A credential the public trusts
You're the expert in yoga and we want to make sure you are recognized for that. That's why, in 2027, Yoga Alliance will take credentials to the next level, modeled on best practices established by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and feedback from our members.
experienced registered yoga teacher
Get the recognition you've earned
The updated model recognizes more than training hours. It brings together education, skills, accountability, and continued professional growth. Take what you learned in yoga teacher training further by completing and passing an assessment that demonstrates the skills that help you share yoga with confidence—from ethics, safety and inclusion to effective teaching and pedagogy—while recognizing the diversity of yoga traditions, lineages, and teaching approaches.
- Verified, searchable listing in the Yoga Alliance Directory
- A clear pathway from yoga teacher training graduate to credentialed teacher
- Marketing materials to promote your credential online and in-person
- An optional course to prepare you for the credentialing assessment
- Earn specialty designations for your expertise, such as children’s yoga and prenatal yoga
Grow your school
The RYS® credential is how your school proves it's worth choosing. It recognizes yoga schools for their commitment to instructional quality, ethical conduct, safety, and education grounded in yoga’s traditions across their full range of offerings. Beyond yoga teacher training, it helps schools showcase what they offer, build trust, and reach more students. That trust translates directly into more inquiries, more enrollments, and a stronger reputation in a crowded market.
- Directory profile to promote your classes, events, workshops, trainings, and retreats
- Earn specialty designations for teacher training programs like 200-hour, 300-hour, 500-hour, prenatal, and children’s yoga
- Promote your credential everywhere students are looking and turn that visibility into enrollments
- An optional course to prepare you for the credentialing assessment
What happens when trust is tested?
A Restorative Accountability Framework: A transparent, community-centered approach to addressing concerns, with options for anonymous or identified reporting and pathways ranging from restorative resolution and remediation to formal investigation and enforcement. The framework balances safety, fairness, due process, and opportunities for repair.
of respondents are likely to seek a teacher with a credential from Yoga Alliance when looking for a yoga teacher
To learn more about our research with Forum One, click here.
Your membership, unbundled and upgraded.
For years, your credential and your membership were bundled. That single path limited opportunities for working professionals and for people who simply love the practice. We are rebuilding it from the ground up as two distinct offerings, each one clearer and stronger than before.
Join the largest yoga community in the world
Find peers in your region wherever you are in your yoga journey. coffee chats, community groups, expert sessions, and partner spotlights run year round.
Build the skills to grow your business or practice
Curated on-demand courses, expert webinars, e-books, and bite-sized learning you can use right away. From business and marketing to teaching methods and class design, leadership, and professional skills, get practical insights that help you turn knowledge into action.
Find a mentor or teacher
Wherever you are in your yoga journey, connect with the right teacher or mentor to help you learn, grow, and take your next step.
Push for progress: research & advocacy
Through the Yoga in the World survey, we gather insights to understand the needs and experiences of the yoga community. We also advocate on policies and regulations that affect yoga professionals, studios, and schools.
Spend less time on admin and more time on doing what you love
Skip the blank-page work with ready-to-use templates, forms, waivers, checklists, and business resources in the resource hub so you can spend less time on paperwork and more time growing your yoga business.
Protect what you've built
Explore discounted liability insurance options, courses, and practical resources designed to help you protect your yoga work, your business, and the people you serve.
When times get tough, we're here for you
Whether you're facing a crisis, a tight budget, or a heavy season, support is here.
Keep teaching through the toughest times
The Emergency Relief Fund is a year-round, one-time $600 cash award for those whose primary yoga income is interrupted by an acute personal or community crisis and who cannot meet immediate basic needs such as housing, food, or medical care.
Your membership's safety net
Dues relief is a financial relief program designed to help members and prospective members experiencing temporary financial hardship maintain or begin their Yoga Alliance membership or pursue a credential.
Serve your community. We'll cover the cost.
Our Community Class Fund supports yoga professionals who offer free yoga classes in crisis-affected communities. This fund recognizes the teachers who step up in those moments. By supporting your free community classes, we help make sure that giving back doesn't come at your own expense.
It's your turn to be supported
Caring for others starts with caring for yourself. Through our partnership with BetterHelp, connect with licensed therapists for confidential mental health support, whenever and wherever you need it.
Available to anyone regardless of their membership or credential status with Yoga Alliance. Participants must meet the program’s eligibility requirements. All participants must submit an application to be considered. Meeting eligibility requirements doesn’t guarantee an award. Subject to availability.
Join today
Your membership is getting better in 2027, but you don't need to wait for it. Join or renew today.
Membership and credential together, held for 3 years through your 2029 renewal.1
¹ New applicants for the RYT credential pay a one-time $50 application fee.
Membership and credential together, held for 3 years through your 2029 renewal.2
2 New applicants for the RYS credential pay a one-time $400 application fee.
Rates and policies subject to change. See full terms for details.
Let's keep the conversation going
We're still listening. Share what's on your mind.