Yoga is ‘not a religious threat’

RULING that yoga taught in elementary schools is not a gateway to Hinduism and does not violate religious freedoms, a California appeals court has allowed it to continue.

“We conclude that the programme is secular [and] does not have the primary effect of advancing or inhibiting religion, and does not excessively entangle the school district in religion,” the three-member appeals court ruled on Friday.

The school district had been sued by parents who argued the school yoga programme was inherently spiritual and therefore unconstitutional.

All students in the district, which includes kindergarten to sixth grade, get two yoga classes of 30 minutes or more per week.