A letter from the President and CEO of Yoga Alliance and the Yoga Alliance Foundation

In January, Yoga Alliance kicked off the 2018 Standards Review Project—a comprehensive and inclusive review of our 18-year old yoga teaching standards—with the intention of using the entire year to solicit as much information as possible, from as many sources as possible, to guide the evolution of the standards. This critical project is designed explicitly to help support public safety and to elevate skillfulness in the field of professional yoga education.

Our Intention

The Standards Review Project is also intended to restore some balance to a field that has expanded quite rapidly in ways that few could have foreseen in the early days of modern yoga. We have heard the concerns of our members and others in the field, and aim to do our part to enhance the standards that have become widely adopted around the world.

The Vedic era rishis (seers) of India – who are said to have seeded the teachings of yoga – were likely farmers who saw the human condition as intricately tied to the forces of nature. Today, yoga educators and practitioners are also subject to powerful natural and human-made forces inside and outside of our control.

When in a balanced state of order (Sanskrit: rta pronounced reeta), nature creates thousands of fruits from a single seed and inner peace and outer prosperity are made possible through this balance. When nature’s rhythms are disrupted or interfered with, imbalances can occur. The rishis considered it the responsibility of every person to align themselves with the forces of nature and to act in ways that helped maintain its healthy order.

In this spirit, YA is seeking to rebalance things, with smarter, more up to date, and more attuned standards to meet the needs of contemporary teachers and practitioners. We believe the role of yoga teachers and schools is to uplift and support communities in finding health, healing, and connection and that YA can play a small role in supporting those teachers and schools. One key way to do that is to evolve the teaching standards in a responsible manner.

The Schedule

The project is roughly divided into three parts:

1. Information Gathering (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018)
2. Synthesis and Integration (January 1, 2019 – March 31, 2019)
3. Implementation (April 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019 and beyond)

As we near the end of the information gathering phase (1), we want to share our progress so far and discuss next steps. Information, diverse opinions, and data have been gathered through five primary feedback mechanisms:

• Advisory Groups: Expert committee teams focused on writing recommendation papers on eight (8) key areas of inquiry (Code of Ethics, Scope of Practice, Integrity, Inclusion, Core Curriculum, Teacher Standards, Teacher Training Standards, Online Learning).
• Survey: A Public survey open to members and non-members, this now appears to be one of the largest surveys of yoga professionals and practitioners ever done.
• Public Comment: All comments, advice, and criticism coming in to YA via e-mail and phone have been tracked to ensure acknowledgment of trends and priority concerns/opportunities.
• Listening Tour/Events: YA leadership and staff have traveled to hear directly from constituents and critics in public forums.
• One-On-One Dialogue and Research: YA leadership has done extensive outreach to leading yoga teachers and thought leaders, other not-for-profit and for-profit yoga organizations, large schools, independent studio owners, and experts outside of our field to better understand the best pathways to the evolution of the standards.

We will continue gathering information through the end of the year and beyond to ensure your voices are heard and properly represented.

So what are the immediate next steps?

• Survey Results: On September 12, we will publish the results of the survey and open the doors to an additional public comment period on the results. This exercise is intended to include the feedback from those who did not take the survey so that we continue to see a well-rounded picture of diverse perspectives.
• Virtual Town Halls: In October and November, YA leadership will hold a series of online Town Halls to discuss the survey results and solicit feedback.
• Listening Tour: Leaders will continue to hold events in the U.S. and abroad to have direct contact with those who want to participate in the process.
• Advisory Group Recommendations: In December, we will publish all eight Advisory Group recommendation papers along with Yoga Alliance feedback on those reports.
• Small Committee Work: Additional expert committees will be formed in December to review Yoga Alliance recommendations (e.g. Independent Yoga School Committee, Large School Committee, Inclusion & Access Committee, etc.)

Information on how to apply for a committee or get involved in other ways will be posted on the yastandards.com website in the near future. Please check that site regularly for updated information.

