Further proof that public schools are dens of evil

[Knight of Ni]

...or so some parent would have you believe.

Yoga is a great way to both exercise and reduce stress at the same time. An elementary school has introduced yoga into their PE program and some parents have flipped their shit. Apparently yoga is a tool of indoctrination. How is downward dog a tool for religious indoctrination. These parents apparently think that their children will be learning how to worship Hindu gods along with their stretches. Never mind the numerous benefits that yoga has on overall physical and mental health. It's ebil and a tool of the devil. It's just so ridiculous.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/trainin ... es-schools

[snarkbillie]

I remember my mom having a shit fit about yoga being on the PBS station at some point because it was "like teaching a religion" and she didn't want me watching it. 20 years later my best friend threw a similar shit fit about the yoga studio moving in next to the coffee shop as it didn't teach the religion, only the stretching.

I have no idea what is socially acceptable to feel now.

[dairyfreelife]

I've never heard much in the way of religion regarding yoga, but I do know the stretches are good for my pains when I have them. It makes me feel better physically. Seriously, I don't know anyone who does yoga for a religion, just for exercise and relaxing. As a former fundie though, I do recall hearing about yoga being satanic and some sort of religious cults. Not seen it though personally.

[bbtlover]

I'm sure glad that my daughter's kindergarten teacher taught them some yoga. It really helped some of the kids in the class to "chill out" for a few minutes every day. I wish the school would incorporate it into the PE class.

[wtylcf]

I've never heard much in the way of religion regarding yoga, but I do know the stretches are good for my pains when I have them. It makes me feel better physically. Seriously, I don't know anyone who does yoga for a religion, just for exercise and relaxing. As a former fundie though, I do recall hearing about yoga being satanic and some sort of religious cults. Not seen it though personally.

I, having lived in hippie Vancouver, do know of people who practice both the religious and exercise aspects of yoga. But that's about 0.1% of yoga practitioners I have ever meet personally. There's nothing religiously specific about yoga practice as taught by most teachers in the west. As exercise, yoga is about body awareness and stilling conscious thought, as well as gaining strength and flexibility. There's definitely nothing cult-like or satanic about the religious practice, though-they talk about things like non-attachment and mindfulness and trying to achieve a right relationship with nature and others, and tend to abstain from eating meat or drinking alcohol.

ETA: yoga makes me feel great both mentally and physically, and it's a shame that parents would bar their kids from engaging in something so healthy and rewarding based on misinformation.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I've never heard much in the way of religion regarding yoga, but I do know the stretches are good for my pains when I have them. It makes me feel better physically. Seriously, I don't know anyone who does yoga for a religion, just for exercise and relaxing. As a former fundie though, I do recall hearing about yoga being satanic and some sort of religious cults. Not seen it though personally.

It's origins are as a spiritual practice - that's true. If you read Eat, Pray, Love, the "pray" part takes place in an ashram where she's on a yoga retreat.

Most of what is called "yoga" in the West, however, is really just the stretching and postures, minus any spiritual content.

[GeoBQn]

From the North Country Times:

For some of the concerned parents, the yoga poses serve as religious expression or a way to invite Hindu deities into the body.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/encin ... 47306.html

How exactly can you invite deities into your body when you don't believe in said deities?

[dairyfreelife]

It's origins are as a spiritual practice - that's true. If you read Eat, Pray, Love, the "pray" part takes place in an ashram where she's on a yoga retreat.

Most of what is called "yoga" in the West, however, is really just the stretching and postures, minus any spiritual content.

Exactly. Point is that people aren't really doing anything religious with yoga anymore so the parents in question are worried about what exactly? I'd say there is a super small sum of people in the west who work in meditation and spiritual aspects with yoga. It just feels nice and stretches the muscles. Even eases some muscle pains. I know because with my endo some poses have been very helpful in easing the pains. The parents in the OP are getting paranoid over nothing imo. Seriously? Hindu deities entering their children? They think doing some stretches will possess their children? :lol: I'd think those deities would have more important things to worry about than possessing a six year old doing some stretches in a elementary gym class.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It's interesting - I've heard complaints about yoga both from very religious Christians ("it's a foreign religion, can't have that, no no no") AND complaints from some Indian-background people (often later generation) complaining that yoga as taught in the West is cultural appropriation.

Perhaps they should just call the usual fitness stuff "yoga-inspired exercise" or something then, I'll admit I don't find either argument too convincing when we're talking about the pure exercise stuff taught at most rec centers and PE class.

[takers401]

While yoga can include spiritual components, the district said its classes have removed them to focus on fitness.

Since the school district has removed all the religious aspects of yoga so that could teach it in the schools, maybe they should just rename the yoga portion of PE to 'awkward stretches designed to make students laugh' or something along those lines.

[BlackHawk]

We did yoga inspired stretches back when I was in school in PE. My PE teacher freshman year was very honest in that it's not yoga because there isn't spirituality, but it's "western Yoga" because it still uses the same movements. I loved it and still do yoga to this day.

[shesinsane]

It's interesting - I've heard complaints about yoga both from very religious Christians ("it's a foreign religion, can't have that, no no no") AND complaints from some Indian-background people (often later generation) complaining that yoga as taught in the West is cultural appropriation.Perhaps they should just call the usual fitness stuff "yoga-inspired exercise" or something then, I'll admit I don't find either argument too convincing when we're talking about the pure exercise stuff taught at most rec centers and PE class.

Yoga is to Hinduism as Kabbalah is to Judaism?

