Dear 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.
The TWC has suggested that my studio is operating a career school as defined under the Texas Education Code. I am given me the choice of 3 elections in order to avoid penalties: 1) Permanently discontinue teacher training programs; 2) Make application for an exemption; or 3) Apply to become a certified vocational school.
Jennyoga is not a vocational school. Accordingly, and after speaking with my advisers, I have decided to seek an exemption from regulation based on the section of the code relating to avocational and recreational activities. Essentially this category gives an exemption to teaching activities that are for leisure or hobby as opposed to a primary career training. The list of exempt activities includes dance, karate, physical fitness, and other related activities. Since yoga is not yet on the this list, I have an opportunity to establish it as such by providing certain information outlined by the TWC. Since it is not guaranteed that the exemption will be granted, this may only be the beginning.
I expect the TWC will respond to my application for exemption in approximately 3 weeks from its receipt. If the exemption is granted, then business continues as usual (consistent with what I have presented to the TWC). If the exemption is denied, I will have to then consider filing an appeal and further avenues utilizing every effort to protect yoga from regulation by the state.
You may be aware of a few Austin studios who have become certified vocational schools by the TWC. I understand this is incredibly time consuming and expensive, not only to come into compliance but to continue operations once certified by the state. I am concerned that submitting to regulations without first advocating for freedom from state intervention would open the door to further regulations, increased and possibly cost prohibitive expenses, onerous administrative burdens, etc. I understand that many Austin yoga studios have chosen to stop holding teacher trainings entirely based on the costs of meeting these demands.
I understand some other Houston studios are considering taking a similar position. I also respect that each studio will have to decide what choice suits them best. I am curious to hear your thoughts on the issue as it relates to you.
Please send questions to Kristin Scheel, TYA Attorney, at kristin.scheel@gmail.com
Namaste'
Jennifer Buergermeister
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Yoga Unifies Houston
Yoga Unifies Houston
Jennifer Buergermeister and Chiza Alba © 2009
Author of The Healing Path of Yoga, Nischala Joy Devi, said, “With humility, we embrace the sacredness through the study of Yoga.” An open mind and heart will follow.
“Yoga” is a derivative of a Sanskrit word meaning “unity.” Many yoga practitioners will define yoga as a series of stretching and strengthening postures, known as asana, used in combination with meditation and breathing techniques. What they describe is actually Hatha Yoga, the yoga of postures. This popular form is only one branch of the yogic tradition. There are many branches on the yogic tree, much like the tree of life. But they share in a complete sense that yoga is about unification. A student of yoga strives to unify his or her body, mind and spirit with that of the entire universe. Yoga practitioners seek to expand the concept of self to achieve a higher, more transcendent reality, and promote unity consciousness.
People in Houston, the fourth largest city in the USA, are learning how yoga can enrich their lives and improve their health. Texas created a Free Day of Yoga in 1999, originating in Austin and grew to Dallas and Houston. The event is held annually.
In 2009, nearly 150 Houstonians gathered on the stage of Discovery Green to practice yoga with teachers from Jennyoga and YogaOne. Luke’s Locker and the Yoga Teachers Association of Houston (YTAH) sponsored the Free Day of Yoga event which is doubling in size each year.
YTAH President Jennifer Buergermeister said, “I envision at least 300 Houstonians next year at Discovery Green on the stage and all across the lawns surrounding the stage. It’s so exciting to see Houston fall in love with yoga!”
This is a phenomenon occurring across the United States. Recent studies have indicated that Americans are spending nearly double the amount of money on yoga classes and yoga related products than they did five years ago. Nearly half of all 16 million Americans studying yoga are doing so because they are aware of its health benefits, spending $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products.
These people need a unified, respectable body of knowledge to turn to for guidance. The more that the yoga studios and associations of Houston work together, the stronger the cause will grow here in our city. Just as the word namaste’ infers - to be the change, we must live the change and become one - just as yoga intended 5000 years ago.
The yoga movement has been active in Houston for at least 30 years brought in by talented yogis such as Robert Boustany, David and Doug Swenson, John Friend, Billie Gollnick and others. Today, there are studios opening up everywhere. Each studio has its own unique style of teaching and interacting with their students, and each is wonderful in its own right, but for a beginning student of yoga, differences can be somewhat daunting. Which style is the “right” style? Which studio is the “right” studio? Far from having a unifying effect, the diversity can have the effect of deterring a yoga student. That deterrence can and should be avoided by making every student aware that the yoga entities in Houston are working together for the common cause of bringing yoga into the world by embracing creative differences.
How can yoga unify a city?
