Hindus have applauded Crescent Valley High School (CVHS) in Corvallis (Oregon, USA) for offering yoga, and have urged all schools in Oregon to do the same for their pupils.
According to reports, a week-long yoga summer camp is currently being held in the school and a yoga class will be offered after the school opens on September four.
Calling it a “step in the right direction”, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, suggested all schools of Oregon to incorporate yoga in the lives of the students, making it part of the curriculum. Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed pointed out.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
Rajan Zed notes that besides other benefits, yoga might also help deal with the obesity crisis faced by the country. According to United States National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. About 21 million Americans, including many celebrities, now reportedly practice yoga. Yoga is the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed adds.
Cherie Stroud is the Principal of CVHS, whose Vision Statement includes “nurture students to grow as responsible citizens”. CVHS is in Corvallis School District, where students are “encouraged to prepare themselves to make a difference”. Dr. Erin Prince is the Superintendent of the District, which has about 6,300 students who represent over 47 nationalities.