Christian parents want school yoga classes banned

by Kristin Darguzas (Subscribe to Kristin Darguzas's posts) Jan 10th 2007 12:00PM

Categories: Development, Education, That's Entertainment

I've taken yoga classes, and I loved them, and I never suspected that quiet stretching could cause controversy, but in a small town in Canada, it has.

A parent's group is arguing that yoga should not be taught in school because it is a "religion, and shouldn't be taught in schools." They are reacting to a program in a small-town school that teaches children stretches in an effort to fight childhood obesity.

One local Mom says that her son was told to "put his hands together" during the class, and that could provide an opening to the devil. The school board returned that the yoga is being taught as a stretching exercise, not a spiritual one, and that children may choose to do different exercises or leave the classroom.

Now, the yoga I took was only beginner, but there was no indication of any kind of religious intonation by my instructor. I understand the premise behind many religious principals, but this one leaves me baffled. Is yoga a religion?

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Comments (45)

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)

mary 1-10-2007 @ 1:52PM

christine,
if you read what you've quoted us, you'd understand that yoga is not a "religion" as such, but, I think, it's used by people to come to a better understanding of themselves in whatever and at whatever pace they choose. People use it as a release to their every day stress, it's a calming within. It's not really something you would see as your higher power, it seems to me to be a great way to "chill", get it? (get that
----- outta ur ---, oops! sorry. =]

Patty 1-10-2007 @ 1:37PM

I wonder if the same group of parents are opposed to saying "God bless you" or "Gesundheit" after someone sneezes. We just went through similar events in the county I live in when a high school tried to offer a Transcendental Meditation program. In the end, a handful of parents put the kibosh on it, complaining that it was a religion.

meshell 1-10-2007 @ 1:55PM

Give me a break! I am pretty sure (even if you think yoga is a religion) that they dont teach elementary school kids what the hand positions means. Heck, I bet the teachers dont even know. They probably just saw it in a yoga video. First, we complain about schools telling us our kids are fat, now we complain about them trying to do something about it. Come on! I bet they also think that if you dont tell your kid about sex, they wont ever want to do it. WRONG. If you dont inform your child about health, diet, exercise, sex, they will find out from someone else. And chances are, the information will be incomplete or just plain wrong. Hate is not a family value. Let them stretch, I'm sure its more fun than some of the weight targeted activities they have - if any.

jack 1-10-2007 @ 2:44PM

the people who think that yoga isn't a religion. are the same people who think its ok that we came about by an explosion, we evolved from an ape. well maybe u come from apes. i was created by god.

yoga is a religion. mind and body become one with nature. please!!!! and u think that's ok?

my mind and body belong to god not to nature or anything else.

i wouldn't like it either. there are too many exercises out there for children this parent has every right to voice her objections to it. that's what freedom is.

i bet these same people wouldn't object if it were muslims complaining!

same people don't know god. its a shame.

where r u going when u die?? it'll be too late when u do

LTalbert 1-10-2007 @ 1:59PM

I'm pretty sure God meant to make "Thou shalt not stretch" the 11th commandment but just forgot.

Nancy Toby 1-10-2007 @ 2:14PM

Those folks are wacko.

F. Smith 1-10-2007 @ 9:20PM

The first "yoga" - "hatha yoga" stricly operates with
physical workout; however, the higher levels of "yoga"
indeed encourage a person to leave his/her mind in a
state where "spirit guides" can make contact. We are
"spirit", we have a "soul" (mind, will, emotions) and
of course, we have a "body". Those "guides" could very
well be spirit beings. "Do not fear" is repeated over
and over and over again...in the Word. Being wise and
using discernment will keep one safe. I've a friend
who actively participated long-term with "yoga"...
and while still in college, came close to "suicide"
(a particularly healthy otherwise person). She attributes it to having opened doors to the spirit
realm.

Rachel 1-10-2007 @ 2:19PM

Posted by Jack:
"where r u going when u die?? it'll be too late when u do"

Wow... I really hope you do not call yourself a Christian... or any other religion for that matter. What a horrible statement.

