30 Hours YACEP

30 Hours Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider Course

Yoga Alliance Continuing Education

All Registered Yoga Teachers (RYT®s) must complete 45 hours of Continuing Education every three years to continue learning and growing as teachers.

This includes 30 hours of yoga training, of which:

At least 10 hours must be Contact Hours with a qualified provider, no more than 20 hours may be Non-Contact Hours, and all training hours must be directly related to one of our four Educational Categories, where you are learning something new to you.

What are the four Educational Categories?

To count as Continuing Education, a course, workshop, training or class needs to directly relate to yoga and fall into one of the following categories:

What it means, Examples

Techniques, Training, & Practice (TTP)

Techniques, Training, & Practice (TTP)

How to do (practice) yoga, practicing inversions, pranayama, meditation, asana; alignment principles (e.g. in sun salutations)

Teaching Methodology (TM)

How to teach yoga effectively, sequencing; verbal cueing; principles of adjusting and assisting; how to market yourself and your business. Anatomy & Physiology (AP): The physical and energetic bodies, skeletal and muscular systems; fascia; energetic bodies (chakras and nadis); how bodily systems work 

Yoga Philosophy,

Lifestyle, & Ethics (YPLE) History, philosophy, ethics and lifestyle practices of yoga yoga lineages; student-teacher relationships; yamas and niyamas; yoga texts such as the Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads To learn more, please visit the Continuing Education Requirements page.

What’s the Difference?

Yoga Association USA is often asked what is the difference between Techniques, Training, & Practice and Teaching Methodology. Think about it this way:

Are you learning how to do something yourself, like proper alignment in plank pose? If yes, it’s Techniques, Training, & Practice (TTP).

Are you learning how to teach something to someone else, like how to adjust a student who’s doing plank pose incorrectly? In this case, it’s Teaching Methodology (TM).

Learning how to do = Techniques, Training, & Practice Learning how to teach = Teaching Methodology

What Topics Are Not Continuing Education?

Continuing Education relates directly to the study, practice, or teaching of yoga.

Topics that do not fall into our four Educational Categories, and do not relate directly to yoga include:

Nutrition

Juicing

Organic farming/permaculture

Reiki

Thai massage

Aromatherapy

“Yoga therapy”

Shamanism

Chinese medicine

Why is this important to me?

In 2004, Yoga Alliance created Continuing Education Requirements. You are affected by these in one or more of the following ways:

As an RYT®, you specify how many hours you studied in each Educational Category when adding or editing Continuing Education training.

As a YACEP®, you categorize hours for each course you offer so participants know what Educational Categories you will teach. This information also goes on all your certificates of completion.

As an RYS®, teachers who take an advanced training with you may want to know what hours they can count toward Continuing Education. You also use these same categories when creating your syllabus.

30 hours of Yoga Alliance Continuing Education (CE) every three years is required to maintain a Yoga Alliance certification. This can be completed through Yoga Alliance Certified Education Provider (YACEP) courses. 

How to complete 30 hours of CE 

• Complete a YACEP-designated course, workshop, training, or class 
• Ensure the training is directly related to yoga and falls into one of the four Educational Categories 
• At least 10 hours must be Contact Hours with a qualified provider 
• No more than 20 hours may be Non-Contact Hours

Deepen your practice and your knowledge

Are you a yoga professional or a curious practitioner and wish to deepen your yoga knowledge and techniques?

Then a continuing education course may be something for you!

You will learn selected specialized yoga topics that will allow you to expand your horizons when it comes to your practice or that of your students.

With the knowledge you will acquire, you will gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of anatomical and energetic body layers, and develop a more complete insight in yoga.

YACEP Courses

Why to keep on learning?

• You want to expand your range of problem-solving tools when practicing or teaching yoga.
• You want to gain up-to-date, functional, and practical yoga knowledge.
• You want to go beyond theory and experience this knowledge firsthand.
• You want to specialize your knowledge to be able to better help yourself and others.
• You want to participate in a YACEP registered training to keep your Yoga Alliance registration valid.