When I was in school, yoga was becoming popular as an exercise everywhere. My school decided to bring it into PE class, as pure fitness. I did it like everyone else, no questions asked.
When I went home and told my father, a theologian, what we’d been doing, he explained what yoga actually was – not just stretching and exercise, but that it has a spiritual practice that is rooted in another faith, with postures and breathing that were forms of worship long before they were forms of exercise. Once I understood that, I couldn’t in good conscience keep doing it as if it were just squats and stretches. While I completely recognise that many people find immense physical and mental benefit in yoga, I personally made a decision to stop. Ultimately it came down to aligning my daily routines with my personal spiritual and religious convictions
My parents and a few other Christian parents who felt strongly about it spoke to the principal and we were exempted from doing it. I remember being grateful for that. But I also remember what came with it – standing at the side while everyone else moved through the routine, the sideways glances, the questions from everyone asking why I was making such a big deal out of an exercise. Nobody punished me. But nobody had to. Standing out was punishment enough to make most kids just go along next time.
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