Wherein Yoga is Seen by Parents as Promoting Hinduism

Heard this story on NPR about parents objecting to having their elementary age children take yoga as part of their physical education curriculum. They worried that the school or teachers at the school were attempting to brainwash their kids into Hinduism. They feared that the sun salutations would convince their impressionable children to worship gods of the sun.  One mother said "They were being taught to thank the sun for their lives and the warmth that it brought, the life that it brought to the earth and they were told to do that right before they did their sun salutation exercises." She objects to this teaching, because she thinks it has a religious bias. But if she would read even 2 or 3es well-researched articles  about how yoga can help kids to regulate emotion and feel more energized, as well as to have greater focus, maybe she would feel differently.

So much fear all the time from people about stuff they don't understand. It's especially freaky to me when the fear is about something that is mentally and physically beneficial for children and could be a very positive influence, possibly for the rest of their lives if they stick with it. I don't think dodge ball has quite the same lasting effect.




Comments

PinkPanthress said…
I've heard some weird sh***, stuff I mean, in the past few years when it comes to american christians & their ignorance.

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