INVITED ARTICLE: The Search for Regulatory Recognition of Yoga Therapy: Legal and Policy Issues

Abstract

As Yoga therapy emerges as a specialized area within the Yoga teaching community, it is important to define Yoga therapy in ways that make regulatory as well as professional sense. This article provides a preliminary roadmap, suggesting title licensure as one way to differentiate Yoga therapy. The article also suggests the importance of crafting a definition of professional practice that carves out a legally defined scope of practice. This scope of practice should be both consistent with Yoga therapists' education, training,and skills, and not intrude on legal definitions of the practice of medicine or other health professions.