A New Mexico lawmaker opposes yoga in schools because he says the practice may be considered religious.

Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Los Lunas) expressed these concerns about in-school yoga during a recent meeting for the Legislative Education Study Committee in Santa Fe, where teachers and a physician gathered to discuss student health and ways to combat childhood obesity, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Although a gym teacher from John Baker Elementary School said she neither defines her stretching or mat work as yoga nor mentions religion, Baldonado, who is on the committee, said the practice is still linked to Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Are we teaching yoga in public schools now? he asked. Are parents notified?

Baldonado said he wouldn't want his Christian children exposed to such a practice, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He insisted he has nothing against Eastern religions, but, when his home-schooled daughters have private swim lessons that involve yoga, they choose to opt out.

"We have the authority, the charge from God, to raise our children as we see fit," he said.

"I think it tends to open a door to a practice tied to a religious belief," he said in an interview after the hearing, according to the Daily Times. "There is a good population of people out there who feel that way, so we have to ask if another option is available for them." He later added, "If I started reading scriptures from the Bible in schools, I'm sure there would be objections."

State Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces), who is a teacher in Las Cruces, dismissed the issue as a "concern of the far right," according to the Daily Times. He posited that algebra has roots in religion.

The issue of yoga in schools reached a boiling point in California this summer when a family filed a suit against the Encinitas Unified School District after the start of a pilot yoga program in an elementary school. As Reuters notes, a judge refused to block the teaching in July, ruling that "yoga at its roots is religious," but its modern practice is secular and "a distinctly American cultural phenomenon."

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New Mexico Lawmaker's Objection To Yoga In Schools Is A Stretch

By Jilly Johnson

PUBLISHED: 18:06 EST, 29 October 2013 | UPDATED: 02:13 EST, 30 October 2013

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Well, this is awkward. Im arranging myself into what my yoga instructor calls the downward facing dog pose. I place my hands on the floor, stretch out my arms and legs and lift my pelvis.

So far so good. I close my eyes and try to follow orders to relax until I feel a paw swipe my face.

When a big sticky lick follows it, I lose my inner calm completely, and collapse right on top of my Great Dane, Hugo, who looks at me as if I am, well, barking mad.

Video from the doggie yoga class below...

Mutt on a mat: Jilly Johnson tries doga - yoga with dogs - with her one-year-old Great Dane Hugo

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Yoga with dogs? JILLY JOHNSON tries 'doga' - with her 14st Great Dane

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Multimode computing leader Lenovo (0992.HK) (Pink Sheets:LNVGY) today debuted its first multimode Yoga Tablet at a livestream launch event with Ashton Kutcher, the companys newest product engineer. Known for pioneering innovative multimode devices like the Yoga convertible laptop, Lenovo now brings people a new way to get the most out of their tablet experience.

The game-changing Yoga Tablet features three unique modes, giving consumers a better way to use a tablet. With hold, tilt and stand modes, the tablet adapts to the way people use it instead of forcing people to adapt to the technology. Additionally the Yoga Tablet has an amazing up to 18 hours of battery life1 to truly fit users ultra mobile lifestyles.

Watching and discovering that people frequently use tablets in three main ways allowed us to break the mold on the current sea of sameness designs, giving them a better way to read, browse, watch and interact with content, said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Lenovo Business Group, Lenovo. As consumers continue to demand innovative multimode designs were thrilled to have Ashton Kutcher on board with us to help further develop the immersive and complementary hardware and rich content experience.

Yoga Tablet: Three Modes And Longer Battery Life Give Tablets A Better Way

One size does not fit all, especially when it comes to tablets. Lenovo designers and engineers identified three challenges tablet users face: fatigue when holding and using the tablet; no self-supporting mechanism when laid on a flat surface; and an inadequate viewing angle when set on a table. These scenarios inspired Lenovo to break the mold on the sea of sameness design and to create Yoga Tablets unique modes.

With its exclusive cylindrical handle, hold mode is designed to fit an individuals hand, so the Yoga Tablet is easier to hold and offers more control over the device whereas other tablets require two hands. Hold mode makes reading, checking social media and browsing the web easy and parallels how people hold magazines when reading.

To convert the Yoga Tablet into stand mode, simply rotate the side cylinder 90 so that the tablet stand deploys, allowing the tablet to stand by itself on a desk or table. Users can change the viewing angle to fit whats comfortable for them from 110 to 135. Stand mode makes it easy for users to comfortably watch movies, place video calls and interact with the ten-finger touchscreen without having to rely on add-on accessories.

Users can lay the Yoga Tablet down in tilt mode to type directly on the tablet, play games and just surf the Internet with a better viewing angle. To further enhance the rich content and multimode tablet experience, users can enable the tablets auto-detection software that automatically brings up frequently used apps in hold and stand modes.

The Yoga Tablets multimode design not only provides a better usability experience, it offers dramatically longer battery life of up to 18 hours1, which is significantly more than the amount of typical tablets. Its cylindrical handle packs in powerful, dual batteries and unlike most tablets, it uses batteries typically found in laptops. The Yoga Tablet can even charge other devices such as smartphones via its USB on-the-go2. The 10 inch and 8 inch models run on MT8125 for WiFi models and MT8389 Quad Core processors for 3G models with 16 or 32 GB capacity and feature Android 4.2. Also equipped with Dolby audio, Yoga Tablets front-facing speakers create a powerful surround sound experience through the device speakers and with headphones.

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Lenovo Unveils Its First Multimode Yoga Tablet

Lululemon/Athleta

Lululemon's basic yoga pants (left) cost $98, while Athleta's cost $69 (right).

Lululemon Athletica charges about $30 more for a pair of basic yoga pants than Gap Inc.'s Athleta simply because it knows women will pay for the brand.

Lululemon's $98 pair looks almost exactly like Athleta's $69 pants. T he materials, a mixture of nylon and Lycra, are also the same.

The Lululemon pants are made of the brand's own patented "Luon," which is 86% percent nylon and 14% Lycra.

Athleta also makes its yoga pants with its own patented material called Pilayo which is 88% nylon and 12% Lycra.

Both are advertised as stretchy, breathable, and moisture-wicking.

The only real difference we found between the two pairs of pants is that Lululemon's has a hidden waistband pocket. So is that pocket worth $30?

Probably not, which has led some analysts to wonder whether Lululemon's pricing will remain sustainable as the yoga apparel market gets increasingly competitive.

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Why Lululemon's Yoga Pants Cost $30 More Than Athleta's