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Yoga teachers can resume teaching on San Diego beachfronts following a federal appeals court’s decision to overrule the city’s ban on classes at beaches and parks.
Teachers Amy Baack and Steve Hubbard sued the City of San Diego in 2024 after it began enforcing a 2022 ordinance that limits commercial activities, including street vendors and group classes, in the city’s parks.
The June 4, 2025, decision came after a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that teaching yoga falls under “protected speech.” The finding “overrules the district court judge in San Diego who believed the First Amendment did not apply to teaching of yoga,” explained Bryan Pease, ESQ, co-counselor for Hubbard and Baack’s case, in a statement.
In 2024, a City of Parks and Recreation spokesperson told Yoga Journal that, “The City saw a proliferation of businesses operating illegally in public spaces, attracting crowds of people and vehicles to areas that were not equipped to accommodate the influx. The situation also impeded access to beach and park areas for residents and visitors.” The Parks and Recreation Department declined to comment when asked about the appellate ruling this week.
City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ibrahim Ahmed stated, “We are evaluating the decision and the potential next steps.”
“This case was never just about yoga—it’s about our right to gather, to move, and to share in community spaces,” said Baack, who began teaching at San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs in 2021 but cancelled her classes last year after a city ordinance sought to regulate activities in parks. “It’s wonderful to see the courts agree that access to free, public wellness groups, like my yoga meetups at Sunset Cliffs, is a fundamental American right.”
In the meantime, Hubbard has returned to leading classes at the beach. “I’ve already resumed teaching at Oceanfront this morning,” he said the day after the ruling. “I started this class 18 years ago to make yoga accessible to everyone in the community, and it’s amazing after all we’ve been through to be back out teaching and sharing the practice.”
Baack’s classes will resume on June 11th at Sunset Cliffs. “This is a big win, not just for me and Steve, but for all of San Diego! I’m proud to have stood up for something that matters,” she said.
