There's been a big hubbub recently about yoga being taught in local elementary schools. I've found it fascinating how some parents have come out against it for fear of their children being indoctrinated into Hinduism.
What's I find really striking is how much I agree with them, if for different reasons. I'm sensitive to any whiff of religion being taught as fact in the classroom. That is a job for parents.
The people I've seen quoted in the news, however, are against it because they think their children are being "indoctrinated" into a "false religion". In my mind, if you follow what I consider to be a false religion, the worse thing you are doing is deluding yourself. In their mind, they are at risk for real eternal problems.
So what defines yoga? Is sitting quietly in a room and stretching a bad thing? What about paying attention to your own body? What if you say "namaste"? Where is the line for what is dangerous flirting with a religion and simple healthy living?
One comment I heard was that you should be spending your time with your thoughts on God. And yoga teaches you to focus your energies inward, rather than outward.
My thoughts are a little muddled, but it's all so fascinating to me.
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