Most often, people who have already been practicing yoga for several years are interested in conducting yoga classes. How to start your adventure with yoga as an instructor?
When preparing to start a course as a yoga instructor, it is worthwhile to carefully review the current legislation. Until 2010, conducting any classes as a physical recreation instructor required a degree from the Academy of Physical Education. These regulations have changed under the new Law on Sports. Thanks to the amendment, teaching sports classes does not require any state qualification, such as a professional exam or college degree. To do this type of work, one must take a professional course and complete it with an exam or other form of knowledge testing organized by the course provider. Such classes are usually organized by private companies, yoga schools or sports organizations, and completion of the course only gives the opportunity to conduct training, but is not a document of the profession.
Although the realization of a special course is enough to practice the profession of yoga instructor itself, it is worth knowing that special postgraduate courses can be helpful. Yoga has become such a popular sport that universities are meeting the needs of their students. Thus, after completing a yoga instructor course, you can expand your knowledge and skills at the University of Wroclaw, where postgraduate courses are available: classical yoga studies and studies of psychosomatic yoga practices. Residents of Silesia can take advantage of the academy of yoga practitioners (Upper Silesian College of Commerce in Katowice) or yoga in prevention and therapy (Upper Silesian College of Entrepreneurship in Chorzow). Postgraduate studies in yoga and relaxation are also available at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw.
There are several important criteria when choosing a school for an instructor course, but the most important is to check the YA certification. This designation refers to an organization that certifies teachers – the Yoga Alliance. The certification that is relevant for an instructor course is RYS, or Registered Yoga School. This symbol signifies that the yoga school offering the teacher training course is verified by the organization, follows its basic guidelines, and the student will be able to enroll in the system himself as a certified teacher after completing the training. This is where the second designation comes in, which is RYT – Registered Yoga Teacher. This certification guarantees that the instructor is constantly expanding his knowledge and skills, and that his work is done at the highest level. Certification comes in two levels, professional and basic. At the basic level, a teacher must complete the RYS 200 course and work at least 1,000 hours over two years. At the professional level, the requirements are much higher, including additional refresher courses, including but not limited to RYS 500, and working at least 2,000 hours within four years of completing the basic course.
main photo: unsplash.com/Dylan Gillis
