If you do the math, you will see that it takes a bare minimum of five years of study to become a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Most people take longer. As far as I know, this is the most rigorous training and certification process in the US.

Unlike a number of centers in the area, Unity Woods does not have a teacher training program. We have an apprenticeship program instead. Students who want to become teachers apply for apprenticeship. If they are selected, I mentor them for a minimum of 21/2 years overseeing their practice, giving them reading and writing assignments, and having them assist and practice teach in classes. When they are ready, I recommend them for assessment.

I prefer the apprenticeship method because I am more directly involved with the apprentice than I might be in a teacher training class with a number of students. I hand pick the apprentices, selecting those who I believe will be most likely to become excellent teachers. This means, first and foremost, that they are dedicated, outstanding students with a passion for yoga. Over the years, I get to know them well and can guide them individually, building their strengths and addressing their weaknesses, preparing them for the rigors and challenges of teaching. This is the traditional approach. Almost all the teachers at Unity Woods have followed this path.

All that being said, credentials, no matter how impressive, do not guarantee the quality of a teacher. They do, however, give you an idea of the depth of training a teacher has had and an indication of the likely knowledge and competence the teacher brings to her/his teaching. I urge every prospective yoga student and even current students to investigate a bit. Find out what your teacher’s training is, what her/his qualifications are, and what those letters after their name or the diplomas on the wall really mean. It makes good sense and is worth the time and effort. And you will happier and healthier in the long run.

Tags: John Schumacher, John's Letters