In recent years, many public schools have embraced mindfulness and meditation programs, often led by yoga instructors or trained facilitators. These initiatives are commonly labeled as nonreligious tools to reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance emotional regulation.

Programs like Mindful Schools, Calm Schools, and Quiet Time, the latter promoted by the New Age David Lynch Foundation, have made their way into classrooms across the United States. But what appears to be a neutral wellness intervention is often deeply rooted in Eastern religious traditions, raising concerns about religious freedom, consent, and the psychological safety of children.

One striking example occurred in Chicago, where a Christian student, Mariyah Green, won a $150,000 legal settlement after she said she was coerced into participating in the Quiet Time meditation program. The program involved chanting Sanskrit prayers during a ceremony known as a Puja, an act of worship in Hinduism that includes offerings to deities. Green alleged she wasn’t informed of the religious significance and believed participation affected her academic standing and athletic eligibility. Both the Chicago Public Schools and the David Lynch Foundation settled the case, though they denied liability.

In addition to the Mariyah Green lawsuit, other legal battles have highlighted the spiritual nature of school-based mindfulness meditation programs. In Encinitas, California, a group of parents filed a lawsuit in 2013 against the school district for promoting yoga as part of the school day. The parents argued that the program, funded by a $500,000 grant from the K. P. Jois Foundation, a group that teaches Ashtanga Yoga, rooted in Hindu traditions, was inherently religious. Although the court ultimately ruled in favor of the school, the case revealed just how deeply spiritual ideologies can become embedded in the name of wellness. Children were reportedly taught poses named after Hindu deities and encouraged to chant “Om,” a sacred syllable in Eastern religions. What the school called physical education, the plaintiffs recognized as indoctrination.

Such programs are spreading across the country. In addition to Mindful Schools, Calm Schools, and Quiet Time programs, many other programs are marketed as secular, science-based tools for improving focus and emotional regulation in schools. Yet a closer look reveals that many of these initiatives often include breathing rituals, body scans, and visualizations, practices directly tied to Hinduism, Buddhism, or New Age belief systems. By avoiding overt spiritual language, they slip past constitutional scrutiny while reshaping the spiritual landscape of the classroom.

How did we get here? The normalization of Eastern practices in education began in earnest in the 1960s, when Transcendental Meditation (TM) was introduced in the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Initially recognized as a spiritual discipline, TM later rebranded itself as a nonreligious stress-reduction technique to gain access to institutions like schools, prisons, and hospitals. By the 1990s, the movement had gained scientific legitimacy, aided by research in neuroscience that highlighted the effects of meditation on the brain. This opened the floodgates for mindfulness programs that replaced religious terminology with clinical language, despite retaining their spiritual core.

This spiritual repackaging is more than a semantic shift; it’s a Trojan horse. Children are being taught to engage in practices that mirror religious rituals: centering the self, focusing on breath, chanting, visualizing energy flows, and awakening inner awareness. The biblical worldview emphasizes dependence on God and the authority of Scripture, not inner divinity or altered states of consciousness. Even when stripped of overt religious labels, these practices carry spiritual weight.

The danger is compounded when these programs are embedded in social-emotional learning (SEL) frameworks. SEL encourages students to develop “self-awareness” and “social awareness,” concepts which, in many classrooms, are interpreted through a therapeutic or spiritual lens. When mindfulness becomes a regular classroom activity, it subtly reshapes the child’s understanding of identity, morality, and even transcendence, often in conflict with their family’s faith.

One teacher in a Georgia school, who asked to remain anonymous, described being guided to “visualize light pouring through the crown of our heads and focus on our third eye.” She recalled stepping out of the session, feeling uncomfortable with what she believed was a spiritual ritual. This kind of testimony is not rare. Parents across the country are discovering, often too late, that these so-called “wellness” practices are shaping their children’s beliefs without their knowledge or consent.

This is not simply a question of educational best practices; it’s a battle over worldview. When schools cloak spiritual practices in the language of science, they bypass parental authority and compromise the religious freedom of students. It is essential that parents, educators, and policymakers call these programs what they are: religious indoctrination dressed in psychological terms. Diligence, discernment, and boldness are needed to protect the hearts and minds of the next generation.

Inform your child that TM and mindfulness meditation conflict with your Christian beliefs and that they should respectfully decline. Let your child know that you are completing an opt-out form, and request that it be included in his or her permanent school records. If you need additional information or resources, please don’t hesitate to contact Truth In Education (TIE).