Alabama ban on yoga in schools questioned

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Updated 4:51 pm CDT, Friday, August 31, 2018

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama for 25 years has banned yoga in public schools, and a Hindu activist says it's time to change that.

Rajan Zed of Nevada in a statement Friday said the state is doing a disservice to its students by denying them the opportunity to learn yoga.

The Alabama Board of Education in 1993 voted to prohibit yoga, hypnosis and meditation in schools. The ban was pushed by conservative groups.

The ban got new attention when a state document circulated this week listing yoga — along with games like tag — among "inappropriate" activities in gym class.

Alabama Education Superintendent Eric Mackey said the document is old and should not have been released.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Alabama-ban-on-yoga-in-schools-questioned-13197615.php

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[dhill926]

1. jesus christ....

embarrassing...

[maxsolomon]

9. Jesus Christ is precisely the reason.

Yoga = worshipping a false idol in the pinched, bitter minds of Alabama Republicans.

Call is "South Asian Stretching" and get those kids some flexibility!

[pangaia]

11. Heck, jesus christ taught 'meditation.' What do these ignoramuses want?

[Xolodno]

16. meditation over...

...Budwieser/Coors Light...while watching Fox News...in the evening. Never mind the actual news or other...

[GulfCoast66]

24. I am now a freethinker. But grew up baptist.

Have read the New Testament several times. Guess I missed the book of Meditation.

All I get from Christ, or the Apostle Paul more specifically, is window dressing on the same hatefulness found in the Old Testament.

Care to enlighten me?

[Drahthaardogs]

25. I was wondering the same thing.

If Jesus taught meditation I missed that Gospel.

[pangaia]

29. There is no Gospel on meditation in the bible, as far as I am aware. But it is there, everywhere.

[Drahthaardogs]

30. Where?

I think you are making this up, but please correct me if I am wrong.

[pangaia]

31. You have to search for it.

[Drahthaardogs]

32. Well, all I can think of are Jesus's time in the desert

But he was praying. There are a few old Psalms that might be translated as "meditate", but those are referring to concentration on God, prayer, etc.

Jesus certainly did NOT teach meditation on trying to transcend consciousness, etc. Reflection? Yes. Meditation as we use it today? No.

[pangaia]

33. In my view, what most people today think of as meditation is nothing of the sort.

Nor is 'prayer.'

They have both become watered down, "popularized,' not unlike Americanized "Chinese" food.

And I think the answer to both are in fact in the bible, and elsewhere. But so hidden... behind what appears to be something simple...

[Drahthaardogs]

34. Okay, well that's nice, but your posts essentially boil down to

"I know what it REALLY says, but I can't tell you cause you just wouldn't understand", therefore; I shall go back to my original statement.

Jesus never said shit about meditation.

[pangaia]

35. As I said, "In my view."

[callous taoboy]

2. Yoga pulled me out of the need for back surgery for a herniated disc. This harms how?

I could probably benefit greatly from meditation if I could get the hang of it.

[Cousin Dupree]

3. Yoga is witchy sh:t. So say people who know nothing about it.

[SergeStorms]

4. That's ridiculous!

I've never heard of such a thing. Why would they ban something that's beneficial to both body and mind? "The ban was pushed by CONservative groups". Of course. I'm sure they'd have no problem pushing the christian religion down everyone's throats, but only the christian religion. None other.

Freaking closed minded assholes!

[Glorfindel]

7. Yes, only the conservative, protestant, evangelical-leaning, and/or pentecostal

version of christianity. Their minds are even more closed than you can ever imagine.

[Drahthaardogs]

26. No. The Catholic and Orthodox forbid it as well.

Yoga is tied to worship of pagan Gods historically. It also encourages altered mind states. Both are against Catholic teaching.

[pangaia]

28. Altered mind states.... also known as consciousness.

[KCDebbie]

5. A Georgia School used daily yoga before class

Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2018, 08:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Every morning to center their kids and help them focus and concentrate better on their studies. The principal and teachers were actually starting to see an improvement in the kids grades and behavior. Then one of the kids' parents, a fundamentalist Christian, found out about the yoga and started making a stink about it so the school had to put the ki-bosh on things...


https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-25/georgia-school-bans-namaste-and-apologizes-for-teaching-yoga

[StevieM]

20. Is that a misspelling? Did you mean to say "kibosh?"

I just want to make sure that "kinosh" isn't a word that I am unfamiliar with.

[iluvtennis]

6. Just asinine that kids can't learn yoga and meditation. Wake up Alabama. nt

[still_one]

8. WTF. I can't believe their "board of education" was so closed minded

Why is it that anything that some people are not familiar with, they automatically reject, without even attempting to understand?

[pangaia]

12. Of COURSE you can believe it.

This happens not only in Georgia and Alabama..

[still_one]

15. True. It is just sad

[Roadside Attraction]

10. "Forget it, Jake . . . "

The last line of the movie "Chinatown:"

Walsh: " Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. "

To paraphrase: Forget it, folks. It's Alabama.

[pangaia]

13. This happened in California, also. And I am sure elsewhere.

[RVN VET71]

14. Once heard Pat Robertson, that old fool, claim that

Yoga led to demonic possession.

That was, of course, just before he instructed his followers (soon to members of Trump's Army of Loyal Fools) to send him money, "more than you think you can afford because God will reward you blah blah blabiddy blah."

[truthisfreedom]

17. If they started serving fruit on the bottom yoga

at lunch, I’m sure they could sneak it in over time.

[Shoonra]

18. Some background ...

One of the reasons for the anti-yoga ban was a report, circulated among churches and the rightwing some 30 years ago, back when Transcendental Meditation and some other 'spiritual' practices were in vogue. The report was that yoga, even as used in physical conditioning, required reciting mantras and other words that amounted (acc to the report) to invoking various Hindu gods. Since Americans knew very little about Hindu practices this story was hardly challenged.

Nowadays (if not back then) yoga as a fitness exercise is simply the various body positions, without any recitations, and is supposed to flex muscles and joints in ways that they are seldom adequately exercised or stretched or whatever. No religious/spiritual component except that, while doing all this, the participant may meditate on the question "Why am I punishing myself this way?"

[LiberalLovinLug]

21. ha

Yes I remember TM was trendy for a while. When I was young and I lived in a Christian fundamentalist household. It was bordering on Satanic.

And "meditation" was very dangerous. (Well other than meditation upon the Lord) Because it was allowing your brain and body to open up and accept whatever evil spirits took advantage of your defenseless position.

[MountCleaners]

19. One of my yoga teachers is a Christian

She talks about scripture a lot in yoga class, and refers to Jesus as a "yogi". It is possible. The class is full of older white women and they don't appear to be offended. Some people think it's forcing Hinduism on people and Hinduism is "devil worship".

[paleotn]

36. Oh, but is she a "real" Christian?

You know. Those with beliefs approved by the fundy patriarchy.

[Godsuki]

22. Seriously?

So backward.

[icaria]

23. yoga, hypnosis and meditation - oh my!

It could easily turn children into communists. Love the pics!

[handmade34]

27. yoga banned