Today’s blog is all about demystifying yoga terms and abbreviations. If you’ve ever wondered why there are so many yoga abbreviations – YTT, RYS, E-RYT, YTTC, etc. – and thought, what the hell do they mean? Keep reading! Clarity is coming…
In this blog:
So, yoga terms explained. Where to begin? Let’s start with this commonly asked question from our yoga teacher training courses…
What is the Yoga Alliance?
What is the Yoga Alliance and why does it matter?
The Yoga Alliance is a large independent organisation that was established in 1999 to help standardise yoga trainings and practices. They advocate for regulation and safety in the yoga industry. So, when you’re looking for a yoga school, make sure they are registered with the Yoga Alliance. This will ensure you receive proper training.
Which brings us to more yoga terms…
What does RYS mean in yoga?
RYS stands for Registered Yoga School. This term is used by yoga schools to signify their relationship with the Yoga Alliance. For a school to become a RYS, their programs need to include a certain amount of hours spent studying and teaching specific topics.
This includes teaching methodology, anatomy, training and practice (such as prananyama, asana, etc), yoga philosophy etc.
Make sure to look out for RYS when you’re booking your yoga teacher training.
In addition, do your own research. These systems are not full-proof and yoga schools currently require no in-person visits to register as a RYS. They need only submit their syllabus online. Which of course, could result in some less than genuine schools claiming to be RYS.
Our suggestion: do your own research and check out the reviews.
What does RYT mean in yoga?
RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher. This is someone who has completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training course and has registered with the yoga alliance.
If you see numbers after RYT, e.g. RYT 200 and RYT 500. That number stands for the amount of training hours a person has done.
So, RYT 200 signifies that a teacher has completed their 200 hours yoga teacher training. RYT 500 means a yoga teacher has done a 200 hour training, and a 300 hour training (200 + 300 = 500).
What does E-RYT mean?
Note: sometimes people also use the term “E-RYT”. The “E” stands for experienced and usually means this teacher has been teaching for some years and accumulated at least 1,000 hours of teaching.
And, in order to become a “RYT” you’ll need to take a “YTT”…
Keep reading – we’ll make it make sense…!
What does YTT mean in yoga?
More yoga terms! Have you ever seen these weird abbreviations like “200hrs YTT” or “300 hour YTTC” and thought… what the hell does that mean and what’s the difference?
YTT simply stands for Yoga Teacher Training.
Yoga teacher training (YTT) is the learning that prospective yoga teachers go through in order to become qualified yoga teachers. A YTT will include learning of asanas, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, anatomy, teaching methodology, and more.
And the number – 200/300/100 – signifies the amount of hours / type of course.
So, a 200hr YTT has 200 hours worth of teacher. A 300hr YTT has 300 hours of teaching. And so on…
What does YTTC mean in yoga?
So, much like “YTT”, YTTC stands for Yoga Teacher Training Course. All the above info still applies.
A yoga teacher training course (YTTC) is the process that students go through to become certified yoga teachers. There’s not any difference between YTT and YTTC, other than a person or school’s preference!
Let’s do one more for fun…
What does YACEP mean in yoga?
The Yoga Alliance created this term. YACEP means Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. This classification is for teachers who deliver educational courses. If you are an E-RYT, you can upgrade and add the YACEP designation to teach others what you know.
Let’s say you want to teach a course about yoga for people with special needs, or a course about the chakras, you can do so under the YACEP designation. Potential students will be able to search you in the YACEP directory by keyword.
So, there you have it. Yoga terms debunked.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!
