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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, March 24, 2002: Sixty San Francisco classroom teachers make yoga an integral part of physical education as well as regular classes. At seven public schools here — with more on the way — the “yoga break” has taken its place beside typical school rituals. Yoga Journal, a Berkeley-based bimonthly, calls it “Om Schooling.” Besieged by budget cuts, most of California’s elementary schools no longer have a physical education teacher. With free teacher training by Tony Sanchez, a yoga master, yoga is becoming an integral part of the physical education classes and the regular classroom as well. Sanchez founded the United States Yoga Association, a nonprofit organization. Sanchez has trained 60 classroom teachers citywide in Hatha yoga, which concentrates on athletic postures and breathing techniques. Yoga is not common in the American classroom yet. But it is increasingly becoming part of the physical education curriculum nationwide. In Seattle, 15 of 97 public schools have yoga as a warm-up in gym class, and it is an elective for high school students, said Bud Turner, the physical education coordinator. “Physical education is moving in the direction of lifetime activities like toning, swimming and yoga,” Turner said. “We’re getting away from traditional team sports dominated by three kids in the athletic elite.” San Francisco’s yoga-in-the-schools program was prompted by the failure of 74 percent of California public school students to meet state fitness requirements, said Gloria Siech, a physical education content specialist for the San Francisco Public schools. To avoid potential controversy, she said, the program focuses solely on the physical aspects of yoga. There is no Sanskrit or mention of Hindu deities.

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