ENCINITAS, Calif. (AP) A Southern California school district has accepted a $1.4 million grant to expand a student yoga program that sparked religious complaints and a lawsuit.

Trustees of the Encinitas Union School District voted Wednesday to accept the grant from the Sonima Foundation to expand teaching at its nine campuses.

The foundation, formerly known as the Jois Foundation, is the same nonprofit group that initially funded the yoga fitness program for the SanDiego County beach community. The foundation has said it believes the program will become a national model to help schools teach students life skills.

The new grant will provide funding to increase the number of teachers from 10 to 18, including professional development instructors who will train teachers in the physical activity and character development parts of the curriculum, district Superintendent Tim Baird said.

The program made national headlines after some parents argued it violated their religious freedom and promoted non-Christian religion, citing yoga's roots in Eastern religions.

The school district said the program as taught was secular.

A couple that opposed the classes sued the district in February but a judge ruled against them last month. Dean Broyles, the attorney who filed the suit, said he plans to appeal.

Broyles, who is president of the Escondido-based National Center for Law & Policy, also condemned the district's vote to accept the new grant.

The "decision to double down on its flagrant religious freedom violations is an outrageous breach of public trust," he wrote in an email.

Baird has said most students and parents support the program.

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Encinitas schools accept $1.4m grant to expand yoga program

(PRWEB) August 01, 2013

Alameda, CA- Yoga Alameda is pleased to announce the launch of their pre and post natal yoga program beginning November 2103. Registered/Certificated Pre Natal Yoga Teacher, Rebecca Trissell, heads the program bringing more than 10 years yoga teaching experience to the program. Graduating from Yoga Tree and Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco.

She is qualified by Yoga Alliance to teach classes in pre and post-natal yoga. Which differentiates Yoga Alamedas Pre and Postnatal program from others. Having a trained professional in pre and post- natal yoga assures safety and quality instruction.

Yoga Alameda holds pre natal yoga classes three times a week and post natal, mom and baby yoga workshops once a month. This quality pre and postnatal yoga programs offer a multifaceted approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and focused breathing. Research suggests that prenatal yoga is safe and can have many benefits for pregnant women and their babies. Prenatal yoga can: improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, increase the strength, flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth, decrease lower back pain, nausea, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches and shortness of breath. Decrease the risk of preterm labor and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Prenatal and Postnatal yoga can also help you meet and bond with other women and prepare for the stress of being a new parent.

Yoga Alameda offers a quality, well-balanced pre and postnatal program to the community of Alameda. Brining experience and commitment to all their classes.

For more information and current class schedules please contact:

Rebecca Trissell http://www.yogaalameda.com yogawomyn(at)yahoo(dot)com

510.814.1927

1706 Lincoln Ave Alameda, CA 94501

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Yoga Alameda Offers Quality Pre and Postnatal Yoga Classes

Move over Vinyasa and Bikram, theres a new type of yoga in town: Broga.

Broga classes are popping up throughout the country and theyre specifically geared towards men.

We're here to exercise, we're here to feel good. There's no chanting, there's nothing kind of overt about it, said Ryan Farrell, a Broga instructor at Aerial Fitness in Riverhead, N.Y. Youre exercising with a bunch of other guys. It's all cool.

Broga combines core-strengthening, muscle toning and cardio with exercises meant to improve flexibility.

If you tell a guy, With a straight leg, reach down and touch your toes, they can only make it mid-thigh, maybe, and they're done, Farrell said. A lot of guys... tend to focus on upper body, they will stretch out their armsbut their back carries a lot of tension.

After attending his first Broga class, 22-year-old Sean Fender declared himself a big fan.

I've never sweated this much in a yoga class, and I've never had the burn quite as much in the quads and in the core, Fender said.

Though women are allowed to join in on the Broga classes at Aerial Fitness, Fender said that the mostly male environment made him feel more comfortable.

Sometimes it can be intimidating with the girls in there that can bend into a pretzel, and you're just sitting there like, Okay...just trying to keep my back straight, and trying not to break anything, Fender said.

Like most traditional yoga classes, Broga is a great way for guys to de-stress and relax.

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Broga: A new type of yoga for men