19/08/2026
🕉️ Do we even have to use that word?
Seniority;
Certification?
Running a studio?
Good marketing?
Years of actual teaching and managing students?
Life experience acknowledging direct experience of yoga ‘in action’?
Is this all just ego..?
Do we care?
To be recognised as a senior teacher by Yoga Alliance* requires an E-RYT (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher) designation; baseline training and THOUSANDS of post-certification teaching hours.
[*”do we care about Yoga Alliance?” is a whole other debate]
Pinning down that 300-hour certification doesn’t quite cut it.
⏯️ You’ve GOT to put it into action.
Running a studio also doesn’t. Many people run studios and it’s only business, if they know how-to they might teach once a week.
Good marketing? Just because you say you’re good at something doesn’t make it true. When you try to put ‘seniority’ into action, experience and knowledge will shine through, if it exists.
So what are we saying, what do people in real life genuinely consider and NEED from teachers..?
Because trust me - they do care!
❤️Lived experience.
❤️Applied knowledge.
And you can’t get that solely from certifications.
Half the world doesn’t care about Yoga Alliance certifications, but most of the world cares whether you crack a good class, can guide them properly, help them in a crisis, and not trigger their traumas.
NB; remember boundaries as a teacher - you’re not a therapist or doctor.
Make sure you’re capable.
None of this comes from a training course, not really.
It’ll come, with practice - as all the rest of it does.
Does the person with all the high-flying names under their belt know what to do with Jean when her anxiety kicks off, or Robin’s rotator cuff rehab..?
Do they know how to mentor new teachers and capably guide every step for complete beginners..?
And we may never know detailed answers to those scenarios but a senior teacher will know how to handle them - the finesse that comes with experience.
Yoga is a vocational skill - we feed knowledge with study, but it only really comes into effect when we implement it.
We are dealing with real people after all.
🕉️ “Practice and all is coming” as Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said.
