Hindus laud local club, seek yoga in all Nebraska schools

Hindus have commended McCook High School (MHS) in McCook (Nebraska) for reportedly launching yoga club, calling it a step in the positive direction.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, applauded MHS for coming forward and providing an opportunity to students to avail the multiple benefits yoga offered.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, Nebraska State Board of Education President Rachel Wise and Nebraska Department of Education Commissioner Matthew L. Blomstedt; to work towards formally introducing yoga clubs in all the public schools of the state, thus incorporating highly beneficial yoga in the lives of Nebraska's students.

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, Rajan Zed pointed out.

Zed 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.

According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a "2016 Yoga in America Study", about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self-image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed added.

According to reports, this yoga club, which promises lasting benefits with the practice of yoga, was initiated by the school counselor Janae Solomon. Julie Kotschwar is the yoga teacher.

Janae Solomon responds -- "We are flattered that our small-town high school yoga club is receiving this recognition and praise. We want to reassure readers that the intention of our yoga club is not religion-based, but focused on the whole-body wellness of students."