( CNN ) -- Joe Palese took his first yoga class in the 1990s , right as the practice began gaining in popularity in the United States . `` They did n't even have any yoga mats , '' he said , recalling the New York sports club that offered the class . It was n't until Palese started taking classes at yoga studios that he realized a lot of the previous sessions were `` watered down '' versions of yoga . The loose interpretation was n't bothersome ; yoga by definition is a diverse practice with more than a dozen different styles . But as Palese remembers , some of the poses the inexperienced teachers were demonstrating were simply not right . `` The instructors were cool people , and they 'd play good music , but students did n't know they were being taught poorly , '' said Palese , who became a yoga instructor himself 14 years ago . And , according to author and New York Times science writer William J . Broad , some of the common yoga poses can cause serious injuries like nerve damage , torn cartilage , and strokes , among others . An article adapted from Broad 's upcoming book on yoga featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine earlier this month with the title `` How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body , '' sparked a lively debate within the yoga community about how to keep practitioners safe . In the article , Broad noted that yoga is a `` free-for-all '' with `` no hierarchy of officials or organization to ensure purity and adhere to agreed-upon sets of facts and poses , rules and procedures , outcomes and benefits . '' Broad is correct -- there is n't a government oversight committee dedicated to yoga practice . And that 's because many practitioners prefer it that way . `` Yoga comes from India . Things are not uniform by tradition , '' said Gyandev McCord , who has taught yoga for 25 years . In an effort to provide a common ground for the diverse practice of yoga , a group of seasoned yoga practitioners -- `` yogis '' -- came together in 1999 to form the Yoga Alliance , a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to create minimum standards for yoga teacher training . Fearing government or insurance companies might step in and start calling the shots , the alliance set forth to self-regulate , said McCord , who is the co-founder and vice chairman of the organization . It is for yogis , by yogis . After all , McCord said , those `` who do n't understand the landscape of yoga are n't qualified '' to regulate the standards for teaching . Anyone trained by schools registered with the Yoga Alliance completes 200 or 500 hours of training , based on the following five principles : yoga techniques , including poses , breathing and meditation ; general teaching methodology ; anatomy and physiology ; yoga philosophy and ethics ; and training , practicum , and supervised teaching , in which senior instructors observe trainees to identify and correct any issues . McCord said the five principles allow for `` a lot of wiggle room , '' and aim to protect and promote the teacher 's individuality . Once trained , the instructors are certified by their school and their names are listed on a registry that informs the public of teachers in their area who have completed the minimum standards for yoga instruction . Yoga Alliance-trained teachers may also use the trademarked `` RYT '' -- registered yoga teacher -- behind their name , indicating they 've completed the required hours . Not all members of the yoga community are on board with this approach , however . Leslie Kaminoff , co-founder of the Breathing Project , a nonprofit that provides continuing education to yoga practitioners , disagrees with yoga regulation of any kind . He believes in a free market approach to regulations for yoga teacher training . `` Yoga is about freedom , '' he said , `` The market place is the ultimate quality control . '' Yoga instruction , he said , is about a relationship between a teacher and a student . If a teacher is trained to teach yoga on the Internet or by a DVD at home and the student is fine with it , it 's really nobody 's business . McCord said he has no problem with that approach . `` It 's not illegal to teach without training as a teacher , '' he said . But Palese is more wary . He believes that learning how to align properly is something that needs an `` expert eye , '' one that ca n't be achieved by watching a DVD . `` Anyone can tell you what to do , it 's explaining how to do it , '' he said . And that is what separates effective teachers from the rest , according to Palese . `` It 's alignment with awareness , '' he said . Palese trains teachers at a studio where he teaches in suburban Atlanta . His 200-hour training class meets one weekend a month for 10 months , a long stretch of time imperative to the teaching process . `` You need time for information to settle , '' Palese said . Since yoga instruction is far more complex than just leading students to do poses , Palese said he reserves the right to extend the training past 10 months if needed . He wants to give his new teachers whatever time they need to assimilate the information so that they can feel confident teaching others . `` It 's the integrity and the awareness that the teacher brings to class that is most important , '' Palese said . Palese said successful teachers are committed to the safety for their students and will provide suggestions for modification , as well as props like belts , blankets and blocks to make those modifications . A willingness to adapt the practice for different audiences and environments helps too . `` I 've taught yoga in the oddest of places , '' he said . Good teachers `` can teach yoga in an auditorium , a prison , a hospital . '' They `` can transform the whole thing just by who they are . ''
A recent New York Times Magazine article created shock waves in the yoga community . The piece by journalist and author Barbara Ehrenreich was titled “Yoga for Fat People.” There 's no formal oversight of yoga , and most instructors prefer it that way . Many yoga practitioners disagree on whether teachers should be formally trained .