Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the City of San Diego’s ban on free, public yoga classes in shoreline parks was unconstitutional, finding no "plausible connection" between peaceful outdoor instruction and any threat to public safety. It was a clear and unequivocal ruling. But instead of accepting the decision and moving on, the City has doubled down - asking for a full appellate review to try and reinstate its failed ordinance.
This is not just a waste of time and money - it’s an embarrassing misallocation of city resources at a moment when San Diegans are being asked to accept reduced access to basic services.
In recent weeks, the City Council approved a $6 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which restores some library and recreation center hours that had been proposed for elimination - but only by relying on speculative revenue sources that haven't even been approved. These include charging for parking at Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo, raising credit card fees for city payments, and installing digital billboards to generate ad revenue. Even the City Attorney's Office has raised questions about the legality of these ideas.
The city's Independent Budget Analyst called the financial plan "optimistic," warning that if these revenue sources don’t come through, deeper cuts or reserve fund withdrawals will be needed later. In other words, we're gambling with the basics - like libraries, youth programs, and lake access - while quietly bleeding funds on unnecessary legal battles against yoga teachers.
It’s a disgrace.
San Diego officials are literally scouring couch cushions to keep community services open - and yet somehow have the bandwidth to prosecute peaceful beach yoga as if it's a criminal conspiracy. The court already ruled that yoga instruction - including verbal guidance and expressive movement - is protected speech under the First Amendment. That should have been the end of it.
But the city has now spent over a year targeting instructors like Steve Hubbard and Amy Baack, citing them for donation-based classes and even livestreamed sessions filmed on private property if they were visible from a park. The legal rationale for this campaign? That yoga, even when free, counts as "commercial activity" requiring a permit. The courts have now said otherwise.
Meanwhile, the same city government can’t afford to keep every library open on Sundays. It can’t guarantee flood management infrastructure upgrades after storms displaced hundreds last year. It can’t even promise it won't cut back youth programs or recreation access again next year.
What it can afford, apparently, is to funnel untold sums of taxpayer dollars into a years-long legal war over sun salutations.
It’s worth emphasizing what this legal pursuit costs, not only in dollars but in trust. Every hour the City Attorney’s Office spends filing appeals, drafting briefs, and prepping arguments is an hour not spent solving real problems. How many legal staff hours are being spent on this issue instead of, say, tenant protections, environmental enforcement, or addressing homelessness? How much is this fight costing us, directly or indirectly, as vital city services face the chopping block?
The city’s decision to challenge peaceful yoga while simultaneously proposing sweeping service cuts is more than tone-deaf — it’s a profound misreading of what San Diegans value. Our residents didn’t turn out in droves to City Hall to demand fewer yoga classes. They came to fight for their libraries, their parks, their kids’ after-school programs, and their communities. And yet here we are, once again wasting public time and money defending an indefensible position.
This is a moment that calls for humility and common sense. If the city truly believes in fiscal responsibility, it should start by ending frivolous legal fights that serve no public benefit. The notion that peaceful, outdoor yoga threatens the "enjoyment and safety" of parks is not only absurd - it’s been flatly rejected by federal judges.
Continuing this legal battle only deepens the disconnect between San Diego’s elected leaders and the communities they claim to serve. At a time when residents are begging to save fire pits, rec centers, and library access, we cannot afford to waste another dime suppressing expressive activity that brings people together.
This is a moment that calls for humility and common sense. If the city truly believes in fiscal responsibility, it should start by ending frivolous legal fights that serve no public benefit. The notion that peaceful, outdoor yoga threatens the "enjoyment and safety" of parks is not only absurd - it’s been flatly rejected by federal judges.
Continuing this legal battle only deepens the disconnect between San Diego’s elected leaders and the communities they claim to serve. At a time when residents are begging to save fire pits, rec centers, and library access, we cannot afford to waste another dime suppressing expressive activity that brings people together.
There is no coherent explanation for why yoga, of all things, has been singled out as a threat requiring legal suppression. There is no public safety crisis caused by stretching and breathing in Sunset Cliffs or Pacific Beach. And there is no public mandate to criminalize community wellness activities while we can barely afford to keep the bathrooms open near the beach.
Mayor Todd Gloria still has time to make line-item modifications to the budget. He should also direct the City Attorney’s Office to drop the yoga appeal and refocus resources on solving the real problems San Diegans face - from homelessness and infrastructure to youth services and public safety.
Mayor Todd Gloria still has time to make line-item modifications to the budget. He should also direct the City Attorney’s Office to drop the yoga appeal and refocus resources on solving the real problems San Diegans face - from homelessness and infrastructure to youth services and public safety.
This should have been a moment of retreat and realignment for city leadership - a chance to acknowledge a misstep, accept the court’s ruling, and move on with more pressing concerns. Instead, they’ve dug in further, launching a costly and symbolic legal war that benefits no one.
Fighting yoga isn’t governance. It’s a distraction. Let the courts have the final word. Let the public stretch, breathe, and gather in peace. And let’s stop litigating against wellness while our essential services hang by a thread. Namaste!
Fighting yoga isn’t governance. It’s a distraction. Let the courts have the final word. Let the public stretch, breathe, and gather in peace. And let’s stop litigating against wellness while our essential services hang by a thread. Namaste!
Originally published on June 21, 2025.
