Article Archive > Virtual Learning Update and Friday Sangha

Virtual Learning Update and Friday Sangha

March 19, 2020

We hope you, your loved ones, and your community are weathering this uncertain time as well as possible. Yoga Alliance is honored to support you, now and in the days ahead.

Upcoming Virtual Events

Yoga Alliance Community Sangha with Kiesha Battles, moderated by Maya Breuer
Friday, March 20 at 10:00am ET

Join us for a 20-minute practice on yoga as a way to relieve stress.
Please register in advance; this event is limited to the first 500 people.

Online Course Curriculum Webinar with Teachable.com
Friday, March 20 from 2-3:00pm ET

Join representatives from Member Perks partner Teachable.com for a live question and answer (Q&A) on how to get started creating course content for an online platform.
Please register in advance; this event is limited to the first 500 people.

We have heard from thousands of members, worldwide, in the last several days, asking for help with the transitions and changes so many are experiencing. The main theme of the concerns being raised from both schools and teachers is about how to transfer trainings, courses, and classes online—this email begins to address this question, including offering some clarifications about the virtual learning temporary provision we announced last week to allow our Registered Yoga Schools (RYSs) to count contact hours delivered virtually. We have also included details on two events tomorrow: our next community sangha as well as a webinar on transferring curriculum from in-person to online.

Many of you have also raised questions about possible extensions on membership renewals so that you can prioritize the immediate needs your schools are facing today—we are working to get members an answer to this question no later than the end of next week.

We are working constantly to find ways to support the other concerns that we’ve heard from you, which includes compiling and sharing additional resources, such as this community-sourced COVID-19 Resources for Yoga Teachers Guide—thank you, Accessible Yoga, for letting us know of this powerful tool! We’ll be sharing additional information later this week, and regularly over the days ahead, in future Member Announcements such as this as well as our new Yoga Alliance COVID-19 Bulletin. We will also continuously update our COVID-19 resource page with this and other information in a relevant and timely manner.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any feedback, questions, or concerns at 1-888-921-YOGA (9642) or at info@yogaalliance.org. We are in this together, and we thank you for the work that you do for your communities—always, and especially now in these difficult times.

Your Yoga Alliance

Membership Updates

RYSs and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Providers (YACEPs)
Last week, we announced a temporary provision to allow RYSs to offer contact hours in any of the five Educational Categories virtually during currently active teacher trainings from March 13 until April 13. We have heard from many RYS programs scheduled to start in the next several weeks that they are hesitant to move forward without knowing whether our exemption will be continued, if need be.

Because it is unclear when the need for social distancing will end, as of today March 19, we have extended this provision until June 30 to include currently active programs as well as those trainings that will be running sessions during this timeframe. This is intended to apply to programs that would otherwise be delivered in-person. We will continually evaluate whether there is a need to extend this provision further throughout the duration of the pandemic.

In addition, based on common questions from members, we would like to clarify that this exemption applies to:

• RYS 200, RYS 300, and RYS 500 teacher training programs;
• RCYS and RPYS teacher training programs;
• Trainings and courses in support of the Yoga Alliance Continuing Education (CE) requirements; and
• ALL Educational Categories, including practicum (practice teaching) and observation requirements.

Finally, while we ask that RYSs report their intentions to use this temporary provision to info@yogaalliance.org for our records and for accountability, you do not need to wait for approval from Yoga Alliance to start delivering your content virtually. We will log the information into your account for reference and contact you if any further information is needed.

Please note: We do recommend, where possible, that trainings and courses make every attempt to deliver virtual content live (not pre-recorded) in effort to more fully replicate in-person trainings. That said, we understand that this is not always possible.

Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs)
We have also received a few common questions from our member teachers which we want to address below.

• Hours taught virtually may be counted as regular teaching hours—remember to utilize your Yoga Alliance dashboard to keep track of any hours taught.
• You may also temporarily utilize online courses as contact hours for your CE requirements.