Gary Kissiah

Gary Kissiah has written three books on law and business for the yoga and wellness communities. He has also translated and illustrated Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. He has been a partner with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, a large, international law firm, and a Senior Counsel with Microsoft. He is an RYT 200 and has worked extensively with Yoga Alliance on legal issues affecting the yoga community.

Light on Law For Yoga Studios-A Guide To Legal Wellness

This book is for yoga studios, entrepreneurs and other wellness businesses.

It discusses the essential legal and business issues you need to know to run a successful yoga business such as: independent contractors and employees, protecting yourself against liability, starting and running your business, legal entities, key legal agreements, selling products, branding, content, websites and social media, ethics and taxes. The book contains 37 essential legal forms written specifically for yoga and other wellness businesses.

The book is a beautiful, full color 340 page PDF which is readable on all computers, iPads and iPhones. You can copy the legal agreements, paste them into Word and revise them for your specific situation.

Light on Law For Yoga Teachers-A Guide To Legal Wellness

This book is just for yoga and wellness teachers. It empowers yoga and wellness teachers to meet their legal obligations and to protect themselves from legal trouble.

Here are just a sample of the many questions that I discuss in the book:

How do I start my yoga business? How do I protect myself from liability for injury? How do I set up a yoga practice in my home? How can I safely hold yoga classes in the park and on retreats? Does my insurance policy protect everything that I do? Can I negotiate my teaching agreements with the studios and what should I really care about? Am I an independent contractor or an employee? What are my tax obligations? How can I trademark my brand? What do I need to know for my website?

The book is a beautiful, full color 200 page PDF which is readable on all computers, iPads and iPhones. You can copy the legal agreements, paste them into Word and revise them for your specific situation.

Light on Law-Independent Contractors and Employees

The IRS and state taxing agencies are auditing yoga studios and wellness businesses over the use of independent contractors. New York and California are targeting specifically the yoga community. If you are audited and you have misclassified your teachers as independent contractors, you may be liable for heavy back taxes, fees and penalties. Some studios have been put out of business.

Independent Contractors

Do you know the difference between and independent contractor and an employee and have you properly classified your teachers and other workers? Do you know the federal and state laws that determine true independent contractors? Have you changed your business practices to follow these laws and are these documented in a professional agreement? Do you have a state of the art independent contractor agreement? Are you in the strongest position to "make your case" if you are audited? This book has everything you need to know to properly classify your teachers and other workers as independent contractors.

Converting Independent Contractors to Employees

Many studios are converting their independent contractors into employees because they no longer wish to face the risk of an audit. This book contains a new chapter that explains how to manage the conversion process. It contains a 24 item checklist and extensive resources.

Employees

There are over 180 federal laws that regulate employees and every state has its own system of laws. Do you know the laws that govern the interviewing, hiring, managing and termination process? Are you using best practices for hiring and firing employees? Are you using professional employment agreements? Do you know how to convert your teachers from independent contractors to employees if you chose to do so?

The book is a beautiful, full color 200 page PDF which is readable on all computers, iPads and iPhones. It includes 10 legal agreements (including model agreements for independent contractors and employees) and many other resources. You can copy the legal agreements, paste them into Word and revise them for your specific situation.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali- Illuminated (Second Edition)

The Yoga Sutras were written by Patanjali during 200-300 CE and are a key work on Yoga philosophy and practice. Modern masters such as Sri Swami Satchidananda and B.K.S. Iyengar have emphasized the importance of studying the Sutras and integrating them into a daily Yoga practice.

Because the Yoga Sutras are complex and written in a condensed "sutra" form, the use of a separate commentary to unlock their meaning is essential. However, many of the commentaries are dry and academic, and most students become discouraged rather than inspired in their attempts to study the Sutras.

This book provides a new and inviting approach to studying and living the Yoga Sutras. Each Sutra contains the Sanskrit text, a plain-English translation, imagery and commentary to illuminate the heart of the Sutras and bring them to life. This is the Second Edition with expanded text and new images.

More information may be found at http://www.garykissiah.com

About Gary Kissiah

Gary Kissiah has practiced corporate and business law for over 20 years. He has been a corporate partner with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a large international law firm, and a Senior Attorney with Microsoft. Gary recently taught a series of five Webinars on yoga law through Yoga Alliance. These covered the top ten things you need to know about the law, independent contractors and employees, liability, Internet laws, and opening a yoga studio. Gary currently represents yoga studios, teachers and wellness businesses.

Gary has a Certificate of Yoga Philosophy from the California Institute of Integral Studies, is a RYT 200 and teaches yoga philosophy and law for teacher training programs in the Bay Area. In 2012 Gary published his first book, "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Illuminations through Image, Commentary and Design." He recently published two books: "Light on Law: A Path to Legal Wellness for Yoga Teachers", Light on Law: A Guide to Legal Wellness For Yoga Studios." These books explore the legal issues relating to the business of yoga for teachers, studios and entrepreneurs and contains essential legal forms for yoga businesses.

Here is the link to Gary's Website:

http://garykissiah.com