US: Alabama lawmakers pass legislation to lift decade-old 'yoga ban' in schools

Since 1993, Yoga has been banned in the US State of Alabama in public schools due to what the conservative groups have long alleged its ‘ties to Hinduism’. However, in a milestone decision, the state's Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed legislation to lift the state's decades-old ‘controversial’ prohibition on hypnosis, meditation, and yoga exercises in Alabama’s public schools. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law on May 20, the Advance Local Alabama newspaper reported. 

Democratic member of the Alabama House of Representatives, representing District 83, Jeremy Gray had led the effort in the dissolution of the ban after he introduced HB246 legislation in February 2021 that sought reversal of the 27-year-old ban on yoga. ''May the light in me see the light in you #Namaste,” Gray tweeted, in his support of students inclined towards the globally renowned practice of ‘yoga’. 

“There are both mental and physical benefits of yoga. Yoga helps children cope with stress that may cause childhood trauma.  It also promotes concentration, mental stimulation, and mental clarity which gives children the capacity needed to make sound decisions and invoke purpose,” Democrat Gray had told Alabama broadcasters as he insisted that US lawmakers legalize yoga in K-12 public schools.

Actually being a 'yogi' and actually practicing yoga for the last 10 years, I really thought that it was something that, you know, kids could really take advantage of, especially in K-12 public schools–Jeremy Gray told NPR in a statement. 

He passed the bill to lift the ban across Alabama State Board of Education despite staunch opposition from the committee members ‘unwilling’ to embrace what they described to the judiciary as “practice inseparable from Hinduism”. And now, having nominated for Alabama’s Shroud Award and hitting the Senate floor for debate, Gray’s bill was passed as law as the age-long ban on yoga was lifted and students were now allowed to practice it although with a slight tweak. 

While the Yoga ban has been lifted in Alabama the legislation prohibits instructors from saying “namaste" and "om", according to the Bill's ammendments. 

The bill's 'controversial, discriminatory' amendments 

“All poses shall be limited exclusively to sitting, standing, reclining, twisting, and balancing" and "all poses, exercises, and stretching techniques shall have exclusively English descriptive names," the bill exclusively stated. It further mentions, “Chanting, mantras, mudras, use of mandalas, and namaste greetings shall be expressly prohibited.” The bill received a 4-4 split vote and was sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, chairman of the committee.

Although, Gary thinks that the terms listed as the Senate changes show “phobias or blatant disrespect to the Hindu culture.” He was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the amendments include a definition of a ban on cultural practices “associated with or derived from mystical traditions of the East.” The Alabama Board of Education voted in 1993 had voted unanimously to ban yoga in the state’s public schools. Although the Democrat senator had pushed for its mental and physical benefits in the sports such as football.