To (insert name of MP),
I am a constituent of [constituency] for [length of time at your address] and am requesting your assistance as our member of Parliament.
I am reaching out to you as a yoga teacher and member of Yoga Alliance Professionals, to request the immediate removal of yoga categorised as 'exercise/fitness' under government guidelines, and permit yoga as a therapeutic, safe activity in all tiers of the lockdown.
The government’s decision to class yoga as “exercise classes” is highly damaging for those working in the profession and the wider community. Yoga is an effective resource for those dealing with mental health issues. It is well documented that practising yoga can help those struggling with depression, and has been identified as a useful strategy to manage anxiety and stress levels. Given the increasing rates of suicide and mental health conditions due to the Coronavirus lockdown, limiting access to yoga classes is a destructive act.
Ensuring the mental and physical wellbeing of our communities is more important than ever, and yoga can achieve this in a way that is safe and compliant with government legislation.
Yoga teachers have taken extreme measures to ensure the safety of staff and students, including adding in sanitizer stalls, pre-class booking systems, limited class numbers, increased cleaning procedures, one-way walking systems, a Covid-19 risk assessment and efficient ventilation systems.
Furthermore, Yoga Alliance Professionals has provided members with the relevant information to set up classes safely and in accordance with government guidelines.
Please find here guidelines for reopening studios
Recommendations for teaching indoors
Risk assessment for holding yoga classes
Yoga cannot be compared with a HIIT workout or Zumba class, the intention is not to make practitioners perspire. Unlike a gym environment, which tends to be associated with respiratory, cardiovascular exercise and heavy breathing, yoga is primarily a meditative activity, aiming to create focus and mindfulness within the class. Why is it that gyms can remain open for individual training, yet carefully controlled yoga classes in a covid-secure environment cannot?
All the while yoga teachers are losing out financially. The closure of studios throughout lockdown has cost many yoga teachers a regular income, and even now in tiers where yoga classes are permitted, social distancing means that classes are running at a limited capacity. The incorrect categorisation of yoga will lead to the collapse of the industry.
I request the immediate removal of yoga categorised under 'exercise/fitness' and ask that yoga is permitted in all tiers of the lockdown as a therapeutic and safe activity. I would appreciate you treating this matter as a priority.
Should you wish to discuss this further, please contact Yoga Alliance Professionals directly on:
melissa@yogaallianceprofessionals.org