Yoga teachers in Australia will soon have to have a minimum qualification before they can teach the practice in gyms across the country.
The move comes with Fitness Australia, the exercise industry peak body agreeing that a qualification was need to prevent people from being injured by unqualified instructors after being approached by Yoga Teachers Association of Australia (YTAA) over complaints of injuries caused.A 2004 report by Medibank Private has come up with fact that a quarter of yoga pupils had been injured as a result of their exercise. "One of the most common complaints we receive is of under qualified people teaching classes in a fitness setting when they have very little experience,” The Age quoted Stephen Penman, vice-president of YTAA, as saying.
"Some people have just done a one- or two-day course and we wanted to raise the standard of teaching," he added.
The announcement read that the Fitness Australia will bring in YTAA minimum standards of accreditation, which says that there should be at least 320 hours of instructor training over the course of one year before teaching a class.
The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is also likely to introduce regulation on the number of students in any class and better regulation of practice.
According to the APA also brings to light that the outcome of badly taught yoga sessions have resulted in muscle tears, spinal injuries and nerve damages of the pupils. "People think it is a gentle form of exercise but some of the poses and some forms of yoga can be very strenuous. If it is done wrong, you can cause damage." said Peter Fazey, APA National President.
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Source-ANI
LIN/V
