UPDATE: Yoga Legislation in NJ

Here is a copy of an email I received from Yoga Alliance about what happened to that pending Yoga legislation in NJ. Thanks to all who contacted our representatives and made there voices heard.



"Dear Yoga Alliance Community,

As you may already be aware the state of New Jersey recently introduced legislation that would require fitness professionals, including yoga teachers, and those that hire these professionals, to be licensed by the state.  Senate Bill 2164, the "Fitness Professionals Licensing Act," and Assembly Bill A3356, would establish a State Board of Fitness Professionals and impose the following:

• New applicants for licensure following SB2164/A3356 enactment must complete 300 hours of Board-approved class work, including 50 hours of an unpaid internship, or possess a degree in a related field
• Certification from the National Board of Fitness Examiners
• Clubs (studios) employing fitness professionals (yoga instructors) must register and pay an undetermined fee every two years

In a flurry of activity this past Friday, Jan Bidwell, an Anusara yogi who has studied with John Friend and has run for legislative office in New Jersey, arranged for John to speak with the Assembly Majority Office of the New Jersey State Legislature to press the case that this bill would eliminate 2,000 jobs in the state and that yoga was not a pure fitness profession.

As a result of their efforts, Senator Sarlo, who introduced the bill in the Senate, has promised to remove yoga from the Senate Bill and contact Speaker Roberts to have it removed from the Assembly Bill.

We will continue to monitor this legislation and work with our proactive colleagues in New Jersey to make sure yoga is removed from the Senate and House bills.

We encourage all Yoga Alliance registrants in New Jersey to write a letter to Senator Sarlo and Speaker Roberts thanking them for saving jobs by removing yoga from the "Fitness Professionals Licensing Act." 

Their contact information is below.

Senator Paul A. Sarlo
207 Hackensack Street, 2nd Floor
Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075
Phone: (201) 804-8118
Fax: (201)804-8644

Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr.
Brooklawn Shopping Plaza
Rt. 130 South & Browing Road
Brooklawn, NJ 08030
Phone: (856) 742-7600
Fax: (856) 742-1831

Legislative efforts to support all registrants

Going forward, Yoga Alliance is more committed than ever to supporting you as individual teachers and schools.  In the future, we anticipate an increasing number of state legislating bodies making steps towards regulating yoga and we wanted to share with you what YA is doing to stay at the forefront of this issue.

We are conducting a state-by-state analysis of all past and current legislation and regulations that affect yoga.  This will establish a base line understanding of what has been implemented to date or is currently in process.  Based on these findings we'll develop a policy position that will be universal enough and based in legal case studies of what has been done elsewhere that we can use throughout the U.S.  We'll also be monitoring all current legislative actions and send them to you through special email alerts.

Sincerely,

R. Mark Davis
President & CEO"