Alabama ban on yoga in schools questioned
Published 5:30 am Sunday, September 2, 2018
- Students at East Elementary School traded kickball for tree and warrior yoga poses during a week in February 2016, as part of a partnership between the city school system and park department. Dubbed AllFit, the program promoted fitness for the community at large.
MONTGOMERY — 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.
However, a department spokesman said there have been no discussions yet about reversing the yoga ban.
