Shannon Boucher, front row left, and Madelin Adames participate in a flow yoga class at the Samadhi Center for Yoga in downtown Denver. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Critics of a plan to increase regulation of certain yoga programs are crying foul after learning that the director of the regulatory agency is herself a yoga instructor.

Lorna Candler, director of the Division of Private Occupational Schools, has been the face of the division's pro-regulation stance for weeks but failed to disclose that she is a part-time instructor for CorePower Yoga, the largest yoga chain in Colorado.

Candler's involvement with the studio concerns Gina Caputo, owner of the Boulder-based Colorado School of Yoga, who told The Denver Post on Monday she feels that Candler may be biased against studios not associated with CorePower.

"I'm not villainizing CorePower in all this. I just want a fair opportunity," Caputo said.

Candler argued that her role as a yoga instructor does not conflict with her position as director of the regulatory agency pushing for uniform regulation of teacher-training programs. Regulation requires program operators to pay fees to the state, which some smaller studios feel are prohibitive.

"What goes on with me teaching yoga and my job here do not really intersect at all," Candler said. "This is not about yoga; this is about teacher-training programs."

Candler said she is not personally involved in evaluating teacher-training programs to decide whether they need to be regulated. Instead, the division relies on experts in the field to analyze curricula.

Political observers and ethicists questioned Candler for not making her involvement with CorePower clear to the media sooner.

"It's obviously something she should have disclosed to legislators, to the press and to any interested party," Denver-based political analyst Eric Sondermann said. "You cannot play 'hide the ball' on such matters if you have your own self-interest. That's government ethics 101."

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