Registered Yoga School (RYS™) 200 Priority FAQs

Yes! We are pleased to have enhanced the process we use to evaluate each RYS application. This strengthened application and review process became effective February 27, 2020, when new schools began applying under the new RYS standards. We learned through the community-led Standards Review Project that our membership and the broader yoga community want us to uphold the value and integrity of our credentials, to foster the development of skillful yoga teachers, and to support accountability and public safety in the teaching of yoga, amongst other things. The evolution of our standards and the enhancement of our application process is a step towards fulfilling this expectation.

You can submit your updates through the “Manage School” section of your School Dashboard.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis in the order they are received. As such, review time will vary based upon the volume of applications received. We understand that it is important for applications to be reviewed quickly in order to support the business operations of a school and therefore anticipate an approximate six to eight-week review period from the time of your application’s submission. Please note that a school may not utilize the Yoga Alliance trademarks or market itself as registered with Yoga Alliance until its application is approved, membership dues are submitted, and it has fully completed the registration process.

Yes. With the updates to the RYS 200 standards, we now require all RYS 200 members to be standalone credential holders, which means the option to be an affiliate school will be discontinued by the start of 2022.

If you are the “parent” school in an affiliate RYS 200 relationship, you will no longer have an affiliate school attached to your RYS 200 in our system. Likewise, if you are the affiliate school in such a relationship, you will no longer be able to use the “parent” school’s syllabus through our system.

This is in large part so that we can uphold the credentials with integrity through these enhanced standards and the more thorough application and review process.

We encourage both the “parent” school and affiliate school to communicate about this change and plan for the future as this likely affects your working relationship with each other.

Affiliate relationships will end by the affiliate’s next renewal date after the “parent” school up-levels their program. For example, an affiliate’s renewal date is October 2020. If the “parent” school up-leveled in June 2020, the affiliate could have maintained Yoga Alliance credentials until their October 2020 renewal date. We encourage affiliates to submit applications for independent credentials as soon as possible to prevent any lapses in their RYS credential status.

If you are the “parent” school of an affiliate RYS 200, your relationship with your affiliate school will end after you update to the new RYS 200 standards.

If you are the child affiliate school using the syllabus of another RYS 200 program, you have two paths from which to choose:

1. Continue use of the training syllabus of your “parent” RYS program until it up-levels to the new RYS 200 standards; at that time, you must then apply under the new standards with your own syllabus and as a new RYS 200 program; or
2. Develop your own syllabus sooner, and apply under the new standards as a new, standalone RYS 200, separate from your “parent” program’s timeline for up-leveling to the new standards.

Perhaps. You would need to obtain permission from your former “parent” school. This would involve a separate legal agreement (outside of the Yoga Alliance credentialing system) to allow for you to use another RYS’s syllabus. You would still need to submit specific information that relates to your own school, including information on Lead Trainers, Faculty, school policies, and more. Click here for more information on the application process.

With the launch of our enhanced application platform on February 27, 2020, we no longer accept new affiliates at any designation. We will announce our new standards for the RYS 300 and RYS 500 programs later in 2020, with further information on RYS 300 and RYS 500 affiliate program changes at that time. We will be sure to move at a measured pace so that the schools have enough time to update their programs to the new standards.

Changes to the syllabi for the RYS 300 and RYS 500 credentials will be announced later in 2020. Yoga Alliance will ensure to move at a measured pace and allow time for schools to acclimate.

Until the RYS 300 and RYS 500 standards change, schools should follow the existing standards, which include Educational Categories and contact and non-contact hours.

Yes! As of July 15, 2019, RYSs may renew their yoga teacher training programs independently of each other. As of October 1, 2019, yoga teacher training programs may apply for RYS 300 credentials without also holding RYS 200 credentials.

Changes to the Yoga Alliance specialty credentials will be announced in the future as we work towards up-leveling all of our RYS designations.

No. The up-leveled standards for RYSs will not affect your current RYT registration. Similarly, if you graduated from an RYS program in the past but have not yet registered with Yoga Alliance, the changes to the standards do not affect your eligibility to register with Yoga Alliance, provided the program you participated in was currently registered at the time of your training.

In response to resounding agreement from across the entire yoga community, Yoga Alliance asks all credential holders to agree to a member-wide Ethical Commitment upon registration or renewal. This commitment began February 27, 2020, and includes three elements, the need for which was voiced loud and clear in Standards Review Project working group sessions and throughout conversations with schools and teachers of all levels: a strengthened Code of Conduct, new Scope of Practice, and a responsibility to equity in yoga. View more information on the Ethical Commitment here.

Yoga Alliance’s Continuing Rducation Requirements remain the same for the time being. All RYT members must complete 30 continuing education training hours every three years. Additionally, Yoga Alliance is developing a free and mandatory online equity course for all members, which will count towards continuing education requirements. More information on this course will be shared later in 2020.

Equity is different from equality; equity ensures that we all have the resources needed to reach a goal while equality provides everyone access to the same resource, regardless of the needs of an individual or group. In addition to representing quality and safety in yoga teaching, the Yoga Alliance credential will signal an awareness of and commitment to changing the social and systemic inequities that currently exist in yoga so that the practice is more accessible to all populations. Read more about Yoga Alliance’s position on equity here.