their own performance meets that industry
or sector (‘industry or sector’ is used here
to refer to the breadth of yogic practices
and potential stakeholders. It is a common
term or descriptor used within the NOS
development process and is not meant to
control or pigeonhole individuals and their
practices and beliefs) expectation. The
Development of any National Occupational
Standard goes through a rigorous research,
development, consultation and refinement
process that is agreed by an industry led
Steering Group and Government office in all
four nations across the UK.
The initial approach for the development
of a set of NOS for Hatha yoga teachers was
driven by several aspects:
n request from the sector to set a
benchmark for the teaching of Hatha yoga
n confusion of insurance providers
regarding the standards for yoga practice
and what could be insured
n confusion from training providers
regarding the correct qualification
required by the sector
n need for standards that set a minimum
level of experience/skills that ensure safe
practice in teaching hatha yoga, preventing
the risk of injury to participants
n request for consistency of standards for
teaching Hatha yoga, across the UK to
provide a clear benchmark for entry on
to the SkillsActive Register of Exercise
Professionals (REPs)
We would like to emphasise that it is not the
practice of yoga and its many approaches
and philosophies that are being sought
to be standardised. The NOS review will
only cover the teaching of the pillars of
Hatha yoga. As it is stated in the footnotes
below, [not shown here] it is not meant to
control or pigeonhole individuals and their
practices and beliefs. The principle behind
the approach to develop NOS is to establish
an agreed core of fundamental skills with
which to teach Hatha yoga; not what you
teach. Likewise, it is appreciated that we are
all individuals and this process should not
be seen as trying to turn out teachers who
are regimented in their teaching methods,
delivery and approaches.
We would like to draw upon a past
example to illustrate how NOS development
has worked in another sector, with a similar
diversity of complexities, methodologies
and applications; that of Sports Coaching.
A whole host of sports covering swimming,
tennis, water polo, synchronised swimming,
rugby, hockey etc. all use the Sports
Coaching NOS, to base their practice
Te acher zone
The first introduction of the NOS topic in OM was via a letter from the
British Wheel of Yoga in our October issue. We’ve included it below for easy
reference. A follow up from the BWY outlining its position on the standards
initiative can be seen on the next page:Paul Fox highlights proposals by Skills
Active, the sector skills council for active
leisure, learning and wellbeing, to develop
national occupational Standards for Yogat
he announcement that National Occupational
Standards for Yoga are being developed and due to
be rolled out in the second half of next year has
caused a ripple of concern and head scratching in
the UK yoga community.
Why is this being done? And by whom? The sector skills council
for active leisure, learning and wellbeing – Skills Active – began the
initiative in June. Skills Active has no expert knowledge of yoga,
but it knows a great deal about drawing up National Occupational
Standards, or NOS. They provide a baseline and a benchmark on
which minimum standards of training can be based.
We believe it would be a good thing for there to be an agreed
national minimum standard for yoga teaching in order to reassure
the public and to help them choose well-trained yoga teachers, from
whichever school they may have qualified with.
However, the contents of the NOS will not be up to any one
organisation. Every yoga school, group and enthusiast in England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is being invited to participate
in the standards process.
The reason why experts believe that NOS will work for yoga is
that most Hatha classes in this country involve some or all of the
following elements:If yoga teachers were trained in these areas (as many already are) it
wouldn’t mean that all yoga classes would be the same. There is still
infinite scope for breadth and variety of tradition.Yoga standards
HAVE yOUR SAy
The British Wheel of yoga encourages all yoga
teachers, groups, schools and other relevant
agencies and organisations to have their input
during this important time.
To have your say, visit the Skills Active website:
skillsactive.com115Te acher zone
Initial centering
Basic breathing or pranayama
The mobilisation of key joints and activation of major muscle groups
Specific preparation for “peak” posture or sequence Counter-pose and
winding down Inversion Relaxation (and perhaps also meditation).
In order to teach these elements of a Hatha yoga class, we all might
expect a teacher to have:
n Knowledge and understanding of how the body works so that
postures can be modified for the less able and for a range of common
conditions, such as arthritis, high blood pressure or lower back pain.
n Knowledge and understanding of a good range of asanas and
their benefits and effects on the body. Postures to include: forward
bends, back-bends, side bends, twists, balances and inversions.
n Knowledge and understanding of relaxation, its effects on the
mind and nervous system, and relaxation techniques to use in class.
n Knowledge and understanding of pranayama techniques, simple
hasta mudras, bandhas and practices for concentration/meditation
n Knowledge and understanding of the theory and philosophy
underlying yoga, such as Patanjali’s sutras and the Hatha
Yoga PradipikaOM_65.indd 115 06/09/2016 12:29:43upon. Each professional sports coach uses
their own disciplines and approaches with
which to coach individuals and they modify
their approach to suit each individual they
coach, however; they all base their coaching
approach upon that of the core Sports
Coaching NOS. We respectfully ask you
to consider the opportunity of drawing a
parallel between this example of adaptation
and tailoring how this could be applied to
the NOS proposed for teaching Hatha yoga.
It is early days in this review and
development process and SkillsActive are
acting as facilitators, but this process
is ultimately led by employers, partnerorganisations and industry experts within the
practice of Hatha yoga. The process aims to
be transparent and accessible, recognising
and respecting the diversity of backgrounds,
culture and traditions of practising yoga.
The NOS development process is to be
focused on the teaching of hatha yoga,
which has no religious bias, goal or aim,
thereby promoting yoga in an inclusive way
that is open to all religions and not confined
to one.Kind regards,
Caroline Larissey
Head of Standards & Qualifications