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Monday, January 29, 2007

Yoga in schools?

Some parents are claiming yoga in school would violate separation of church and state laws because of it's hindu roots. However they quote a woman who has designed a yoga program without anything spiritual or reglious.
Why do they want yoga in schools? Teachers say it helps calm students with attention-deficit disorder and may reduce childhood obesity. Researchers found a correlation between yoga and better behavior and grades, and they said young yogis were more fit than the district average from the California Physical Fitness Test.

Opponents claim: "It's pretty simple: Yoga is a religious practice in Hinduism. It's the way to reach enlightenment. To bring it to the west and bill it as a scientific practice for fitness is dishonest," said Hunt, 80.

I figure if they could force us to do country-line dancing in gym class when I was in high school, yoga certainly can't be worse! No, seriously, I think it's a good idea. Anything that can help kids to focus and improve grades, behavior, and fitness levels is great. It won't work for all kids but it would be just one more weapon in the arsenal, you know?

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