New York:
When the state notified yoga studios that the instruction of yoga teachers would soon fall under government oversight, the last thing it expected was a battle.
But yoga teachers across a wide range of disciplines, from the body sculpting to the spirit enhancing, quickly began a coordinated attack on the state effort, hoping to avoid a cumbersome licensing process.
In the next 10 days, almost a year after the dispute began, Gov. David A. Paterson is expected to approve a bill that would exempt training programs for yoga teachers from state regulation under laws intended to provide oversight of vocational schools.
"People doubted we could do it," said Alison West, a yoga instructor and the executive director of Yoga for New York, a nonprofit group established to fight the regulation effort. "Everyone is very excited."
Paterson has until March 24 to sign the bill, which has been approved by the state Assembly and the state Senate and has the backing of the Education Department, which initially pushed for the licensing of the yoga teachers. The bill adds yoga and martial arts to areas of instruction that are exempt from state oversight; they include religion, painting and athletics.
"This was just a bureaucratic error that I'm happy we corrected," said Sen. Eric T. Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, who sponsored the bill.
"It's a personal-enrichment and spiritual practice," he added. "It's not something that really cries out for more regulation."
The issue arose in April, when the Education Department sent a letter ordering yoga studios to halt their intensive programs, known as teacher trainings, and apply for licenses - or face up to a $50,000 fine. The state requirements, which apply to vocational schools like those that teach hairdressers, massage therapists and computer technicians, are intended to create minimum standards and provide oversight of the institutions that teach students a trade.
The teacher trainings, which many students use to become yoga instructors but others use simply to improve their skills, are an important source of income for some studios.
The regulation push in New York followed similar efforts across the country to increase oversight of yoga, a rapidly growing industry. But while similar efforts in Virginia and Michigan, among others, were successful, the large and comparatively deep-pocketed yoga community in New York was able to win support for its cause, hiring a lobbying firm and enlisting the help of yoga-practicing state legislators.
"As a regulator, it's always helpful to have clarity in legislation," said Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the Education Department, which had suspended the licensing effort pending the outcome of the legislation. "This bill accomplishes that."
But yoga teachers across a wide range of disciplines, from the body sculpting to the spirit enhancing, quickly began a coordinated attack on the state effort, hoping to avoid a cumbersome licensing process.
In the next 10 days, almost a year after the dispute began, Gov. David A. Paterson is expected to approve a bill that would exempt training programs for yoga teachers from state regulation under laws intended to provide oversight of vocational schools.
"People doubted we could do it," said Alison West, a yoga instructor and the executive director of Yoga for New York, a nonprofit group established to fight the regulation effort. "Everyone is very excited."
Paterson has until March 24 to sign the bill, which has been approved by the state Assembly and the state Senate and has the backing of the Education Department, which initially pushed for the licensing of the yoga teachers. The bill adds yoga and martial arts to areas of instruction that are exempt from state oversight; they include religion, painting and athletics.
"This was just a bureaucratic error that I'm happy we corrected," said Sen. Eric T. Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, who sponsored the bill.
"It's a personal-enrichment and spiritual practice," he added. "It's not something that really cries out for more regulation."
The issue arose in April, when the Education Department sent a letter ordering yoga studios to halt their intensive programs, known as teacher trainings, and apply for licenses - or face up to a $50,000 fine. The state requirements, which apply to vocational schools like those that teach hairdressers, massage therapists and computer technicians, are intended to create minimum standards and provide oversight of the institutions that teach students a trade.
The teacher trainings, which many students use to become yoga instructors but others use simply to improve their skills, are an important source of income for some studios.
The regulation push in New York followed similar efforts across the country to increase oversight of yoga, a rapidly growing industry. But while similar efforts in Virginia and Michigan, among others, were successful, the large and comparatively deep-pocketed yoga community in New York was able to win support for its cause, hiring a lobbying firm and enlisting the help of yoga-practicing state legislators.
"As a regulator, it's always helpful to have clarity in legislation," said Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the Education Department, which had suspended the licensing effort pending the outcome of the legislation. "This bill accomplishes that."
