Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN Jul 4, 2013, 12.32AM IST

(Yoga enthusiasts in the)

WASHINGTON: Yoga enthusiasts in the US got a big boost this week when a California judge ruled that the practice which originated in India is now a ''distinctly American cultural phenomenon,'' while dismissing complaints from some parents that teaching it to school children amounted to ''an unconstitutional promotion of Eastern religions.''

Weeks of testimony from yoga practitioners and opponents, including live demonstration in courtroom of poses taught to children, came to a convoluted finale on Monday when Judge John Mayer agreed that yoga ''at its roots is religious,'' but pronounced that the kind introduced by a school district near San Diego, which was the subject of the litigation, passed the test of secularism. "A reasonable student would not objectively perceive that Encinitas School District yoga does advance or promote religion," he said.

Parents of some children had sued to stop the school district from teaching yoga maintaining it is a religious practice that surreptitiously promoted Hinduism. Funded with $533,000 from the K.Pattabhi Jois Foundation, which is backed by Jois acolytes, hedge-fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II and his wife Sonia, the school district introduced a three-year pilot yoga program in 2011, with twice a week classes in addition to regular physical education.

While some 30 families pulled their children out of the classes, saying teaching of yoga in schools blurred the line between church and state and "represents a serious breach of the public trust," many parents backed the program, which the school said was also aimed at curbing aggressive behavior and bullying. School authorities said in court that they had removed all religious elements from what was taught to the students, including the use of the word Namaste and substituting Sanskrit name of asanas with English ones. For instance, Padmasana, usually called lotus pose in English, became ''criss cross apple sauce'' in Americanese to appeal to children.

In fact, Judge Meyer, who had told the court early in the case that he himself had taken Bikram yoga classes, went so far as to observe that the yoga taught in Encinitas schools was no different from exercise programs like dodgeball. He was also irritated that some of the plaintiffs were not really informed about yoga as taught in the Encinitas schools and had simply got their information from dubious sources on the internet. ''It's almost like a trial by Wikipedia, which isn't what this court does,'' he observed.

The petitioners have said they will appeal against the court's ruling, but for now, yoga enthusiasts are celebrating the victory because it sets an important legal precedent for expanding yoga in school programs. In fact, some observers seemed pleased at the judge's seeming cultural appropriation of yoga while observing that it was as American as apple pie, noting that yoga came to the US more than a century ago with the arrival of the first Indian mystics and spiritual figures.

Paramahamsa Yogananda lived in the US in the 1920s, and is in fact, thought to be the first Indian pubic figure to be entertained at the White House in 1927 - by President Calvin Coolidge.

Here is the original post:
Yoga passes secularism test in US

A California judge has ruled that it's a real stretch to suggest yoga is always religious.

Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer rejected the pleas of parents from a San Diego County school district where yoga is taught on nine campuses who said the classes are inherently religious and violate the constitutional principle of separating church and state.

Meyer sided instead in the Monday ruling with administrators from the Encinitas Union School District who argued the practice while often religious is taught in a secular way to promote strength, flexibility and balance.

The judge said parents who objected relied on personal opinions, some culled from Internet searches.

"It's almost like a trial by Wikipedia, which isn't what this court does," said Meyer, who took nearly two hours to explain a decision that explored yoga's Indian roots and philosophy.

The judge emphasized that the school district stripped classes of all cultural references, including the Sanskrit language. The lotus position was renamed the "crisscross applesauce" pose.

Dean Broyles, an attorney for Encinitas parents Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock, said he would likely appeal.

"It was the judge's job to call balls and strikes and determine the facts," Broyles said. "I think he got some of the facts wrong."

The district is believed to be the first in the country to have full-time yoga teachers at every one of its nine schools. The lessons are funded by a $533,720, three-year grant from the K.P. Jois Foundation, a nonprofit group based in Encinitas that promotes Ashtanga yoga.

The twice-weekly, 30-minute classes are offered along with more traditional physical education to the district's 5,600 students.

Excerpt from:
Calif. Judge Rules Yoga Is Irreligious

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 5, 2013) - San Diego Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer ruled July 1st in Sedlock v. Baird/Encinitas Union School District that the District's twice-a-week yoga program for students passes constitutional muster and is exercise, not religious indoctrination.PartnersJack M. Sleeth, Jr.andPaul V. Carelli, IV from the law firm of Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz,successfully represented the Encinitas Union School District on a pro bono basis.Following a six-day non-jury trial, the Judge denied the claim brought by two parents and their two children asserting that the yoga taught through the District's nine schools was religious, and thus unconstitutional.The yoga instruction was part of a health and wellness curriculum the District developed with a grant funded by the Jois Foundation.The yoga program used poses from several different types of yoga, including Ashtanga, modified to be "kid friendly."After some parents complained that yoga was a religion, Superintendent Timothy Baird testified the program was modified so that all cultural references were removed, Sanskrit words were omitted, and students could opt out of the yoga program and participate in other physical education activities in order to meet minimum physical education requirements.In his two-hour ruling, Judge Meyer found that, based on court documents and testimony, the District program passed the legal test because "any reasonable student would not associate yoga with religion the way that the District has set-up this program." The Encinitas Union School District announced that it expects the decision to be appealed.

About Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz:

Stutz Artiano is a general practice law firm founded in 1982. The firm has 39 attorneys and five regional offices in San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Practice areas include Employment, Education, Municipal Law, Land Use & Environmental, Estates & Trusts, Real Property, Construction, and Insurance. Visit http://www.stutzartiano.com for further information; or contact info@stutzartiano.com / (619) 232-3122.

Read more here:
Judge Rules School Yoga Is Fitness and Not Religious