http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/nyregion/11yoga.html?hp
But 1.2, yoga isn’t a martial art! True. But we can learn from the regulation process, and the forces campaigning for and against it, and apply those lessons to the question of martial arts regulation. (The question of which, incidentally, came up in New Jersey last century, with my Isshinryu teacher’s teacher writing expert opinion in favor)
Various states are making efforts to regulate the yoga industry, and thereby make money off of licensing and other fees.
The yoga community (notice the difference in terminology there; industry vs. community) is fighting it, for various reasons. Primary in my mind is that they just don’t want the hassle or the cost, and secondary is the fear that with regulation comes later complicated bureacracy.
I find it interesting to note in contrast that the NY M.A. community, for instance, is fighting to establish regulation for MMA events (though not for gyms). I see yoga, fitness gyms, and boxing/MMA as three brackets of regulation around M.A. school regulation. Watching how the government treats those three industries clues us in to how they feel about martial arts schools themselves.
Personally I think any attempt to regulate martial arts instruction would be a clusterfuck, partially due to the vast differences in types of training, and partially due to established Bullshido schools ruining any ability of the government to do anything but the most cursory licensing, lest they run into MABS/BS.net-type fights with hundreds of unqualified teachers.