Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to sign into law today a yoga bill that exempts teacher-training studios from state certification.
No public bill-signing ceremony is scheduled but Colorado yogis are planning a big celebration. Since last fall, they signed petitions, wrote their lawmakers, created social media campaigns and hosted events to highlight what they saw as onerous regulations that could have put some of them out of business.
The yoga community and the Colorado Yoga Alliance are hosting an event from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Yoga Pod, 1956 Lawrence St., to celebrate the passage of . It will kick off with a yoga class at 6 p.m., followed by an open house. The event is free.
that the “centuries-old practice of yoga has run into the modern practice of regulation, setting up a battle between a Colorado agency and instructors who say the need for state rules is a stretch.”
A yoga teacher complained last fall that only six yoga teacher-training studios were following an oft-ignored 2002 law that required they be certified with the state. In response, the Division of Private Occupational Schools mailed out 82 letters, asking program operators to provide a brief summary of their operation, a copy of a school catalog and brochure and their recruiting materials.
Yogis charged the state certification fees, which begin at $1,750, . And they questioned why yoga was included with traditional vocational school programs such as trucking and dog groomers because so few students go on to teach yoga full time. (Insert “down dog” joke here.)
Senate Bill 186 was sponsored by Sen. Laura Woods, R-Arvada, and Reps. Alec Garnett, D-Denver, and Tim Dore, R-Elizabeth.
The highlight of the bill’s legislative journey: .