Jennifer Buergermeister, owner of Jennyoga Studio in the River Oaks area and president of the Houston Yoga Teachers Association, inspired the founding of the Texas Yoga Association and the Texas Yoga Conference in 2009. In May of 2009, Ms. Buergermeister from Jennyoga requested to meet with the owners or representatives from Joy Yoga, YogaOne, Yoga West, the Jewish Community Center, Yoga Ananda, Yoga for Peace, Nia Moves, and Yoga Rasa came together to discuss the collaboration of the Houston yoga studios for an annual event and came up the Texas Yoga Conference.
The First Annual Texas Yoga Conference will be hosted by Unity Church on February 19-20, 2010. The funding studios participating in the yearly conference are Jennyoga, owned by Jennifer Buergermeister; Joy Yoga, owned by Joy Winkler; YogaOne, owned by Roger and Albina Rippy; and Yoga West, owned by Kristin Abel.
The conference has talent represented from all over Houston and other cities in Texas such as Robert Boustany, Ricky Tran, Ann Hyde, Raye Lynn Rath, and Dr. Hansa Medley. Several special guests will be joining the conference from California and other states in support of our conference’s launch including filmmaker Arthur Klein premiering his movie Y YOGA, Hemalayaa as recently seen on the cover of Yoga Journal and on the television program Ellen DeGeneres, Gopala Amir Yaffe from the Rainbow Kids, Sean Johnson Kirtan, and Etan Boritzer, author of the children’s book series What is God?. For more information about the Texas Conference, please go to www.texasyogaconference.com.
Collaboration of these four Houston yoga studios has brought the conference to life. The mission of TYC is to promote awareness of the spiritual tradition of yoga and to inspire the general public to learn more about yoga in its many forms. Experienced yoga practitioners and those new to yoga will come to experience differing styles of yoga and attend presentations by speakers from all over Texas and beyond. The people involved in the TYC understand that in order for yoga to make a difference in this world, it must be shared rather than held close by only a few elitists who wish to hoard its mysteries. Only when yoga is shared can the ideal of unification become a reality. Houston is a meritocracy of international people and a lovely representation of a city that understands, “We are one.”
Today there are approximately 30 yoga studios existing in the Houston area. The YTAH Membership is at nearly 150 teachers. There are probably twice as many teachers in Houston.
The Texas Yoga Conference is only one way that Houstonian yogis are unifying for a common cause. As of today, nearly every Houston area yoga studio will be participating in Breathecure®, a nonprofit organization also founded by Jennifer Buergermeister, to promote the art of conscious breathing. Breathecure® seeks to educate others on the many benefits of quality breathing, meditation and yoga. Future plans for Breathecure® include programs that teach the children in Houston area schools about the benefits of quality breathing and how to use the techniques in everyday life. Breathecure also intends to create, enhance and expand free programs for cancer patients and patients of other diseases, and for underprivileged populations. For more information about Breathecure, go to breathecure.org.
The Yoga Teachers Association of Houston, other organizations such as the founders of the Texas Yoga Conference and Breathecure, and local yoga studios envision bringing together a network of associations, yoga teachers, therapists and caregivers to promote well-being and unity consciousness. Some of the Texas Yoga Conference owners have recently signed with New York City’s leading yoga talent agency YAMA, owned by Texas born Yogini Ava Taylor, to take the talent of Texas on the road in a Texas Two-Stepping with Yoga Across America Tour to be launched in late summer of 2010.
Jennifer Buergermeister and Chiza Alba © 2009
Author of The Healing Path of Yoga, Nischala Joy Devi, said, “With humility, we embrace the sacredness through the study of Yoga.” An open mind and heart will follow.
“Yoga” is a derivative of a Sanskrit word meaning “unity.” Many yoga practitioners will define yoga as a series of stretching and strengthening postures, known as asana, used in combination with meditation and breathing techniques. What they describe is actually Hatha Yoga, the yoga of postures. This popular form is only one branch of the yogic tradition. There are many branches on the yogic tree, much like the tree of life. But they share in a complete sense that yoga is about unification. A student of yoga strives to unify his or her body, mind and spirit with that of the entire universe. Yoga practitioners seek to expand the concept of self to achieve a higher, more transcendent reality, and promote unity consciousness.
People in Houston, the fourth largest city in the USA, are learning how yoga can enrich their lives and improve their health. Texas created a Free Day of Yoga in 1999, originating in Austin and grew to Dallas and Houston. The event is held annually.
In 2009, nearly 150 Houstonians gathered on the stage of Discovery Green to practice yoga with teachers from Jennyoga and YogaOne. Luke’s Locker and the Yoga Teachers Association of Houston (YTAH) sponsored the Free Day of Yoga event which is doubling in size each year.
