Thinking about teaching yoga? Or maybe you just feel this pull to go way deeper into what movement and awareness can really offer?
Listen, this isn't your average yoga teacher training.
Our 200-hour Embodied Flow™ Yoga & Somatics Training is honestly for anyone who feels that longing to truly come back home to themselves. It's a deep, immersive dive.
We saw that traditional yoga was missing something, so we created something different. Embodied Flow was actually the first school to really weave together:
Getting into your body's felt sense (that's the Somatics / Body-Mind Centering® bit)
The profound wisdom of non-dual Tantra (it's less complex than it sounds, more about seeing the sacred in everything)
The sheer freedom of just moving intuitively
...and bring it all into the space of yoga.
We like to think of our training space as a kind of laboratory – a place where you can get incredibly curious, trust yourself more, and discover your own unique flow. It's all about helping you feel more safe, creative, free, and fluid in your own skin.
You'll explore somatic movement, Tantric philosophy, meditation, the familiar yoga poses (asana), breathwork (pranayama), and truly looking inward (self-inquiry). All of it is there to help you become a more fully embodied person.
And that's key, right? Whether you want to lead a yoga class, or help people in any other way (maybe you're a coach, a therapist, whatever), becoming more present in yourself is the first step to guiding others.
We've poured over 30 years of experience and learning into this. It really is designed to be a "reset button," helping you feel deeply connected to your amazing human existence. You'll find your intuition gets sharper, your inner power feels more solid, you'll connect better with yourself and others, and your creativity will just flow.
Seriously, wherever this path takes you, you'll be moving with a compass that points straight to the truest version of You.
Feeling this? Want to learn more about the Embodied Flow™ 200HR Training?
Find all the details here: ➡️ https://www.embodiedflow.com/ryt-200
A Respectful Critique of the 200-Hour Teacher Training Model
Yoga is sacred. It’s a living lineage, a spiritual technology for awakening, not a brand, not a product, not a weekend qualification.
And yet, in today’s yoga world, something feels off. Many of us feel it. The rise of fast-track teacher trainings, the dilution of depth, the loss of lineage. And behind it all, quietly sitting at the helm: Yoga Alliance. And while it calls itself a registry and not an accrediting body, it still exerts enormous influence over what people now expect yoga to be.
We’re not dismissing every YTT. Many are heartfelt and sincere. Some transform lives. But when even well-intentioned trainings are filtered through a framework designed for mass certification, without strict quality control, cultural context, or embodied mentorship, the lineage becomes diluted.
With thousands of trainings flooding the market, often marketed with yoga selfies, quick certifications, and promises of becoming an ‘influencer instructor', this post is a collective reflection. An invitation to ask:
Is the system that governs much of modern yoga education fit for purpose?
Can someone embody yoga in 200 hours?
Can they guide others through its profound physical, psychological, and spiritual terrain after a fast-track, often commercialised, training?
What are we participating in when we fast-track our path to teach a tradition meant to be lived, not performed?
What Is Yoga Alliance?
YA was originally formed as a grassroots response to the increasing commodification of yoga in the West. But over time, its own structure has become emblematic of that very commodification.
YA is not a governing body. It is not peer-reviewed. It does not represent a single lineage. And yet, in many spaces, especially in the U.S. and U.K., it holds a de-facto monopoly on yoga teacher legitimacy.
Yoga Alliance (YA) is often seen as the gold standard in yoga teaching. Many assume it’s an international regulatory body or a government-sanctioned board.
It’s neither.
Yoga Alliance is a private, U.S.-based non-profit trade association (501 (c) (6)) that maintains a voluntary registry for yoga teachers and schools. It has no legal authority to certify or accredit anyone.
It exists to set standards for trainings and maintain a database of teachers and Registered Yoga Schools (RYS).
But here's the thing: anyone can create a 200-hour yoga teacher training and apply to be approved, for a fee.
Ask yourself:
Do yoga students know what YA is?
Does YA accreditation guarantee quality or safety?
Why do so many studios and employers require it?
This form of regulatory branding can distort the purpose of yogic learning. When schools teach "to the certificate," they risk diluting the lineage in order to meet a marketable outcome.
As one long-time teacher put it:
“It’s become more about creating yoga teachers than creating yoga practitioners.” Yoga Alliance RYS Standards: https://www.yogaalliance.org/Credentialing/RYS
How Much Does Yoga Alliance Earn From Teacher Trainings?
Yoga Alliance charges:
$400–$600 USD (~£315–£475 GBP) for a school to register its 200-hour program
$65 USD (~£51 GBP) annual renewal
Plus $50 USD (~£40 GBP) for each new program submission or update
Once approved, the school can run unlimited trainings under that banner.
Teachers then pay:
$50 USD (~£40 GBP) to register as RYT-200
Plus $65 USD (~£51 GBP) per year to remain listed
Multiply this by thousands of schools and tens of thousands of teachers, and we’re talking millions per year in revenue.
According to their public records, Yoga Alliance made over $12 million USD (~£9.4 million GBP) in a recent year.
What Are the Training Standards?
YA’s 200-hour syllabus is broken down into five core categories:
30 hours of Anatomy & Physiology
50 hours of Asana, Pranayama & Meditation
30 hours of Philosophy, Ethics & Lifestyle
40 hours of Teaching Methodology
10 hours of Practicum
With the remaining hours left to the school’s discretion
Trainings can be:
In-person, online, or hybrid
As short as three weeks, or spread out over months
Taught by anyone who meets minimum standards, often just 2 years of teaching experience
No degree, mentorship lineage, or cultural training is required. And there is no minimum requirement for how much experience a student needs to begin the training, many trainees begin with less than a year of yoga experience, some, mere months. There’s no requirement for consistent personal practice beforehand, nor proof that a student understands the yamas and niyamas, the ethical roots of yoga.
