Controversial School Yoga Program to Expand

Fresh off defeating a lawsuit that claimed its school yoga classes were religious, the Encinitas Union School District decided Wednesday to expand the controversial program.

The school board voted to accept a $1.4-million grant to expand the district's elementary school yoga classes.

The award from the Sonima Foundation, formerly called the Jois Foundation, will expand the program by hiring two yoga teachers at each of the nine of the district's campuses.

On July 1, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled the yoga exercise program was not religious in nature.

The ruling by Judge John Meyer quashed a lawsuit filed by parents who said the yoga instruction included religious elements and that children whose parents opted out lost state-mandated physical education time.

District Superintendent Timothy Baird told 10News yoga was supported by most of the students.

"I've received a number of emails from students saying this is a great program, they love it, they have fun in the program, they feel that they're getting stronger, they have more focus in the classroom," Baird said.

Parent Scott Graddy told the station, "Physical education I think is very important in school, and the fact that the Encinitas schools received $1.4 million to promote physical education and wellness I think is a very good thing."

The program began last year following a $500,000 grant from the Jois Foundation, which promotes Ashtanga yoga, a fast-paced form of yoga with progressively more demanding poses and synchronized breathing. The judge found that the school's modified version of Ashtanga yoga was secular.

The plaintiffs said they would likely appeal the court ruling.

—City News Service