Yoga Causes Tension for Public Schools

Gauracandra · October 2, 2002

In all honesty, I agree with this guy that Yoga is a religious system. One can try to get around that by saying its just exercise, but really its not. In India it is definitely religious, and in the U.S. it certainly is "New Age". Its a bit like legalizing marijuana. That alone might not be a big deal, but it leads people down a certain path to harder drugs. So start out with the soft sell of yoga as exercise, and you plant the seed of diverting the child towards certain religious systems. While I may not personally be offended, I can certainly see how a religious Christian would object.

Yoga Causes Tension for Public Schools

Tuesday, October 01, 2002

ASPEN — Professional football teams do it. Madonna does it every day. Even a U.S. Supreme Court justice does it. But some don’t want elementary school kids doing yoga on the grounds it teaches public school children about religion.

"It's a church and state issue," Steve Woodrow, the father of a first grader, said.

Woodrow, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Aspen, Colo., became upset when his daughter's public school announced that yoga classes would begin this fall. He and other parents complained to the school board, claiming it was a clear violation of the separation of church and state.

"If you study yoga its roots clearly are within Hinduism," Woodrow said.

But the American Yoga Association and the school disagree. "The common belief that Yoga derives from Hinduism is a misconception," AYA’s Web site states. "Yoga actually predates Hinduism by many centuries."

Aspen schools Superintendent Tom Farrell was shocked by the charges.

"I was surprised when there was an outcry from some people," he said. "The idea to incorporate yoga into the school came from the principal and some parents who thought it might help the students relax," he said.

"If I thought for a minute it was religion in the schools, I wouldn't promote it," Farrell said.

The date of yoga’s origin is hard to nail down but the popularity is impressive. The combination of breathing, stretching and posing has become one of America’s hottest physical fitness trends.

According to Yoga Journal, 15 million people practice yoga in the United States, up from 12 million in 1998. The growth parallels a nationwide trend. According to the IDEA Health & Fitness Association, 31 percent of fitness facilities offered yoga in 1996. In 2001, 69 percent offered it.

But despite the popularity Woodrow thinks the younger set isn’t ready. Even some of the most basic yoga terms, he claims, may cause elementary school students to bring up questions that have answers based in Eastern religious philosophies.

"Yoga is not a religion," the AYA states online. "It has no creed or fixed set of beliefs, nor is there a prescribed godlike figure to be worshipped in a particular manner -- the core of Yoga’s philosophy is that everything is supplied from within the individual. Thus, there is no dependence on an external figure, either in the sense of a person or god figure, or a religious organization."

The school recently went through and deleted all religious references in the curriculum and says kids don't have to take the class if their parents strongly object.

Classes in Aspen kicked off last week and while students may be getting more flexible from yoga the warring sides in this issue aren’t bending. Woodrow said this will likely end up in the courts.

theist · October 2, 2002

I suppose they would have the same objection to tai chi chuan due to it's connection with Taoist concepts.

Just another reason to break up the present monopoly of the educational system, and let the parents choose the school.

Vouchers.

Streetstraw · October 2, 2002

Maybe bhoga, maybe roga, maybe toga... but definitely not yoga.

Separation of Church and State sounds democratic enough, right?

But in this case, it has lead to separation of Luck and Fate. Good Luck, Bad Fate.

bhattathiri · November 25, 2007

Yoga will reduce tension

Inedible · November 26, 2007

The trouble with Yoga is that it works, and especially that it works without having to give prescription medications to the children. No one wants to teach children how to help themselves; that's what's really against everyone's religion. Imagine what would happen next if we let the children do yoga and meditate ... they might even expect their parents to make an effort for themselves.