Catholic college to make changes to yoga classes
ATCHISON, Kan. — A Catholic college in northeast Kansas plans to rename a yoga classes and change the content to ensure the class focuses only on physical exercise and not spiritual or cultural elements.
Benedictine College in Atchison plans to rename its yoga classes in its physical education division to Lifestyle Fitness, which will stress stretching and breathing exercises. The change will take place in the fall in response to concerns from students, alumni and faculty, The Wichita Eagle reported (http://bit.ly/2p5PFaq ).
“We’ll continue the classes so they’re still offering the physical challenges and benefits of yoga, but we’re changing the name in the catalogue so it’s a class without spiritually and culturally sensitive content,” said college spokesman Steve Johnson. “The content was never religious in nature, but some people took it that way, I guess. That’s where the confusion came.”
The Rev. John Riley, chancellor for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, said in an email to the Eagle that yoga is more than just exercises, breathing and meditation.