If you want to keep your child from participating with the rest of his peers in what could be a fun and helpful bodily exercise for him (which seems what it is being used for, not to lure children away from whatever religion there parents happen to bestow on them), go right on ahead.

But I warn you, they offer yoga in some high schools and in most colleges, too. Are you going to forbid your child from taking those classes as well?

OR... let's think about this. Would it be more effective to teach your child that although yoga can be (I suppose, but I really don't see how) used as a religous method, you would rather them view it as a creative way to exercise and stretch?

And as far as your comments about us evolving from apes or the Big Boom Theory (or as you so eloquently phrased it "the explosion"), they also teach these theories in high school (at least they did 4 years ago when I was in) and in college. Are you going to prevent your child from taking the necessary classes, or go complain to the school board at a major university?

I don't think your complaints will be well received.

Brian Whitmore 1-10-2007 @ 2:35PM

^^HAHAHA the 11th commandment? am i going to hell for laughing? or am i just more human then everyone else? i think that if jesus came down from the sky, NONE of you RELIGIOUSE ZEALOTS would make it past the clouds, quote me on that, i grew up in a southern babtist church, and the only thing all those beating taught me, was that hate is nowhere in gods veins, if he has veins that is, fear is a feeling induced by uncertainty, or in some cases being very certain of things to come, but no matter what, thats not god, fear, hate, and intolerance is all i see, that is no where close to god,this is coming from a kid in black who everyone thinks worships satan, but in reality, im closer to god then they will ever be because i chose not to follow the worldly churches that are poping up everywhere like its a competition with starbucks and walmart, and mcdonalds, whatever, anyways let those kids stretch, and you "parents" need to lighten the load on your childrens shoulders, STOP SCARING YOUR CHILDREN YOUR HATE WILL KILL THEM,why dont "christians" do what jesus did, love everyone no matter what, DONT JUDGE!!!! DO UNTO OTHERS.... im sure u remember the rest of that line, you guys need to get a grip, jesus would tell you this and this only.... " I never knew you..." is that what you zealots are looking for?

Uncle Roger 1-10-2007 @ 3:56PM

If we say that Yoga has its roots in religion (not sure it really does, in the way they mean it), then so too does football have its roots in combat training. Surely we don't want our kids involved in something like that in our schools! Let's get rid of football too, while we're at it.

Yoga as it would be used in the schools has less to do with spiritualism than football does with combat. I'd worry more about football than yoga.

Sandy 1-10-2007 @ 3:06PM

The parents are objecting to the *state* teaching a *religion* (or form thereof). Yoga definitely has a spiritual aspect.

Lent is coming up...maybe all of the schools should encourage all of the kids to give up candy for Lent. This would help them lose weight, right? Well, yes, but it would also be the *state* teaching/encouraging a *religion*.

Praying the rosary is very soothing and can help a person to settle in much the same way as yoga. We'd all balk at the schools teaching this form of meditation.

Kids like to make the Sign of the Cross. It is helpful for little ones to learn their right from their left. Is it ok for their teachers to teach this, as long as they don't talk about the spiritual aspects of it?

This is a case of state sponsored religion. Either the State is going to sponsor religion or it isn't. In the US Constitution, I believe the text reads, "any religion" and doesn't restrict only the Christian religion from being sponsored.

There are plenty of stretching programs out there that the school does not have to use yoga. I would bet that the school had no idea that this would raise any problem. That's fine...they had good intentions. Now that the problem has come up, it's time to switch gears and make sure that the state is not sponsoring any religion.

ashley 1-10-2007 @ 3:19PM

Intolerance? Expecting others to conform to our religious, moral, or spiritual beliefs? Wait a minute. Did these parents try to chase yoga proponents out of town with torches and pitchforks? Did they write their congressmen (or whatever they have in the Great White North) to have the practice of yoga outlawed and those who practice it jailed? Or did they exercise their right of free speech and the right to have a say over their children's education? Did they overreact? Maybe. As an evangelical Christian myself, I would definitely want to review what was being taught, because I know some yoga (not all) is taught along with transcendental meditation, which I would not want my children participating in.And truthfully, I would probably prefer to err on the side of caution and have them do, as was suggested, pilates.
Seriously, these parents are trying to be involved with their kids' education. More power to 'em. And if you want to do yoga, more power to you. I don't think any evangelical Christian I know (and I go to a church with about 3,000 of them) would try to prevent you from doing yoga. Funny, though, how a bunch of tolerant people who would never "expect anybody to conform..." can label others as ridiculous, wacko, paranoid, crazy zealots.