Finally, we intend to have formal recommendations to present to our members for public comment in early 2019.

In Gratitude

As yogis in perpetual self-inquiry, let’s collectively allow that no process, system, survey, feedback mechanism, individual, organization, tradition, lineage, or style is – or ever was – perfect. We acknowledge the imperfections in the Standards Review Project process we have set forward. Pleasing all YA yoga teachers in 149 countries is likely not an attainable outcome. However, we know that for the first time in modern history, people from countless traditions, backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, perspectives, and viewpoints are coming together to help evolve the standards. That is something to celebrate and support. The quality of our work will be largely dependent on the quality of information we receive from yogis around the world and we are grateful for all of those who have participated and all of those who want to help still. Thank you for taking part, and please check in to the yastandards.com website for additional updates.

Jafar J. Alexander, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, believes that “practice is what happens on the mat, and yoga is what happens in life.” His belief is “Yoga is yoga. No need to complicate it, it’s quite simple. Breathe, move, and find your way to silence. Everything you need to know is right here…Atha!” His dvoted study of yoga has made him a multi-dimensional teacher who is able to playfully weave stories with expert sequencing and thoughtful philosophical inquiry all in one asana, making his classes what he likes to call “Yogasanas- keeping the yoga in the asana.”

Jafar uses his diverse and comprehensive understanding of the yogic tradition to guide practitioners in individual sessions, group classes, weekend workshops, master classes, and teacher training programs. Jafar’s energy and presence brings yoga theory to life as he encourages yogis to find space, allowing for movement, which leads to freedom from attachment. He shares his yoga practice and passion through a connected journey of self-awareness, conscious breath, and physical strength.

Jafar has a unique range of influence from fellow yogis such as A.G. Mohan, Kelly McGonigal, Cora Wen, Richard Rosen, Doug Keller, and Maryam Ovissi. Jafar is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and a certified yoga therapist through IAYT. He is the Director of the BelovedYoga School’s 200 and 500 hour programs and specialty certifications. Jafar helped expand the BelovedYoga School to Europe and continues to offer workshops and trainings domestically and internationally. See his schedule at www.belovedyoga.com.

Trina Altman, BS, PMA-CPT, received her training through STOTT PILATES® and is an E-RYT 500. She’s the creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, which take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates and their relationship to modern movement science.

Trina has presented at Kripalu, the Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference and Yogaworks, among others. She also created and taught a Pilates continuing-education course for physical therapists and was part of the faculty for the Brain Longevity conference at UCLA.

Trina was a finalist in the Next Pilates Anytime Instructor competition in 2017. Her work has been published in both Yoga Journal and Yoga International. Her book, Yoga Deconstructed®: Transitioning From Rehabilitation Back Into The Yoga Studio is slated to be published by Handspring Publishing in December 2019.

She works out of Los Angeles at Equinox and The Moving Joint. For more information on Trina and her online classes and courses, visit trinaaltman.com. Follow her on Instagram at: @trinaaltman and on Facebook at Trina Altman Yoga and Pilates.

Marla Apt is a Senior level Iyengar Yoga teacher and was highlighted by Yoga Journal magazine as one of twenty-one young yoga teachers helping to shape the future of yoga. She has been involved with medical research studies at UCLA on yoga for depression, anxiety and IBS and created the first yoga therapy content to be incorporated into the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine’s curriculum. She is a writer and contributor to Yoga Journal magazine and other periodicals.

Marla visited India for the first time while doing research for a degree in Buddhist philosophy and has since returned numerous times for yoga studies, including a year of study in Pune at the Iyengar Yoga Institute. She served the Iyengar Yoga community as President of the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States and is a current member of the national certification committee. She is pursuing her interest in making the benefits of yoga available to communities in need as a founding board member of the nonprofit organization Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics. She teaches in Los Angeles and conducts teacher trainings, workshops, and retreats and presents at conferences in the United States and abroad.