[MissA]

The yoga class offered at work has lately been branching out into the more philosophical aspects of the practice. My favorite quote from today was "You know, the chakras aren't just made up. They have been shown to exist by acupuncture."

To which mean old skeptic me goes "Oh, well, clearly all my doubts were just silly." :lol:

But I've been taking yoga classes for over 10 years and this is the first time something like that has come up, even living in the hippiest of towns.

[OohLaLa]

This doesn't surprise me at all. My mom flipped her shit when I rolled my eyes at her claims that yoga is demonic and part of the occult. Apparently she's read some books, including one written by a woman who "escaped" Hinduism, so she knows what she's talking about, ya'll. And even removing the spiritual and meditation aspects doesn't make a difference because of where and how yoga originated; you're still opening yourself up to evil spirits. My asking if I appeared to be demon-possessed now didn't go over so well either.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Problem solved: Christoga!

I loved doing Yoga, but hated that I was bringing Eastern religions in to my home, and letting it infiltrate into my children.

but uh oh!!

DONT BUY IT! This woman loved herself so much that you cant focus on the workout itself. I was actually sick to my stomach having to watch her glorify her sexuality!

I was very dissapointed in this DVD. I don't think it is wise of the star to show her belly and wear sequence in a CHRISTIAN yoga DVD.

I hate it when people wear sequence. :roll:

In other news: when exactly did Janine Turner go 'round the bend?

[Naga Viper]

It's funny—a while back, I was going through an interview with a yoga instructor who worked in complementary and alternative medicine and who had what sounded like amazing credentials to a layperson (studied for many years, traveled through Asia, worked with at least one guy she said was a big shot)...and then she started in on how she was a major Christian and really wasn't comfortable around the Reiki practitioners she sometimes encountered, because she felt it was a spirituality that conflicted with her own. I could kind of see what she was saying, but at the same time, I thought it was interesting, the way she drew those lines in her life and work.

Takes all kinds, I guess.

[CallmeChaCha]

This doesn't surprise me at all. My mom flipped her shit when I rolled my eyes at her claims that yoga is demonic and part of the occult. Apparently she's read some books, including one written by a woman who "escaped" Hinduism, so she knows what she's talking about, ya'll. And even removing the spiritual and meditation aspects doesn't make a difference because of where and how yoga originated; you're still opening yourself up to evil spirits. My asking if I appeared to be demon-possessed now didn't go over so well either.

OT, but you reminded me about my mom telling me the same thing but about burning incense. She prohibited me from burning them at home when I first started buying them and even ended up doing some holy cleanse thing to the house (she's Catholic - I just remember she had holy water and some cross thing made from palm leaves or something) :?

[jjmennonite]

I remember discovering incense when I was about 8 or 9, and playing with it, with my cousin, and wondering if it was sinful. Our parents did not say anything, except about safety, so we decided it was OK. So, yes, the yoga thing does not surprise me - I may have even heard some cousins talk about it.

[GeoBQn]

When I was in third grade, I bought a pack of Tarot cards from the Renaissance Faire because I thought they looked cool. My parents had to tell me not to bring them to school because "some people might have a problem with it."

In my middle school, the 8th grade teachers had a tradition of spending the last day of school before winter break teaching students 1-day workshops on anything they were interested in, like tai chi or scrapbooking. My homeroom teacher wanted to teach a class on handwriting analysis, but her idea was turned down because "some people might consider that to be witchcraft."

[clibbyjo]

My homeschooled kids are all psychic and they have their own set of "faerie" tarot cards. Another homeschooler bought my kid a Ouija board when she was 8. Daughter and I have yoga class everyday at the YMCA. I suppose we fit better with the evil school kids than THOSE homeschoolers that is for sure. :dance:

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Mostly what I remember of Ouija board was it being a fad in the mid-70's in the elementary school in DC I was in at the time, and my friend and I would ask it obvious questions like "who is smarter?" and we'd both be totally obviously fighting over the damn platen to make it go to our own name, while denying this. Ah, good times...

[OohLaLa]

OT, but you reminded me about my mom telling me the same thing but about burning incense. She prohibited me from burning them at home when I first started buying them and even ended up doing some holy cleanse thing to the house (she's Catholic - I just remember she had holy water and some cross thing made from palm leaves or something) :?

I would imagine my mother would feel about the same about incense. I'm really tempted to go to their house sometime when they aren't there and do all kinds of yoga, burn incense, play with a ouija board, meditate, read some Harry Potter, pray to the devil, and whatever else I can think of. Then tell them what I did a year later and ask them to explain why their house is no more full of demons/evil spirits than before.

[julie paradox]

OT, but you reminded me about my mom telling me the same thing but about burning incense. She prohibited me from burning them at home when I first started buying them and even ended up doing some holy cleanse thing to the house (she's Catholic - I just remember she had holy water and some cross thing made from palm leaves or something) :?

????

Sorry, we have a Catholic who's worried about incense?

Do you think she should have a word with His Holiness?

(Or maybe even St Luke, what with the gifts and everything.)

[2xx1xy1JD]

It turns out that the question of whether yoga is compatible with Orthodox Judaism has come up:

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-an ... oga-kosher

I remember being part of a yoga service during a Jewish conference in Los Angeles. The alternative to denying the spirituality in yoga seems to be embracing the spiritual potential, but redefining it and using it for Jewish spiritual purposes. Perhaps some would see this as the equivalent of the fad of Christian Passover seders.

[Fargood]

Yoga, is the marijuana of excercise -- it's the gateway exercise to harder, more addictive exercise like running, jumping and [gasp] dancing!