I should have known. Americans were at risk from a yoga
industry run amok. Only government regulation can save
us. And collect big bucks for government.
Reports
the New York Times:
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.
In April, New York State sent letters to about 80 schools
warning them to suspend teacher training programs immediately
or risk fines of up to $50,000. But yogis around the state
joined in opposition, and the state has, for now, backed down.
In other states, regulators were not moved. In March, Michigan
gave schools a week to be certified by the state or cease
operations. Virginia's cumbersome licensing rules include a
$2,500 fee - a big hit for modest studios that are often little
more than one-room storefronts.
Lisa Rapp, who owns My Yoga Spirit in Norfolk, Va., said she
was closing her seven-year-old business this summer. "This
caused us to shut down the studio altogether," Ms. Rapp said.
"It's too bad, because this community really needs yoga."
Makes you wonder how we survived all those terrible years when
Americans could go to work without having to satisfy an
industry-controlled government commission that they were
qualified to work!
(H/t
to the Cato Institute's Tad DeHaven.)
