Yoga schools stretched by state regulation

NEW YORK, July 11 (UPI) -- U.S. yoga teachers say a move toward self-regulation through an online registrar has backfired, with states imposing fees and licensing requirements.

Leslie Kaminoff, founder of the Breathing Project, a non-profit yoga center in New York, opposed the formation of the Yoga Alliance a decade ago because he feared it would make yoga studios a target of government interference, she told The New York Times.

The alliance created an online registry of almost 1,000 yoga schools nationwide, and some state governments have decided the training schools were similar to vocational schools that train hairdressers or truck drivers. Therefore, the yoga schools were told to comply with unexpected requirements, fill out paperwork and pay fees.

An organized protest prompted New York state to back down, but other states, including Virginia and Michigan, have not. Many of the small yoga schools say they cannot survive the additional expense.