Yoga and Religion in Kids Yoga Classes

                                    📽️ Prefer video format? Watch here

Sometimes, when I teach yoga in schools, I get requests for children to sit out of yoga due to religious concerns from the parents.

I am not here to discuss whether or not yoga is a religion, but if you are interested in reading more in this area, you might find the blog by Yoga Journal interesting here.

In this blog I'll be sharing my approach to this situation. As always, I am not saying this is the best way to handle the situation, I'm just sharing my own experiences.

For me personally, it is really important to be sure about what you do and don't deliver in your kids yoga lessons and why. For example, I don’t say Namaste, use Sanskrit, or chant within my classes because this doesn’t feel aligned to me. I'm not at all saying that it is wrong to do these things; for you, they may be inextricably linked and an important part of your practice. What I am saying, is that you should be clear in your own mind about your approach and why you choose to teach the way that you do.

If you are working with schools where parents may not have necessarily chosen for their child to be in your class, it is important that you are clear about what is and isn’t taught in your yoga classes.

Communicate Yoga isn’t well understood by education settings and parents, so you need to make your approach clear in your communication with them. Perhaps by providing a letter (there is one of these in the editable document bundle) for the school to give to parents. Ensure that you communicate clearly what you do or don’t include in your lessons, for example, in my yoga for PE lessons, I focus mainly on physical and mental health. We practice movement and breathing, but I don’t really talk much about the spiritual aspects of yoga. As I already stated, I personally avoid using Sanskrit and chanting as this can be misinterpreted. Be clear about what it is that you have been employed to teach. What is the purpose of the lesson? For example, if it is a PE lesson, there is no reason to be talking about chakras.

Be flexible a school that I work in had some students who were asked to sit out of yoga due to religious reasons. I shared with the school the letter about yoga and religion, but this didn’t change the situation for some children. The school knew that the lessons that I deliver are beneficial for both body and mind and wanted all children to benefit. We decided that the best route forwards was to change the name of the classes from yoga to well-being lessons, I altered the language that I use in the lesson to ‘mindful movement practice’. This feels like the right thing to do in this situation, as the children still benefit and the parents don't feel a conflict with their own religious beliefs.
 
Be true to you yoga is a very personal practice and each of us approach it differently. However you approach your kids yoga lessons is fine, but it is important that you share your style and what is included and excluded if you are employed by a school to teach.
 
As yoga teachers, we know that yoga has 8 limbs and is not just about movement practice (you might find this blog a useful explanation of this.) 

It can be perceived as an exercise or a spiritual practice or both.

If you are going to be working with a school, teaching yoga, the most important thing is to have a conversation about what their motivation is for booking a yoga class is and ensuring that you are both on the same page.

📧If you would like some support with this email me about working together [email protected]

⌚If you would like to save time and receive the letter that I use in schools about this topic, get the editable documents bundle here 

📽️ Watch the video here

I'd love to know your opinion on this

x Julia