Contact Hours v Non-Contact Hours
A contact hour is an in-person classroom hour in the physical presence of a faculty member. Contact hours must be in a dedicated teacher training environment (into which others might occasionally be invited) rather than in classes intended for the general public.
Of the required contact hours in Yoga Alliance standards, a number are specified in each educational categories. Any unspecified contact hours must be distributed among the educational categories and can be taught by any faculty member.
A non-contact hour is an hour outside of the classroom, without a faculty member present. All non-contact hours should be relevant to yoga and/or anatomy and physiology. These outside resources should be thoughtfully chosen to support the training. Non-contact hours must be an assigned part of the curriculum and may include:
- Reading, audio/video or internet resources that incorporate an assessment including reports, class discussions, presentations or tests
- Webinars on yoga-related topics
- Written assignments on yoga-related topics; may be counted for all categories except Practicum
- Group activities including directed discussion, techniques practice or teaching practice
- Evaluation of yoga classes outside of the program, with the following stipulations:
- Each class must be evaluated via a written or oral exercise
- A maximum of two hours may be earned by evaluating outside yoga classes
- These hours may count toward the Techniques, Teaching Methodology or Practicum categories