Alabama Will Now Allow Yoga In Its Public Schools (But Students Can't Say 'Namaste')
The new law will allow Alabama public schools to offer yoga for students. Here, kids participate in a yoga class in Pennsylvania. Susan L. Angstadt/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images hide caption
The new law will allow Alabama public schools to offer yoga for students. Here, kids participate in a yoga class in Pennsylvania.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill to allow public schools to offer yoga, ending a ban that stood for nearly 30 years. Christian conservatives who back the ban said yoga would open the door for people to be converted to Hinduism.
The new law allows yoga to be offered as an elective for grades K-12. While it erases a ban that, over the years, some schools had not realized existed, it also imposes restrictions on how yoga should be taught. Students won't be allowed to say, "Namaste," for instance. Meditation is not allowed.
"Chanting, mantras, mudras, use of mandalas, induction of hypnotic states, guided imagery, and namaste greetings shall be expressly prohibited," the bill states. It also requires English names be used for all poses and exercises. And before any students try a tree pose, they'll need a parent's permission slip.
