Washington: The Governor of the state of Alabama, United States of America. Ivey has signed a bill allowing state schools to do yoga in classrooms, but it will not be allowed to perform ‘Namaste’ asanas while doing yoga. Along with this, the three-decade-old ban on this popular, centuries-old Indian exercise practice has been lifted. It was banned in 1993 by the State Board of Education for being related to Hinduism.
The bill, which allows the public schools of the Alabama state legislature to do yoga in public schools, is signed a few days after the final approval was given. According to the local Montgomery advertiser, yoga would be limited to only ‘stretching’ and some asanas under the bill and ‘namaste’ posture would not be used during this period. This has been done to overcome the objections of many MPs and Christian groups who argued that yoga has a connection to Hinduism. The legislation will come into effect from August 1, before the start of the new academic session.