Despite the surface appearance of balance, YA’s curriculum is heavily weighted toward asana (posture) and teaching methodology, with far less emphasis on the embodied lived experience of yoga, its philosophical roots, or ethical application. The deeper aspects, pañcakośa theory, sādhana, niyama, dharma, cultural context, and the heart of yogic worldview, are often glossed over or condensed into a few slide-deck hours.
In many trainings, history is flattened into a generic timeline, ethics reduced to a list, and yoga’s Indigenous epistemologies, rooted in liberation and inner revolution, are left untouched. What results is not so much yoga as a spiritual science, but yoga as a performance-based practice with a teacher toolkit.
A Standard That Isn’t One
There is no formal testing. No check on whether schools truly meet the depth yoga deserves. And no real safeguards for students, except if they happen to file a complaint.
Many trainings deliver only a surface-level introduction to complex topics like trauma-informed teaching, cultural appropriation, philosophy, and accessibility. Some students graduate without ever having taught a live class. Others teach classes before completing their own studies.
This dilution isn't the fault of new teachers. It's a systemic outcome of a model that trades depth for deliverability.
To truly embody yoga, to live it, takes more than hours.
It takes relationship, time, discipline, and community.
It takes confronting ego, navigating discomfort, and reweaving your life around truth, not convenience.
Do They Ever Reject Applications?
YA rarely publishes how many applications are denied. Anecdotal evidence from within the yoga community suggests very few schools are rejected, especially if they tick the required boxes and pay the fee.
Is this oversight or just open-door capitalism?
And crucially: Is this information public and transparent?
While some details are available on the YA website, it is not easy to access reviews, complaints, or full syllabi before enrolling.
This raises the question: Is Yoga Alliance truly upholding the yamas, truthfulness (satya) and non-harm (ahimsa), if essential information is obscured?
How Are Complaints Handled?
YA offers a formal grievance process, which allows students or teachers to report ethics violations or subpar trainings.
But:
Complaints must be submitted through an online form
There’s little transparency about how many are upheld, what action is taken, or how this informs broader quality control
There is no public “blacklist” or accessible record of schools with repeated complaints
For prospective students, due diligence is difficult. You have to trust the school’s marketing or know someone who’s already attended.
If you want to explore this yourself:
→ https://www.yogaalliance.org/
→ Check under “Complaints” or “Grievance Procedures”
Can We Really Embody Yoga This Way?
Yoga, at its heart, is a path of transformation. It asks us to live in alignment with dharma, to walk with humility, to embody, not just teach, its wisdom.
Can that happen in 200 hours, online, with no accountability for integration?
Can a system built on quick certifications and profit margins uphold the spiritual, ethical, and cultural depth of this tradition?
Many teachers feel ill-equipped after graduating
Many trainings fail to prepare students for trauma-informed, inclusive, or culturally respectful teaching
And the land from which yoga arose? Often entirely absent from the curriculum
Is Yoga Alliance a Capitalist Racket?
Many of us came through this system, we did our best with what was available.
But we must ask:
❓ Is Yoga Alliance truly serving the evolution of yoga?
❓ Or is it functioning more like a capitalist credential machine, trading spiritual legitimacy for financial gain?
In a time when the world is aching for depth, truth, and rootedness, do we really need more fast-tracked yoga instructors, or more deeply committed practitioners?
Cross-Referenced Voices & Further Reading
You and I are not alone in questioning this. Many have written, spoken, and researched these issues. A few to explore:
Podcasts
Yoga Is Dead Podcast – https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com
Why I boycott Yoga Alliance - Why I Boycott Yoga Alliance | Teachers - Nyk Danu Yoga
Academic Sources
Lau, Kimberly J. (2000). “New Age Capitalism: Making Money East of Eden.” → Explores how spiritual traditions are repackaged in capitalist frameworks, including yoga.
Singleton, Mark (2010). “Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice.” → Contextualises how modern yoga diverged from traditional roots, and how institutions (like YA) shaped that shift.
Jain, Andrea (2015). “Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture.” → A must-read for understanding how yoga became a consumer product and lost its countercultural edge.
Gleig, Ann (2019). “American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity.” → While focused on Buddhism, Gleig explores what happens when spiritual systems meet corporate models—parallels with yoga are illuminating.
Theo Wildcroft, Post-Lineage Yoga (2020). "Post-lineage Yoga – From Guru to #MeToo" On how yoga traditions are evolving beyond lineage and institutions like YA.
Transparency Note & Sources
It wasn’t easy to gather this information. Much of it was buried beneath pages of website jargon and paywalled documents. We’ve done our best to ensure accuracy, but if you find any misinterpretations, please let us know.
Sources:
Yoga Alliance financials via Guidestar and IRS Form 990: https://www.guidestar.org
Yoga Alliance RYS Standards: https://www.yogaalliance.org/Credentialing/RYS
Yoga Is Dead Podcast: https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com
Andrea Jain, Selling Yoga, Oxford University Press, 2014
In Closing
This post isn’t anti-YA. It’s pro-yoga.
Pro-transparency.
Pro-integrity.
And most of all: pro-practice.
It's a call.
A call to remember yoga as a state, not a status.
A path, not a performance.
A lineage, not a lifestyle brand.
May we protect what is sacred.
May we listen deeper than branding.
May we walk the path, not just teach it.
Let’s walk it with integrity.
Let’s make space for depth again.
Let’s serve yoga, so yoga can serve the world.