SKL 1-10-2007 @ 4:28PM

Yoga is one of many innovations that originated in the context of religion.

So did astronomy and many other branches of science, literature, and art. Probably all of them, if we take it back far enough. That is not sufficient reason to ban it from school. The mainstream yoga that is taught in the US today is about as removed from religion as astronomy lessons.

With regard to religious tolerance, I have read the Bible many times so I can quote it knowledgeably. Around the formation of the early Christian church, Peter had a vision that the Lord told him it was OK to eat food that his religion had taught him was "unclean." The message isn't that pork is a health food, but that we must not let outward differences, however religiously significant to some, prevent us from having meaningful relationships and making meaningful progress. Peter could participate in "gentile" activities in order to better promote the real purpose of Christianity (which isn't about taking sides in a religious argument). In a similar vein, Jesus noted that we should be more concerned about what comes out than what goes into our mouth (or, by extension, into that space between our folded hands).

The best way to ensure kids' spiritual health is to make sure they are knowledgeable not only about their own religion, but about the fact that there are other religions with both similarities and differences to Christianity, and whose followers include both kind, charitable people and selfish, misguided ones. Nature loves a vacuum, so the worst thing you can do is create a spiritual vacuum by deny wholesome knowledge.

Sandy 1-10-2007 @ 7:43PM

"The best way to ensure kids' spiritual health is to make sure they are knowledgeable not only about their own religion, but about the fact that there are other religions with both similarities and differences to Christianity, and whose followers include both kind, charitable people and selfish, misguided ones. Nature loves a vacuum, so the worst thing you can do is create a spiritual vacuum by deny wholesome knowledge."

What SKL said!!!!!

Kids should definitely learn this, but it doesn't mean that they should practice any of these other religions. (and I don't think that's what you were saying, SKL)

Jessica 1-10-2007 @ 8:53PM

So how exactly does "putting one's hands together" help a person to 1) stretch or 2) lose weight?

Yes, stretching is a wonderful exercise, and when done slowly and smoothly (as in yoga), can be very beneficial to your muscles, blood flow, breathing rhythm, and more - it can increase your body's capacity to utilize more active exercises in losing/maintaining proper weight.

I'm not against yoga, persay, but there are definitely religious components to it. Leave those out, and you're fine.

Holding one's hands together? That particular position could probably be modified, as could a few others, when working in a public school situation.

Larry 1-10-2007 @ 8:56PM

Mary needs to stop confirming her ONE comment....

SquirrelFan 1-10-2007 @ 10:48PM

I believe that calling the yoga exercise (the stuff mostly taught in America on exercise videos and at YMCAs, etc.) a religion is like saying that giving someone a gift on Christmas is a way to commit your life to Jesus.

Yoga exercise is based on a small part the Yoga philosophy which is part of the Hindu religion.

The reaction of the parents fighting the yoga stretches is fanatical overreaction. However, liberals too sometimes mistake fanaticism for civil rights activism, e.g., protesting Christmas trees, etc.

See also Can't Yoga and Christmas Trees Just Get Along? a.k.a. http://stopsayingblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/cant-yoga-and-christmas-trees-just-get.html

JesM 1-11-2007 @ 11:26AM

Yoga most CERTAINLY helps you lose weight, Mitch and Myric. Have either of you ever tried?

I am an avid athlete and I find Yoga as beneficial soccer or weight lifting in my training.

Julie 1-11-2007 @ 11:19AM

I don't really have an opinion either way, but I find it really amusing that the first time I read anything about yoga being referred to as a religion was a few months back on this blog. No one denied it then.

Julie 1-11-2007 @ 11:19AM

Just because I was curious, I did a little research.... It's one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy.

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