School can be a stressful time for pupils with the pressure of exams. But using yoga to help relax them is under fire after fears that it is indoctrinating Christian children with Hindu values.

Parents and religious leaders in upstate New York want to ban the breathing and stretching routines.

“We can understand the benefits,” said the Rev Colin Lucid of Calvary Baptist Church in Massena, “but we are opposed to the philosophy behind it that has its ties in Hinduism.”

The local education board has had to assure parents there are no “ulterior motives”, pointing out that 100 schools in 26 states use yoga.

Yoga was removed from the curriculum in Aspen, Colorado, in 2002 following complaints. Parents in British Columbia, in Canada, also want the regime banned for religious reasons.