California court says teaching yoga in school not 'gateway' to Hinduism

A Californian appeals court has declared that yoga taught in a San Diego County school system is not "a gateway to Hinduism" and does not breach the students' or their parents' religious rights.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego upheld the ruling given by a lower court that quashed a family's lawsuit that attempted to prevent Encinitas Union School District from teaching yoga as an alternative to traditional gym classes, reported Fox News.

The court observed that while the practice of yoga may be religious in some contexts, yoga taught in the district was "devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings."

The lawsuit was filed by Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock and their two children and claimed that yoga promoted Hinduism while inhibiting Christianity. They were disappointed by the verdict and were considering their options.

Attorney Dean Broyles said in a statement that no other court, in the last 50 years, had permitted a public school to lead children in formal religious rituals like the Hindu liturgy of praying to, bowing to, and worshipping the sun god.

Paul V. Carelli IV, a lawyer for the district, said that no rituals were being held in the classroom and no one was worshipping the sun or leading Hindu rites.