Modified yoga causes controversy in schools
Filed under: Lifestyle, Media, Teachers, High school, Public school
Earlier this month I wrote a post about a group of parents who wanted yoga banned as part of the physical education curriculum at a small town school. I was surprised that yoga could cause such controversy.But now there is further controversy swirling around the ancient practise and its appropriateness for schools.
A Denver teacher convinced of the benefit of yoga for students crafted a program dubbed as "Yoga Ed". In response to Christian fundamentalist protesters, the program's founder stripped out all chanting, meditation and religious connotation out of the yoga. More than 300 physical education instructors have now been trained in this unique brand of yoga, and it's been implemented in 100 American schools.
Teachers say it helps to calm students with ADHD, may reduce childhood obesity, and serves to calm nerves before tests. Critics say that even stripped down "yoga lite" has religious and spiritual connotations and should be kept out of schools.
I'm not particularly religious so perhaps I'm off-base here, but man, I can think of so many more things that should be of focus and controversy in schools. Bullying, for example, and the meager wages teachers are paid. As a stressed out teenager prone to freaking out before exams, I would have loved a program like this in my high school.
What do you think?
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