Yoga enrages GA elementary school parents

by Sara Ritsch
Staff Writer

(Kinnesaw, Ga.) - Outrage ensued last week when yoga and other mindfulness practices were recognized at Bullard Elementary School in GA as being implemented to reduce student stress. Complaints from parents who view yoga as non-Christian and against the Bible supervened.

Principal Patrice Moore sent parents an email in response to the indignation. “I am truly sorry that the mindfulness / de-stressing practices here at Bullard caused many misconceptions that in turn created a distraction in our school and community,” it read. “While we have been practicing de-stressing techniques in many classrooms for years, there have been some recent practices associated with mindfulness that are offensive to some.”

Parents also mistook the practices as including crystals with healing powers, to which Moore responded, “Although teachers have never used nor taught about crystals having healing powers during these breaks, we understand it has become a belief. Therefore we will ensure that nothing resembling this will be done in the future.”

Although yogi practices have roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, they are widely popular as philosophical techniques rather than religious. Eastern mindfulness practices have taken the West by storm, spreading peacefulness and de-stressing techniques among the rapidly advancing nation.

Parent Susan Jaramillo implied to WXIA that this separation of church and state is necessary, saying, “No prayer in schools. Some don’t even say the pledge, yet they’re pushing ideology on our students. Some of those things are religious practices that we don’t want our children doing in our schools.”

According to The Washington Post, the elements of the program that will be eliminated are “the Sanskrit greeting ‘Namaste,’ placing hands ‘to heart center’ and coloring pages with the symbol of the Mandala.” Namaste is a spiritual salutation meaning ‘peace’ and the Mandala is an Indian religious symbol that represents the cosmos.

The Gayly – 3/24/2016 @ 11:35 a.m. CST