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OYA Continuing Education Standards

Overview

OYA is aware that many OYA R (formerly known as OYAC) teachers already pursue continuing education (CE) for their own personal growth and in order to offer enriched information to their students. The purpose of continuing education is:

• to ensure that all OYA Rs strive for an ever-deeper level of understanding of yoga and its tradition
• to refine and enhance teaching skills and ability
• to offer inspiration to our students
• to uphold the best possible standards of education for our students and teachers so that the practice of yoga excels in meeting the needs of our students.

Note: While OYA recognizes that continuing education is essential for the practice and teaching of yoga, the requirements detailed below apply to Registered members only. We encourage our general members to accumulate CE hours but documentation is not required.

Standards

The continuing education standards set out the requirements for yoga training and teaching experience. In order to maintain your Registered status, you will need the following for each two year period:

1. to teach a minimum of 45 classroom hours of yoga over the current 2 year period.
2. to accumulate 40 CE hours, at least 25 of which must be contact hours (explained below).
3. CPR/First Aid current certification
4. Liability insurance coverage

For details on how to fulfill these requirements please click here.

CE Study Areas

Any of the following 5 subject areas (defined in more detail in YTT subject areas):

1. Yoga Techniques training/practice, such as pranayama, Kriyas, chanting, mantra, meditation, and other traditional yoga techniques
2. Teaching Methodology, such as demonstration, observation, assisting/ correcting, instruction, teaching styles, and business aspects of teaching yoga
3. Anatomy & Physiology – physical body and the energy body
4. Yoga Philosophy/ Ethics/ Lifestyle
5. Supervised teaching. For example, mentoring with a senior OYA R teacher who observes you teaching and provides feedback. This could also include assisting when someone else is teaching

CE Trainers

CE Contact hours must be instructed by one of the following: OYA R 200 or OYA R 500 or the equivalent, with a minimum of 2 years teaching experience and taught at least 1000 hours of classes (after meeting the OYA R criteria or equivalent)

Instructors of Anatomy & Physiology must have at least 100 hours of education and/or experience in their subject specialty.

OYA R 500s with 2,000 hours of teaching experience may use their training hours with students as CE contact hours.

CE Contact and Non Contact hours

A. Contact Hours

One contact hour is 60 minutes of class time in the physical presence of a yoga teacher or anatomy & physiology instructor. Contact hours may be accrued through yoga workshops, retreats and courses, which cover material arising out of any of the five subject areas listed earlier.

For example, attending a OYA Spring or Fall retreat = approximately 10 contact hours)
Participation in yoga discussion and study groups also earns CE contact hours.

Please Note: 5 hours (300 minutes) as a student in another teacher's regular yoga class equals 1 contact hour.

B. Non-contact hours

OYA recognizes home-study as a component of continuing education. One non-contact hour equals five hours (300 minutes) of non-contact study. Non-contact hours may be accrued in any of the following activities:

• Reading a book or article that supports the deepening of your yoga practice and understanding
• Working with a yoga video or study with a yoga tape that supports the deepening of your yoga practice and understanding
• Taking an on-line course related to yoga
• Taking a correspondence course related to yoga
• Being mentored by telephone through a yoga-related program
• Publishing yoga books or articles in newsletters/newspapers/magazines
• Developing yoga class materials for distribution to students
• Producing yoga videos or yoga tapes

As part of your non-contact CE documentation, you may be required to write an explanation of each activity and how it influenced your practice and/or teaching of yoga.

Note: both contact and non-contact CE hours are limited to areas that fall within the scope of yoga studies outlined earlier.

Fulfillment of CE Requirements

1. Beginning the CE Cycle: The first two-year period will begin as of the date of a OYA R’s 2006 renewal (or newly received 2006 Registration). During the first CE hour accounting period, you may use CE hours earned during the period from your 2005 renewal date to your 2006 renewal date (giving you three years to accumulate the required hours to include with your 2008 renewal).
2. Documentation: At the end of each two-year renewal period, OYA R members will need to report the number of CE hours completed, training attended and non-contact activities completed throughout the two-year period. A form for the recording of CE hours is available on the website here: OYA Continuing Education Form (pdf). Note: A limited audit will be performed, asking selected OYA Rs to submit detailed documentation of CE hours to OYA. Proof of liability insurance coverage, current CPR /First Aid certification, updated personal information, and a renewal fee of $65.00 are required.

Extensions: A OYA R may have extenuating life circumstances that do not permit him/her to meet the CE requirements in time. In such cases, they may request an extension. S/he will then be placed on inactive status until the CE requirements are met. (While on inactive status, s/he will not be a OYA R, but also will not have to re-register from scratch later when activating his/her OYA R status.) On the date that CE requirements are met and the registration fee paid, the applicant will begin another two-year CE period. OYA Rs who miss a CE renewal deadline and wish to renew must first bring their CE up to date.

CE Carryover: If a OYA R earns more than 40 CE hours in a given two-year CE renewal period, the excess hours cannot be carried over into the next two-year CE period.

NOTE: Email info@ontarioyogaassociation.ca (CE as subject) with any questions or contact OYA.