LTRP Note: In light of the fact that Yoga has been now integrated into a fast growing number of public schools and kindergartens, under the premise that it is not a religion, this New York Times article is quite revealing: US state governments wants to regulate the multi-billion dollar Yoga industry, and Yoga teachers are saying no, partly because they say it is a religious practice and should not be regulated.
“Yoga Faces Regulation, and Firmly Pushes Back”
New York Times
By A. G. SULZBERGER
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Ten years ago, with yoga transforming into a ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon from a niche pursuit, yoga teachers banded together to create a voluntary online registry of schools meeting new standards for training instructors.
But that list–which now includes nearly 1,000 yoga schools nationwide, many of them tiny–is being put to a use for which it was never intended. It is the key document in a crackdown that pits free-spirited yogis against lumbering state governments, which, unlike those they are trying to regulate, are not always known for their flexibility.
Citing laws that govern vocational schools, like those for hairdressers and truck drivers, regulators have begun to require licenses for yoga schools that train instructors, with all the fees, inspections and paperwork that entails. While confrontations have played out differently in different states, threats of shutdowns and fines have, in some cases, been met with accusations of power grabs and religious infringement–disputes that seem far removed from the meditative world yoga calls to mind.Click here to read this entire article.
