Formation

Yoga Alliance^® was formed by a merger in 1999 of Unity in Yoga (a group that organized and sponsored national and international yoga conferences from its formation in 1982 until 1995) and the Ad Hoc Yoga Alliance (a volunteer group that in 1997 started working on creating minimum standards for yoga teachers, as well as other issues relevant to the yoga community). From the time of Unity in Yoga's work, the emphasis has been on mutual respect, sensitivity and support of different approaches to yoga and an equal voice for every participant.

Registry

In September 1999, the newly organized Yoga Alliance^® established a national Yoga Teachers' Registry to recognize and promote teachers with training that meets our minimum training standards. Teachers who meet these standards are eligible to register as "RYT^®"s (Registered Yoga Teachers). In 2005, in conjunction with enhanced revised standards for registration, we began recognizing and registering teachers with significant teaching experience in addition to training (Experienced Registered Yoga Teachers, or "E-RYT^®"s).

Yoga Alliance^® also maintains a Registry of Yoga Schools to recognize yoga teacher training programs of at least 200 or 500 hours. A school whose curriculum satisfies or exceeds our minimum training standards may apply to register as a "RYS^®" (Registered Yoga School). Once a school is registered, all graduates of a RYS^® are automatically eligible to register with us as RYT^®s.