THE CONVERSATION: What is a yoga teacher, and what defines their practice? Is a clear Scope of Practice necessary to help teachers and students alike understand what a yoga teacher is qualified to provide (and not provide)? How is it different in the many environments in which they work?

Standards Review Project Survey: Attitudes and Beliefs of Yoga Professionals and Practitioners Worldwide, 2018, Edge Research.

• All Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) should follow a Scope of Practice
• The Scope of Practice might differ depending on whether an RYT is at the 200 or 500 level as well as whether an RYT holds any specialty credential
• The concept of “informed consent” should be included within any Scope

To learn more about this working group’s recommendations, please download the Scope of Practice Working Group Paper here. As a reminder, Yoga Alliance brought together a diverse spectrum of expert advisory voices to maximize the perspectives and resources within this area of inquiry. They represented one stream of input in the process, albeit an important stream.  We thank them for their participation and dedication.

Note: these working group papers provide expert recommendations to Yoga Alliance and the yoga community for consideration as the Standards Review Project continues. They are not prescribed actions but rather insights from an experienced and dedicated group of subject matter experts. They were written by an independent third party. At this point in time, no decisions have been made regarding standards updates, and we welcome and encourage your feedback and comments regarding the entirety of the SRP process.