A Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) credential is earned by yoga teachers whose training and teaching experience meet Yoga Alliance standards.
An RYT must:
- Complete training with and receive confirmation from a Registered Yoga School (RYS) at the 200 or 500-hour level;
- Complete 30 hours of Continuing Education every three years; and
- Pay annual membership fees.
Registered Yoga Teacher 200
Teachers can register as an RYT 200 if they have successfully completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training that is registered with Yoga Alliance. All training hours must come from the same school, and multiple trainings cannot be combined to meet the 200-hour requirement.
Training Requirements
✓ Completed a 200-hour teacher training with an RYS 200
Teaching Requirements
None
Registered Yoga Teacher 500
Teachers can register as an RYT 500 if they have successfully completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training that is registered with Yoga Alliance. The 500 hours of training can either come from one school or can be a combination of a 200-hour teacher training plus an additional 300-hour advanced teacher training* from a different RYS. Applicants must also submit 100 teaching hours that were completed after their RYS 200 or RYS 500 training.
Training Requirements
✓ Completed a 500-hour teacher training with an RYS 500, or
✓ Completed a 200-hour teacher training with an RYS 200 plus an additional 300 hours of training with either the same RYS or a different RYS registered as an RYS 300
Teaching Requirements
✓ Has at least 100 hours of teaching experience since completing training with an RYS 200 or RYS 500
*Advanced training is defined as training that requires participants to have completed a 200-hour training.
Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 200
Once registered, an E-RYT 200 is able to provide Continuing Education workshops to RYTs and can be a Lead Trainer of a 200-hour teacher training for an RYS 200 up until February 2022*.
Teachers can register as an E-RYT 200 if they have successfully completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training that is registered with Yoga Alliance and have taught a minimum of two years after completing training. All training hours must come from the same school, and multiple trainings cannot be combined to meet the 200-hour requirement. Applicants must submit 1,000 teaching hours for this designation, which must be completed after finishing their training with an RYS 200.
Training Requirements
✓ Completed a 200-hour teacher training with an RYS 200
Teaching Requirements
✓ Has at least 1,000 hours of teaching experience since completing training with an RYS 200
✓ Has taught for at least two years since completing training with an RYS 200
*Beginning in February 2022, RYS 200 Lead Trainers must hold the E-RYT 500 credential and teach at least 150 of the minimally required 200 hours of the foundational teacher training program. For more information, please review our enhanced Lead Trainer requirements.
Due to the impacts of COVID-19, these timelines are currently under review.
Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 500
Once registered, an E-RYT 500 is able to provide Continuing Education workshops to other teachers and can be a Lead Trainer of a 200-hour, 300-hour, or 500-hour teacher training.
Teachers can register as an E-RYT 500 if they have successfully completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training that is registered with Yoga Alliance and have taught a minimum of four years since completing training with an RYS 200. The 500 hours of training can either come from one school or can be a combination of a 200-hour training plus an additional 300-hour advanced teacher training* from a different RYS. Applicants must submit 2,000 teaching hours for this designation, 1,500 of which must have been taught after completing training with an RYS 200 or RYS 500. The remaining 500 teaching hours must have been taught after completing training with an RYS 300 or RYS 500.
Training Requirements
✓ Completed a 500-hour teacher training with an RYS 500, or
✓ Completed a 200-hour teacher training with an RYS 200 plus an additional 300-hour teacher training with either the same RYS (if it is registered as an RYS 300) or a different RYS 300
Teaching Requirements
✓ Has at least 2,000 hours of teaching experience since completing training with an RYS 200 or RYS 500. At least 500 of these hours must be taught after completing training with an RYS 300 or RYS 500.
✓ Has taught for at least four years since completing training with an RYS 200 or RYS 500.
or
✓ Meets Experienced Teacher Pathway criteria.
*Advanced training is defined as training that requires participants to have completed a 200-hour training.
