Tally yo!(ga) Texas is on the march against state government regulation over yoga teacher training. We received this missive in our inbox yesterday:
March 2011 (Austin, TX) – Over 1,500 Texans have signed a petition sponsored by the Texas Yoga Association (TYA) to pass House Bills No. 1839 by Representative Phillips and 2167 by Representative Murphy that aim to keep government from regulating yoga. In support of moving the bills through legislation, the TYA invites yoga enthusiasts, state representatives and anyone who supports the future of health and wellness to practice yoga together on the Southeast corner of the Texas State Capitol lawn at Congress and 11th Street in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. House Representative Eddie Lucio III will lead other representatives and staff to meet the yoga enthusiasts in promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and musician David Berkeley will be flying in from Atlanta to perform at the peaceful demonstration.
Operating on the premise that offering a teacher training program for yoga instructors classifies a yoga studio as a “post-secondary career school or college,” the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) began the movement to regulate training programs across the state. Texas Yoga Association President and Executive Director Jennifer Buergermeister states: “Regulation by the Texas Workforce Commission is not appropriate for yoga studios and does not benefit yoga students. Regardless of what stance is taken on this important issue, of whether or not there should be some standards regarding what a yoga teacher training program consists of, the State of Texas (Texas Workforce Commission) is not the proper entity to make that determination. By staging this peaceful demonstration, we hope to keep regulation out of our over 5,000 year old tradition.”
Read more about the event and TYA at www.texyoga.org.
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Earlier…
Hmmm, can’t help but wonder if this is a step toward rewriting yoga history too?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html
Good read, thank you
Hello Fellow Yoga Dorks,
I just wanted to update you on the status of the government regulation of yoga teacher training programs in Texas. On June 17, 2011 bill signed into law by Governor Rick Perry has effectively ended the battle in the favor of yogis and their supporters who did not want the State of Texas to regulate yoga teacher training. The bill, which takes effect September 1, reads: BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 132.001, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (15) to read as follows:
(15) “Postsecondary program” means a program that
requires a student to have a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate, or requires that the person be beyond the
age of compulsory education. A program of instruction in yoga or that trains persons to teach yoga is not considered a postsecondary program.
Without going into too much detail here, this means that the Texas Workforce Commission will no longer have any jurisdiction to regulate yoga teacher trainings or (while never an issue in the past) yoga classes. This victory was made possible by the myriad people who dedicated their time, effort and money to this cause.
Without this coming together of the yoga community, we would not have had this level of success in this short of time. While I know not everyone supported or agreed with this initiative, I do think it benefits everyone nevertheless as the Texas Workforce Commission’s burdensome and unenlightened requirements were not designed or likely to improve or maintain the quality of yoga teacher trainings or increase the accessability of yoga to all. That noble pursuit will be an effort that will require more thought and more community input over time, and really that time is now.
Namaste,
Roger Rippy
Secretary
Texas Yoga Association
http://www.texyoga.org
Dear Roger,
We are trying to fight the same thing in British Columbia, Canada, except that they have been regulating us for a decade now and it time to stop it.
I kindly ask you to sign our petition and help us in our fight!
http://www.change.org/petitions/freedom-for-yoga-yoga-and-government-don-t-mix