Contact and Non-Contact Hours

Last Updated: February 27, 2020

Yoga Alliance™ requires all Registered Yoga Schools (RYS™s) to allocate yoga teacher training hours by curriculum categories.

New RYS 200 Credential (launched February 27, 2020)

New standards underlying the RYS 200 credential took effect February 27, 2020. The new standards require all 200 hours to be classroom hours, increasing the emphasis on learning objectives transparently tied to instructional hours. All new RYS 200 programs beginning February 27, 2020, will apply under this enhancement.

These new standards no longer differentiate between contact and non-contact hours.

More information on the new standards underlying this foundational-level RYS 200 credential may be found here.

Current RYS 200 and RYS 300, RYS 500, RCYS, and RPYS Credentials

New standards underlying the professional-level RYS 300 and RYS 500 credentials will be announced in June 2020, with those underlying the RCYS and RPYS specialty credentials to be announced later. RYSs with these credentials, in addition to current RYS 200 programs that have not yet up-leveled to the new RYS 200 credential, distinguish between contact and non-contact hours.

Contact Hours:

Contact hours must take place in the physical presence of a faculty member. The content taught or presented during hours distinguished as contact hours must be intended for the trainees of the RYS program rather than for members of the general public and must be relevant to the five Educational Categories. Specifically:

• The content of contact hours advances the education of trainees as demonstrated explicitly through the program’s syllabus and its learning objectives;
• The contact hours fall into the normal flow of the overall yoga teacher training program and may include discussion, trainee reports on their experiences, related homework, projects, or the like; and
• The faculty member who teaches the content presented during contact hours meets Yoga Alliance's faculty qualifications and are identified in the syllabus as training faculty.

Non-Contact Hours:

Non-contact hours may take place without a faculty member present. All non-contact hours must be relevant to the five Educational Categories, and the content taught or presented during hours distinguished as non-contact should be thoughtfully chosen to support the learning objectives of the RYS program.

Non-contact hours must be an assigned part of the curriculum.

Examples of allowable non-contact hours include:

• Reading assignments, audio/visual tools, or Internet resources that are integrated into the curriculum via discussion, reports, related homework, projects, presentations, tests, or the like;
• Webinars on yoga-related topics;
• Written assignments on yoga-related topics that may be counted for all Educational Categories except Practicum;
• Group activities, including directed discussion, technique practice, or teaching practice;
• Attending general public yoga classes with the following stipulations:
• Each class must be reported on via a written or oral exercise, and
• These hours may count toward the Techniques, Training, Practice; Teaching Methodology; or Practicum Educational Categories.

Examples of non-allowable non-contact hours include:

• Hours attributed to a trainee’s personal, private practice; and
• Hours attending general public classes and not including discussion, trainee reports on their experiences, related homework, projects, or the like.