How do I know if a yoga teacher is qualified to teach?

All yoga teachers should be certified and registered. Certification means the teacher has completed a yoga teacher training program. However, all teacher training programs are not equal. There are a few programs that certify teachers after only a weekend of training. Others require years of training for certification. Teachers who complete the UNION/YOGA teacher training program attend over 200 hours of instruction. The senior teachers have been certified at 500 hours. UNION/YOGA Teacher Certification programs are fully licensed by the state of Michigan and are approved by the Yoga Alliance. We have been certifying yoga instructors since 1997.

Because all yoga schools are not created equal, the Yoga Alliance was formed. This is a relatively new organization that registers yoga teachers and the programs that train them. The Yoga Alliance has established standards based on input and agreement from many of the schools and yoga traditions practiced in the United States. These standards are quickly being adopted by the quality yoga schools in our country. Teachers registered by the Yoga Alliance are authorized to use the initials RYT after their name. This means that they have completed an approved 200 hour training program as a basic level instructor, or a 500 hours program as an advanced instructor.

UNION/YOGA offers certification programs at both the 200 hour and 500 hour levels. All the teachers at UNION/YOGA are certified and registered. Graduates of the UNION/YOGA Teacher Training program are eligible for the 200 Level Yoga Alliance registration or the 500 level Yoga Alliance registration, depending on the program(s) they completed. Sandra Carden, UNION/YOGA Director is registered at the 500 Level.

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