Requires regulation.
The Hickenlooper administration is cracking down on the hazardous occupation of yoga instructors, who apparently have been skirting government oversight that has (not really) regulated this industrial money pot for more than a decade.
According to the Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels, the Colorado Division of Private Occupational Schools initiated the crack-down on yoga instructor certification programs after one teacher complained that, pretty much the entire state had been ignoring the requirements.
Teacher-training programs that are required to be certified must pay fees to the state. The state charges $1,750 for an initial provisional certificate that is good for up to two years, then $1,500 for a renewable certificate good for three years. It also charges $175 for every “agent” authorized to enter into a contract with a student, plus $3.75 per student per quarter. In addition, schools that have been certified must secure a minimum bond of $5,000, which is based on the amount of tuition collected.
Despite 82 letters to the teachers of Ommmmmm, not everyone is calmly and serenely complying.
Annie Prasad Freedom, owner of Samadhi Center for Yoga in Denver, told Bartels that she received a letter from the state demanding a summary of her operation and recruiting materials as well as copies of school catalogs and brochures.
The aptly named Freedom responded with “Screw it,” and threw the letter in the trash.
Namaste, chumps!