Mr. Gray pointed out that his bill would allow schools and students to make their own decisions about offering or attending yoga classes. It also says that public school teachers cannot say “namaste”, a greeting often used in yoga, or any type of singing.
“You have to commit to getting this bipartisan support,” he said.
Mr. Gray found the problem largely by chance. In a speech at a public school in Auburn, Alabama, in 2019, he mentioned that yoga helped him get down to earth while balancing responsibilities.
After his comments, the teachers told him that they had been unable to organize exercises for their students. “That’s how I found out it was banned,” said Gray.
At the time of the ban in 1993, parents in the state were raising concerns not only about yoga, but also about hypnotism and “psychotherapeutic techniques”. According to an April 1993 article in The Anniston Star, a mother in Birmingham said her son brought home a relaxation tape from school that left a boy “visibly high,” reported The Montgomery Advertiser.
But for Mr. Gray, a former football player, yoga has been a useful part of his exercise regime. Gentle stretches helped him calm down after training, he said, while breathing exercises strengthened his lungs. (This, he added, may have helped him to recover quickly from a Covid-19 attack last year.)
He introduced his first bill to challenge the ban on yoga in 2019, but it quickly failed. Her second attempt was approved by the Chamber in 2020, but was put on a double boiler because of the pandemic.
This time, Mr. Gray is optimistic about the prospects of the bill. He said a Republican senator, Tom Whatley, agreed to move the legislation forward in the Senate, where, like the House, Republicans have a majority. (Mr. Whatley did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment on Friday.)