Do we understand the importance of a simple breath? To breathe means to process the air in-and-out of the lungs. Breath maintains our life and wellbeing. Breathing is the utilizing of oxygen that comes in with each wave of the breath. If you are living, you are breathing, yet are you breathing correctly? Less obvious is the importance of the quality of one’s breathing. That is, are you merely breathing on autopilot or are you consciously activating the diaphragm and expanding the lungs?

On Friday, January 29, 2010, the Houston and Dallas charters of the Texas Yoga Association and legal advisers met with the Texas Workforce Commission in Austin. The purpose of this meeting was to help the Texas Workforce Commission understand how yoga studios operate and the distinction of training programs held at studios from programs offered by vocational schools. Meetings lasted two hours and ended with the Texas Workforce Commission agreeing to give the Texas Yoga Association more time to assimilate before the Texas Workforce Commission takes any additional action against the yoga studios and teachers who have filed responses through the Texas Yoga Association.

Two things were clear by the end of these discussions:

1. The united response by yoga studios and teachers coordinated through the Texas Yoga Association has positively engaged the standing of yoga with state regulators. The continued growth and organization of the Texas Yoga Association is vital for advocating for the integrity of yoga. This was a great first step in educating our government about yoga but it is only the beginning; and


2. Many yoga studios and teachers who have received correspondence from the Texas Workforce Commission have failed to respond. It is critical that these recipients file a response. If you have received a letter from the Texas Workforce Commission and have not sent in a response, and even if your fifteen day time frame to respond has expired, we urge you to immediately respond to the state. The state will enforce these inquiries with increasing force until you respond. The Texas Yoga Association resources are available if you would like to unite with our efforts.

You have an opportunity to hear directly from the Texas Yoga Association and the Texas Workforce Commission at the Texas Yoga Conference later this month. Please join us on Friday, February 19, 2010 at 7 p.m. to become familiar with the Texas Yoga Association. This is another opportunity for our community to come together, learn more about how the scrutiny of the state may affect you and contribute your voice in evaluating the possible challenges and solutions for the Texas yoga community. On Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 8 a.m., the Texas Yoga Association will host a given by the Texas Workforce Commission. The Texas Workforce Commission will discuss the regulatory scope of the state education code and the possible exemptions available to qualifying programs.

The Texas Yoga Association needs your help. We have set up local charters Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Austin, and we need to continue reaching out to establish charters in other regions. We need representation from the entire state in order to speak on behalf of the Texas yoga community as one. Fundraising and membership have begun to generate donations for our political action fund. Our legal advisers have already spent 60+ hours and our lobbyists have spent 40+ hours of time pro bono supporting us. We are blessed by the generosity of these resources but we must start generating funds to sustain ourselves. Please consider donating or becoming a member today. For a limited time, charter memberships to the Texas Yoga Association are available for $75.00! Charter members receive full member benefits, including access to special features on the website and periodic newsletters. Most importantly, you will be showing your support for the efforts of the Texas Yoga Association to advocate for Texas Yoga.

To the yoga community:

I want to alert you that the Texas Workforce Commission has issued demands to a number of Houston yoga schools, giving us 15 days to formulate our position and file a response. Since this might affect you soon, I would like to share my initial thoughts as I plan to rise to this challenge.