What is IAYT Professional Development?

Professional development is an important aspect of any respected profession. C-IAYTs are required to meet certain continuing education requirements during each 3-year certification period to enhance their yoga therapy knowledge.

What are the C-IAYT Continuing Education Requirements?

C-IAYT recertification is required every 3 years. To be eligible for recertification you must:

• Be an active member of IAYT by ensuring your IAYT membership is current
• Submit at least 24 hours (24 CEs) of IAYT approved continuing education within each 3-year certification period
• Pass the online IAYT Ethics and Scope of Practice Quiz (2 CEs) - for your initial certification
• Pass the online IAYT Ethics and Scope of Practice trainings (2 CEs) - effective 2021

Continuing education credits (CEs) reset when the C-IAYT recertification is approved.

Read more on C-IAYT Policies and Procedures

Where can I find the Ethics and Scope of Practice quiz?

What is a CE?

Different professions and different organizations have different terminology for a unit of continuing education. IAYT refers to Continuing Education credits as CEs. 1 CE is equivalent to one (1) contact hour of training. Contact hours do not include breaks and homework.

What are the options for earning continuing education credits (CEs)?

Continuing education hours can be acquired through a variety of sources, including:

• IAYT Direct: Attendance/Participation directly with IAYT
• APD: Approved Professional Development
• Petition: Attendance/Participation other than IAYT Direct or APD

All continuing education must be yoga therapy related, meet one or more of the IAYT yoga therapist training competency areas, and have a proof of attendance, participation, or completion uploaded with each submission. 

Can I earn CEs online?

The delivery and participation of all yoga therapy related sources of continuing education can be Live (In-Person), Live (Online), Pre-Recorded or a Hybrid (combined in-person and online).

Is there a preferred method of meeting CE requirements?

IAYT Direct and APD are the preferred methods of meeting continuing education requirements. They have been pre-approved to meet the IAYT yoga therapist training competency areas. In the future, there will be a review fee for the petition of CEs.

What is IAYT Direct?

• Participating in the IAYT conferences (SYTAR and SYR), will count up to 22 and 15 continuing education hours respectively. These hours (CEs) are awarded automatically to your professional development journal, after the conference, once attendance is confirmed.
• Passing the IAYT Ethics and Scope of Practice Quiz is required of all new C-IAYTs and new online Ethics and Scope of Practice trainings will be periodically updated for subsequent recertification. Upon passing these trainings 2 CEs will be awarded automatically to your professional development journal.

What is APD?

Approved Professional Development (APD) courses and workshops are listed here. Each of the offerings has been pre-screened and meets the competency requirements for C-IAYT recertification. These offerings also have the advantage of no cost, easy submission of CEs. Once an APD offering is completed you can return to the course listing, click on a link, answer a brief survey, upload your proof of completion, and the CE credit will be posted to your professional development journal.

Does IAYT offer any free CE?

In addition to the Ethics and Scope of Practice trainings, IAYT now offers the ability to earn free CE by reading the featured article in our publication, Yoga Therapy Today. Each edition will have the opportunity to earn one (1) CE credit by reading the article and taking a brief quiz on the content of the article. These CEs are claimed in the APD course listing.

Can I earn CE for CPR or first aid training?

Any American Red Cross (or international equivalent) CPR course will count as one (1) CE. Use the APD Course listing for CPR to claim your CE.

What type of CE do I have to petition (self-submit) for?

The following are the types of training, participation, and activities that may be petitioned through your profile for individual review and approval by IAYT. In the future, there will be a review fee for the petition of CEs.

• Completing courses and workshops that support one or more of the competencies outlined within the IAYT yoga therapist education competency areas.
• Teaching yoga therapy courses or workshops that support one or more of the competencies (contact hours only). If you teach the same course multiple times in the 3-year certification period you can only count the hours of one time teaching the course.
• Hours spent in individual clinical supervision with a mentor or in peer supervision groups with a mentor that support one or more of the competencies.

What type of CEs are not accepted?

We do not currently accept for CE hours the writing of yoga therapy books, articles, professional publications, research or the reading of such materials.

How do I submit my CEs?

Claiming or submitting continuing education hours for your Professional Development journal varies based on how you earned the CEs. Read more here.

How do I view my CE entries?

• Sign into your member profile at iayt.org
• Go to Manage Profile
• Scroll down to Content & Features
• Click on Professional Development
• Click on Journal Entries to see your CE details

Background and Future Plans

Initial requirements for C-IAYT Continuing Education were set when the IAYT certification process began in May 2016 and were reviewed and updated in September 2020. These requirements allow a broad acceptance of CE hours as long as they are aligned with the IAYT yoga therapist education competency areas. The preferred method of of meeting IAYT Continuing Education is IAYT Direct and APD. We anticipate that the continuing education requirements for subsequent C-IAYT recertification may be revised in the future.