The latest study published by Yoga Journal shows that over 16 million Americans now practice yoga and spend almost $6 billion a year on yoga classes and products. As yoga has grown into a big business, it has entered the mainstream media and injuries, regulation, taxation and ethics are being openly discussed. As a result, the legal risks to studio owners and teachers have dramatically increased. This workshop will provide an inviting forum to discuss the legal issues now affecting owners and teachers, and strategies to help you build a thriving yoga business and avoid becoming ensnared in legal problems.

(Eligible as Continuing Education for the Yoga Alliance 500 certification program)

We will explore the key agreements among studio owners, teachers and students, strategies for protecting studios and teachers from liability, how to trademark and protect your brand and website, how to copyright and protect your teacher training materials, work for hire agreements for yoga designs, agreements for workshops, retreats and studio rentals, bartering and trading services, the new law that imposes fines of up to $15,000 if you misclassify a teacher as an independent contractor, the top five tax issues, how to use lawyers and ethical considerations.

Key points covered in this workshop:
• The three key agreements
• Protecting yourself from liability
• Independent contractors and employees
• Trademarks, branding and websites
• Top five tax issues

This workshop will be informal and interactive. We will provide a safe, open and fun environment to explore your legal questions. As a student of the Yoga Sutras, Gary weaves Patanjali’s wisdom into the conversation as much as possible! We invite you to submit your legal questions in advance so that we can respond to the issues that are most important to you. Please send your questions to lilalabs@gmail.com.

Gary Kissiah has practiced corporate and business law for over twenty years. He has been a partner in the corporate and technology practice group of Akin Gump which is a global law firm. Gary then became a Senior Attorney with Microsoft where he practiced corporate and technology law and served on the Microsoft Ethics Committee. Gary has been practicing yoga since 2000, and has a Certificate of Yoga Philosophy from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has also studied at Esalen Institute, Parmarth Niketan Ashram and Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville. Gary has taken inspiration from the workshops and writings of such teachers as Sri Swami Satchidananda, Sally Kempton, Ana Forrest, Dharma Mittra, Eric Schiffman, Gary Kraftsow and Thich Nhat Hanh. Gary recently published his first book entitled: “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali- Illuminations Through Image, Commentary and Design.”

“Because I have the somewhat unusual combination of legal expertise and a yoga practice, I hope to serve the yoga community by bringing a unique perspective to this workshop. My experience will enable me to discuss the legal and business issues that are important to the yoga community in a way that is sensitive and responsive to the participants in the workshop.” Gary Kissiah

Date: July 1, 2012

Location: Yoga Tree Stanyan Studio (780 Stanyan Street San Francisco CA)

Schedule: 1 – 4pm

Tuition:
$35 in advance, $40 at the door

Here is the link to the Yoga Tree Website for signup:

http://www.yogatreesf.com/workshops-retreats/workshops.html