Be certified in just three weeks! Learn to teach yoga in just ten days! Become a yoga teacher at home by taking part in our online course!

I wish that these sentences were snarky snapshots of a humor column. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the yoga industry, where the art of teaching is sometimes sacrificed for the art of making money. And this is a sad state of affairs for the people who are supposed to be disciplining themselves in the yoga practice.

Not all teachers are certified through Yoga Alliance, an organization formed in 1999. There were plenty of amazing teachers before that time. What is most upsetting is expecting anyone to learn the dynamics of teaching by cramming 200 hours of material into three weeks or less. When these trainings require students to live somewhere else — say a mountain retreat or a beach — during that time, returning them to daily life with a smile and a certificate, we have to ask: Are we prepared to step into the realm of teaching?

Obviously some people will answer yes, rightfully so. Teaching is knowledge, yet its also so much more — presence, confidence, annunciation, passion. There’s so much that goes into every class. Yet I can’t help feeling that a number of programs are little more than ways of making quick cash, and this is sad, for it shows a complete lack of responsibility on the part of someone who is supposed to be a leader in the community.

The certification process for becoming an accredited school is rigorous, and shows just how much information needs to be thought about before taking that first step. Earlier this year Stephanie Culen and I launched the first training program at Equinox Fitness in New York City, Sacred Strength EarthRise Yoga. We opted for a six-month course, as it would allow students to integrate the teachings into their life as they were learning. Over two months into the program, I’m happy we made this choice, and from what I can tell, our students appreciate it as well.

Considering Stephanie and I both graduated from long programs, it’s natural that we’d feel they are the way to go. I don’t want to discredit shorter programs that might be just as beneficial. Yet this is the reason why I respect someone like John Friend, who puts so much into his training program — he’s not simply handing out certificates to anyone who pays. When the standard is raised, you have to rise to the occasion.

When a studio or teacher offers a program because it is a quick source of income, or when a student chooses a short program because it “fits into my schedule,” you have to stop and ask: Why teach at all? If this is the philosophy you’re taking into your practice now, it’s not going to stop — as we know from our understanding of samsara, the cycle is not easy to get off from. We have to be responsible on every level: as a teacher, as a student, and as a disciple of the practice of yoga itself. Shortcuts cheat every level of this process.