Why Alabama lawmakers allowed yoga in public schools, but canceled ‘namaste’

Students in Alabama will now be able to practice yoga at school for the first time in nearly 30 years, but state lawmakers say “namaste” will stay out of the classroom.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill Thursday that will allow public school boards across the state to decide if they’d like to offer a yoga class for K-12 students, upending a 1993 Alabama State School Board of Education ban on the mind and body exercise, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

• The 1993 yoga ban included “hypnosis, medication and other practices,” because of “moral panic fueled by right-wing groups,” journalist Brian Lyman of the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
• “Christian conservatives who back the ban said yoga would open the door for people to be converted to Hinduism,” according to National Public Radio.
• “Hindus welcomed the passage of HB246 allowing yoga in Alabama public schools, saying that although it came with a lot of unnecessary and impertinent restrictions, it was still good for the overall well-being of Alabamians,” according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

Alabama politicians outlaw ‘namaste’ in public schools

But Alabama lawmakers were not fully prepared to allow yoga to be fully integrated into the state’s public school systems. According to NPR, here are the restrictions lawmakers placed on yoga in Alabama public schools:

• “Chanting, mantras, mudras, use of mandalas, induction of hypnotic states, guided imagery, and namaste greetings shall be expressly prohibited,” the law reads.
• The names of poses and exercises must be in English.
• Parents are required to sign a permission slip saying their child can participate in yoga.

Alabama House Rep. Jeremy Gray — who sponsored the new law (House Bill 246) — said the state Senate amended the bill with restrictions, but he encouraged his colleagues in the House to agree with the final version so it could make it to Ivey’s desk, reported the Alabama Political Reporter.