London, Sept. 30: A Catholic priest is proving surprisingly unbending in his opposition to yoga ' he will not allow his local church hall to be used for teaching yoga because he views it as an alien Hindu practice that could undermine the Catholic faith.

The hardline attitude on yoga by Father John Chandler has shocked thousands of its practitioners, Indians and non-Indians alike.

He has banned Cori Withell, a fitness instructor, from using St Edmund's Church Hall in Southampton, where he is in charge, for yoga lessons.

"There are other halls she could use in Southampton," was the priest's final word on yoga.

Fr Chandler is not in the mould of the gentle, tolerant priests who run St Xavier's and other missionary schools in India. Fr Chandler is convinced yoga is born out of Hinduism and permitting lessons would be to stray on to a slippery slope.

"Yoga is a Hindu spiritual exercise," he insisted. "Being a Catholic Church we have to promote the gospel and that's what we use our premises for."

"We did say that yoga could not take place," he went on. "It's the fact that it's a different religious practice going on in a Catholic Church."

He explained his moral dilemma: "On one hand we say to our parishioners, 'Be strong in your faith,' and on the other hand there's this other religious belief that's not part of our faith. It's not compatible. We are not saying that yoga is bad or wrong."

But there is no disguising his firm belief that yoga is wrong. He also accused Withell of being devious in the way she had booked her lessons. She had initially pretended she was only going to give lessons in Pilates (a fitness regime which began in Germany), but later slipped in yoga, he alleged.

Far from seeking to control a troublesome priest, Portsmouth Catholic Diocese, Fr Chandler's employer, gave him full support.

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Yoga classes? Not in my church, says UK priest