Get on to REPs - Step by step

Swami Ambikananda has written this:

Dear Yoginis and Yogins,

Here with the information about getting onto REPs. Once again, if you feel you may need it in the next few years, it’s best to get it now.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GETTING ONTO REPS

STEP 1 : INSURANCE.

REPs require you to have £5million pounds insurance cover. As you know,the insurance we use (Three Counties) starts us at £3 million cover –which I have felt is more than adequate for many years. However, the very first thing you will need to do is increase your insurance cover to £5million. You can do this through Three Counties by simply phoning them.

OR you can buy a new insurance policy through the REPs brokers (JardineLloyd Thompson UK Ltd, to be found on their websitewww.exerciseregister.org) as part of your registration process.

OR you can investigate the brokers of IYN (Bordengate Insurance – see IYNwebsite www.independentyoganetwork.org).

In this regard Uddhava and I found that while the REPs insurance throughJardine Lloyd Thompson is cheaper, it is not as comprehensive as the ThreeCounties insurance we already have, so we have opted to increase our insurance cover with Three Counties. Once we phoned and did that we got the certificate for the new cover the next day.

Once you have sorted out the insurance the rest becomes quite easy.

STEP 2 : BECOME A MEMBER OF IYN.

The TYA is a member as an organisation so you are now able to join as individual members. In order to do this you will need to:
• Go to their website and print out form YR 101 and complete it.
• Make a short Yoga-specific CV.
• Make a copy of your TYA Yoga Teachers certificate.

Send all this to the IYN. The cost of joining them is £25 and you will need to send this fee in with your application.

They will send you a welcome email with your IYN membership number – keep it safe.

STEP 3. JOIN REPs.

Once you have your IYN number you are able to apply to REPs. This is done as follows:
a) Go to the REPS website, click on Join REPs and print out the form appropriately called REGISTRATION FORM (for which you need your IYN membership number). You will need to complete and return this form to them with the following:
• Your Yoga-specific CV (that you have already created for IYN)
• A photocopy of your £5 million insurance cover
• A photocopy of your TYA certificate
• A photocopy of your membership email from the IYN
• A letter (from a ‘responsible person’ i.e. your doctor OR Uddhava can give you such a letter for a nominal fee of £5) certifying that all these photocopies are authentic.

All these are sent to REPS with the £25 joining fee. (Thus the entire process will have cost you £50 + the added amount for the increased insurance). You will enter the REPs register at Level 3. This is not the end of this long journey for us as an organisation – we will continue to explore other avenues. However, it does mean that REPs membership is immediately available to all our individual teachers who want it.

In peace, Swami Ambikananda