LEGISLATIVE ALERT -New Jersey Bill Seeks to License Yoga Instructors and Studios
My thanks go out to Deborah Metzger of the Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, who alerted me to this today.
This is the real deal. Unlike the "backdoor" New York licensing bill I fought in 2005, this New Jersey bill explicitly targets yoga teachers and studios, and would require them to be licensed by the State. It also contains a minimum 300-hour training provision that would supercede the Yoga Alliance's 200-hour minimum for RYT registration.
Here is some of the wording of the bill:
“Board” means the State Board of Fitness Professionals...
“Exercise facility” means a health club, fitness center, wellness center, private personal training studio, yoga studio, martial arts studio, Pilates studio, or any facility that sells or offers for sale group exercise instruction...
“Fitness professional” means a personal trainer or a group fitness instructor who is licensed as a fitness professional pursuant to the provisions of this act....
“Group fitness instructor” means an individual who instructs more than one person at one time, with or without equipment, in exercises designed to improve cardiovascular conditioning, muscular strength, flexibility and weight loss in classes that include, but are not limited to, martial arts, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, boot camp, spinning and any other group class that is taught at an exercise facility....
“Personal trainer” means a person who evaluates an individual's health and physical fitness; develops a personal exercise plan or program for an individual; and demonstrates, with or without equipment, exercises designed to improve cardiovascular condition muscular strength, flexibility and weight loss....
This bill is being sponsored by Rep. Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. (D) and was introduced on October 23, 2009.
Here is a link to an HTML version of the bill.
Here is Rep. Roberts' district office address:
Brooklawn Shopping Plaza
Rt. 130 South & Browning Rd.
Brooklawn, NJ 08030
Here is Rep. Roberts' phone number:
(856) 742-7600
Follow this link to contact him via e-mail.
If you or anyone you know teaches yoga in New Jersey, I urge you to start e-mailing everyone you can, and ask them to pass this information along to their lists. As we proved in New York, lot of noise can happen very quickly.
Rep. Roberts needs to know that there are a great many people who find this bill to be an insufferable intrusion into the student-teacher relationship, and an intolerable violation of our right to conduct those relationships freely.
The bill is very new, so hopefully there's time to fight it. If you know anyone in the NJ yoga community who's pushing for this bill, I'd like to be in touch with them. Also, there might be legislators opposing it and we need to find out who they are so we can let them know that yoga teachers don't want this.
Please keep me posted with any new information.
posted by Leslie Kaminoff @ 10/25/2008 09:18:00 PM
6 Comments:
Wow, this is pretty amazing -- I notice that although Yoga and Yoga studios are specified, the title "Yoga teacher" is not, and wonder what kind of a loophole that might be. I think the fitness certifying bodies such as the American Council on Exercise (ACE, which requires no formal education, only that you pass a written exam) might be interested in this as well. And has this been passed on to Yoga Alliance? I will definitely share it with the Jersey folks I know.
you have the date for the bill to be introduced as Oct. of 2009. which is correct?
I need to read more about the licensing, perhaps it would not be a bad thing.
there are a lot of yoga injuries happening out there. instructors need to know how to keep their classes safe. there needs to be more awareness of anatomy, we don't necessarily get that in 200 hr teacher trainings. Nancy Wahl
Yes, it is true that a 200-hr training is just touching the tip of the proverbial iceberg of what yoga is all about. I always tell my teacher training students that they may take many teacher trainings in their career as a yoga teacher if they truly want to develop their craft. Becoming a yoga teacher is a lifestyle, not a career choice. It is a calling, not so much a professional path.
The Yoga Alliance has done a remarkable job of implementing everything that this bill proposes this new governing body attend to. This is redundancy at its finest!!!
We all need to reach out to our representatives and remind them that this is not an acceptable use of our tax dollars. This is more waste and more unjustifiable governmental meddling. In my humble opinion.
This is an interesting concept that I don't believe by getting a particular certification from the stae of NJ would make you a more qualified yoga teacher or dance teacher or personal trainer. If yoga is your passion and your life as it is for most of the teachers I know then it is up to you as an individual to continue your training throughout your life- a certain number of hours does not neccessarily make you a better yoga teacher. Knowledge, expertise,experience and passion do. I know that if you want to be a good teacher of anything in this life, be willing to be the student as well as the teacher.
I think it's a good idea! I hope it is proposed in Illinois/Missouri.I study yoga practically everyday and the eight limbs since becoming a teacher(also have several science degrees).I don't see that with all yoga teachers.The medical profession might then hire us & provide insurance as a complementary prevention tool.There's way too many injuries out there and not enough anatomy/physiology knowledge.
Having the state license yoga teachers AND lump us into other "fitness professionals" will not ensure that students will not "get hurt". People occasionally get tweaked in ANY physical practice! I have been teaching yoga full-time for 10 years. Could some teachers use more education? Certainly. A strong purpose as a teacher is to help people to take care of themselves, and to teach them to learn to practice safely and work with any injuries they may come to class with. I take my profession very seriously and so studying yoga (ie. studying myself)is my way of living.I think people are naive to think that the state licensing will make things better for yoga teachers or students. I am a former psychotherapist, and to have to answer to insurance companies, comply with their paperwork and have to justify TO THEM why a person continues to need your help is ridiculous. Come on people! If you want referrals from doctors then get out and meet them and let them know what you do. Look at the state of our government and our health care. We are BLESSED to be able to work without those added pressures. I am a E-RYT 500 for whatever that really means to anyone. I train teachers and own a small yoga studio. If the state is going to take more money from a business through the veil of licensing, it's going to close doors. Maybe the big studios like YogaWorks and Jivamukti would be fine. Please, everyone, think on these things, get involved if you are so moved and act now before it's too late. In my humble opinion, this has more to do with MONEY and NAIVETE about the art and science of yoga, than it does with keeping people safe in yoga classes. May all beings be free and may we all contribute to that freedom. Sat Nam & Namaste.
Post a Comment
<< Home