The Alabama state house voted 73-25 to overturn the state’s nearly three decade old ban on teaching yoga in schools in the state, a move undertaken by conservatives in the early 1990s who feared the exercise practice would give a footing to recruit children to Hinduism, the Washington Post reports.

While yoga was founded on Hindu principles, it is adapted by many non-Hindus as an exercise and mental wellness practice.  The practice of yoga is adopted by many elderly because the exercise routines do not involve actions that adversely impact joints.

“I had to think about the long game and bigger picture and what am I trying to do here,” Democratic state delegate Jeremy Gray, the sponsor of the bill, said. “I’m trying to make yoga accessible to children in K-12 public schools.”

Gray, a former college football player, started doing yoga in college after football practice and workouts as a way of stretching and cooling down.  He did not know there was a ban on yoga in public schools until he visited a school where he said he meditated to help calm and center himself.  After his presentation to students, teachers and students said they were uncomfortable with his response because it’s illegal to teach yoga.

Supporters of the yoga ban still exist.  Eric Johnston, a lawyer who works with Christian advocacy groups, said yoga is a stepping stone to Hinduism, and therefore having yoga in schools is a violation of the Establishment Clause prohibiting the government from endorsing a religion.

“Children at that age are very tech-savvy, and if they are taught yoga, all they have to do is Google it, and they will immediately find information on the spiritual aspects of it and look at it,” Johnston said. “And if they look at it, it might lead them to believe that’s something they should be involved in.”

While Alabama is the only state to outright ban yoga, Georgia has made illegal saying “namaste”–a Hindu phrase meaning “I bow to you” and is used as a greeting in the culture–at the end of yoga classes in schools.  It has also banned the use of mandala–geometric Hindu symbols used to focus concentration–in public schools.