Regulation and Yoga: What it means for you

photo credit:directpersonalloans.com

Have you heard the news ? Regulators are knocking, and yoga studios are going to need to answer.

Tracher training at Yoga Mandala in Berkeley.

It sounds as though state regulators are realizing that yoga studios and schools could be a nice addition to their annual revenues.

According to the NY Times, state laws exist to regulate licensing, and to extract fees from studios that offer certain types of instruction. Virginia has enacted a $2,500 fee  - is California next?

These regulations may only end up pertaining to certain types of workshops and teacher trainings. But they could perhaps change the teachers’ basic licensing costs and their licensing process and also a studio owner’s overhead cost - all which will eventually affect the student, both financially and with regards to how their favorite teacher has been trained.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in California. Our state is in desperate need of funds right about, oh, yesterday, and I can think of many Bay Area studios that really do churn a substantial profit. Though I’m sure many studios feel that they are doing their part for their communities, is it time for them to join the ranks of the regulated massage and hairdressing industries and pony up?

These are uncharted waters for our beloved industry that at times feels itself wholly mainstream, and at times firmly anti-establishment.

A note that New York, a strong yoga state, has bucked the regulators for the time being with a pretty clever lobby. I consider our yoga community no less staunch and expect that it’ll take state regulators a little time to crack this potentially lucrative nut.