26 September 2012 Last updated at 06:42 ET

A priest has banned yoga from a church hall because the class was "not compatible" with the Catholic faith.

Instructor Cori Withell from Hampshire said her yoga and pilates classes at St Edmund's Church building in Southampton were cancelled with 10 days to go.

Father John Chandler said that the hall had to be used for Catholic activities, and he banned it because it was advertised as "spiritual yoga".

Ms Withell, 37, said it "seemed terribly petty to cancel the classes".

The ban is not Catholic Church policy and decisions are left to the discretion of individual priests.

Ms Withell, from Eastleigh, said the church accepted the booking two months ago and she paid 180.

She was called later and told that yoga was "from another religion", so she could not have the hall.

Source: BBC Religion and Ethics

A separate pilates class she had booked was also cancelled.

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Priest bans yoga from church hall