KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — - A Georgia elementary school is changing the way it conducts yoga activities in classrooms after parents complained.
The school was using yoga as a way to help kids unwind, but changes were made after Christian parents complained about the Hindu origins of the exercises.
Bullard Elementary School Principal Patrice Moore said in an email to parents that concerns and "misconceptions" about the activities had created a distraction.
The Marietta Daily Journal reports that Moore wrote that students have been practicing "de-stressing techniques," but recent practices associated with "mindfulness" have been pointed out as offensive to some people.
While the school isn't cancelling the yoga program, they did promise to tweak it.
Bullard wrote, students will not be directed to say the word "Namaste," a respectful greeting in Hindu culture.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a growing number of U.S. and Georgia schools have started using yoga and other "mindfulness" practices to help students deal with stress and focus on academics.