YTAH President Jennifer Buergermeister said, “I envision at least 300 Houstonians next year at Discovery Green on the stage and all across the lawns surrounding the stage. It’s so exciting to see Houston fall in love with yoga!”
This is a phenomenon occurring across the United States. Recent studies have indicated that Americans are spending nearly double the amount of money on yoga classes and yoga related products than they did five years ago. Nearly half of all 16 million Americans studying yoga are doing so because they are aware of its health benefits, spending $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products.
These people need a unified, respectable body of knowledge to turn to for guidance. The more that the yoga studios and associations of Houston work together, the stronger the cause will grow here in our city. Just as the word namaste’ infers - to be the change, we must live the change and become one - just as yoga intended 5000 years ago.
The yoga movement has been active in Houston for at least 30 years brought in by talented yogis such as Robert Boustany, David and Doug Swenson, John Friend, Billie Gollnick and others. Today, there are studios opening up everywhere. Each studio has its own unique style of teaching and interacting with their students, and each is wonderful in its own right, but for a beginning student of yoga, differences can be somewhat daunting. Which style is the “right” style? Which studio is the “right” studio? Far from having a unifying effect, the diversity can have the effect of deterring a yoga student. That deterrence can and should be avoided by making every student aware that the yoga entities in Houston are working together for the common cause of bringing yoga into the world by embracing creative differences.
How can yoga unify a city?
Jennifer Buergermeister, owner of Jennyoga Studio in the River Oaks area and president of the Houston Yoga Teachers Association, inspired the founding of the Texas Yoga Association and the Texas Yoga Conference in 2009. In May of 2009, Ms. Buergermeister from Jennyoga requested to meet with the owners or representatives from Joy Yoga, YogaOne, Yoga West, the Jewish Community Center, Yoga Ananda, Yoga for Peace, Nia Moves, and Yoga Rasa came together to discuss the collaboration of the Houston yoga studios for an annual event and came up the Texas Yoga Conference.
The First Annual Texas Yoga Conference will be hosted by Unity Church on February 19-20, 2010. The funding studios participating in the yearly conference are Jennyoga, owned by Jennifer Buergermeister; Joy Yoga, owned by Joy Winkler; YogaOne, owned by Roger and Albina Rippy; and Yoga West, owned by Kristin Abel.
The conference has talent represented from all over Houston and other cities in Texas such as Robert Boustany, Ricky Tran, Ann Hyde, Raye Lynn Rath, and Dr. Hansa Medley. Several special guests will be joining the conference from California and other states in support of our conference’s launch including filmmaker Arthur Klein premiering his movie Y YOGA, Hemalayaa as recently seen on the cover of Yoga Journal and on the television program Ellen DeGeneres, Gopala Amir Yaffe from the Rainbow Kids, Sean Johnson Kirtan, and Etan Boritzer, author of the children’s book series What is God?. For more information about the Texas Conference, please go to www.texasyogaconference.com.
Collaboration of these four Houston yoga studios has brought the conference to life. The mission of TYC is to promote awareness of the spiritual tradition of yoga and to inspire the general public to learn more about yoga in its many forms. Experienced yoga practitioners and those new to yoga will come to experience differing styles of yoga and attend presentations by speakers from all over Texas and beyond. The people involved in the TYC understand that in order for yoga to make a difference in this world, it must be shared rather than held close by only a few elitists who wish to hoard its mysteries. Only when yoga is shared can the ideal of unification become a reality. Houston is a meritocracy of international people and a lovely representation of a city that understands, “We are one.”
Today there are approximately 30 yoga studios existing in the Houston area. The YTAH Membership is at nearly 150 teachers. There are probably twice as many teachers in Houston.
The Texas Yoga Conference is only one way that Houstonian yogis are unifying for a common cause. As of today, nearly every Houston area yoga studio will be participating in Breathecure®, a nonprofit organization also founded by Jennifer Buergermeister, to promote the art of conscious breathing. Breathecure® seeks to educate others on the many benefits of quality breathing, meditation and yoga. Future plans for Breathecure® include programs that teach the children in Houston area schools about the benefits of quality breathing and how to use the techniques in everyday life. Breathecure also intends to create, enhance and expand free programs for cancer patients and patients of other diseases, and for underprivileged populations. For more information about Breathecure, go to breathecure.org.
The Yoga Teachers Association of Houston, other organizations such as the founders of the Texas Yoga Conference and Breathecure, and local yoga studios envision bringing together a network of associations, yoga teachers, therapists and caregivers to promote well-being and unity consciousness. Some of the Texas Yoga Conference owners have recently signed with New York City’s leading yoga talent agency YAMA, owned by Texas born Yogini Ava Taylor, to take the talent of Texas on the road in a Texas Two-Stepping with Yoga Across America Tour to be launched in late summer of 2010.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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