YOGA DOES NOT MAKE INMATES GAY, SAYS RUSSIAN PRISON CHIEF AS CLASSES ARE REINSTATED
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Russian prison authorities have reinstated yoga for inmates after dismissing a claim by a religious scholar that the practice could make them gay.
Both a Moscow pre-trial detention center for women and the renowned Butyrka prison in the Russian capital introduced yoga classes last year, according to The Moscow Times.
Theological professor Alexander Dvorkin wrote a document suggesting yoga could cause uncontrolled sexual arousal and homosexuality in detention centers, leading to riots, the newspaperMoskovsky Komsomlets reported. Senator Elena Mizulina, who is known for her conservative views, used the document to appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office to check the legality of the yoga classes, and asked for them to be suspended, according to the paper.
However the classes have been reinstated and Valery Maximenko, deputy head of the Federal Prison Service (FSIN) told a Russian radio station that the sessions had a “very positive” effect on inmates.
“We conducted a study, and among those people who practiced yoga, there was a sharp reduction in visits to doctors for help,” he told the radio station Govorit Moskva (Moscow Speaks).
Maximenko said that in addition to yoga, prisoners will also be taught qigong breathing exercises and dismissed any claims that it led to homosexuality.
“The whole world is engaged in it [yoga], and no one is harmed by it and no one will be drawn to homosexuality. Even it did, we live in a democracy and everyone has the right to choose their own way,” he added, pointing out that homosexuality was not illegal in Russia.
He said that Dvorkin had “outdated concepts” and added that “people of non-traditional orientation can occupy high positions, so we do not have the right to condemn anyone.”
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I would do yoga but my body doesnt want to go in those directions any more.
YOGA DOES NOT MAKE INMATES GAY
Of course it doesn't, everyone knows that it is Tai Chi that causes gayness
It is interesting that the person making the claim is a theology professor, so he likely objects to yoga for religious reasons.