University Of Ottawa's Free Yoga Class Scrapped, Internet Criticism Ensues | HuffPost

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The class has been temporarily suspended.

Jessica Chin— The Huffington Post Canada

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Student leaders at University of Ottawa have put a free yoga class on hold over "cultural issues," and some people are not having any of it.

Jen Scharf has been teaching the class for the last seven years for the university's Centre For Students With Disabilities, which is run by the students' association.

She said when she checked back with the centre in September, she was told the class was being scrapped because some students and volunteers were uncomfortable with the "cultural issues" involved, according to CBC News.

"I guess it was this cultural appropriation issue because yoga originally comes from India," she told CBC News.

She told the Washington Post the class was a basic introduction to yoga.

“I would never want anyone to think I was making some sort of spiritual claim other than the pure joy of being human that belongs to everyone free of religion,” she said.

Scharf offered to rebrand the program as "mindful stretching," but the idea was rejected because a suitable French translation could not be found, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

The centre defended its stance on Facebook, and said the yoga program was not cancelled, but temporarily suspended.

New York Times technology writer Farhad Manjoo tweeted the Ottawa Sun's story on Saturday, which prompted a flurry of replies.

Some tweeted that yoga is derived from British exercises.

Some questioned whether practicing yoga was appropriation or participation.

And some just didn't like the decision at all.

The university tweeted Monday that the school still offers other free yoga classes on campus.

What do you think? Is yoga cultural appropriation or participation? Let us know in the comments.

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(01 of26)

Yoga instructor Tracye Warfield, right, participates in a yoga class in Times Square during the 13th annual Solstice in Times Square, Sunday, June 21, 2015, in New York. Warfield was one of several thousand who practiced yoga during six different classes held throughout the day to mark the summer solstice. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

(02 of26)

Tihar jail inmates participating in an event to mark first International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2015 in New Delhi, India. An estimated 40,000 people participated in the celebrations at Rajpath, with around two billion people taking part across the world. The yoga celebrations are being organised after the United Nations had in December last year declared June 21 as International Yoga Day. (Photo by Ajay Arun Sharma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

(03 of26)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center front, lies down on a mat as he performs yoga along with thousands of Indians on Rajpath, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts are bending their bodies in complex postures across India as they take part in a mass yoga program to mark the first International Yoga Day.(AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

(04 of26)

Traditional wrestlers take part in a Yoga workshop after their daily wrestling classes, on June 20, 2015 in New Delhi, India. On June 21, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's International Yoga Day initiative, 45,000 people are expected to set a world record as they practice asanas or positions on the lawns of India Gate. Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev demonstrated a package of Yogic Asanas that keeps people healthy and helps them lead a medicine-free life. In the national capital, 37,000 pink, blue and other coloured mats will make for a pretty backdrop on Rajpath as participants bend and stretch for the 35-minute event. (Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

(05 of26)

Israelis perform Yoga during the International Yoga Day in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts took part in mass yoga programs to mark the first International Yoga Day throughout the world. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

(06 of26)

Chinese people take part in a mass yoga session to mark the first International Day of Yoga at Qishan lake on June 21, 2015 in Xingtai, China. (ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

(07 of26)

Hundreds of people attend a yoga session on the square at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on June 21, 2015 in Paris, France. 192 countries join in for a mass yoga session to mark the first International Yoga Day. (Frederic Stevens/Getty Images)

(08 of26)

Naga Sadhu (Naked holy man) perform yoga to the villagers on first world yoga day at Dhaulpur. Naga Sadhus are a particular group of Shaivite saints who reside in the Himalayan Caves and come to visit the civilization only during the Kumbh Mela, but this time Naga Rajiv Giri who belongs from Juna akahara take responsibility to aware the villagers for yoga on first world yoga day. (Shashi Sharma/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

(09 of26)

Afghan students perform yoga during the first International Yoga Day, at a private school in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts took part in mass yoga programs to mark the first International Yoga Day throughout the world. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

(10 of26)

Yoga enthusiasts perform yoga during International Day of Yoga in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 21, 2015, in a yoga session to mark the first International Yoga Day. (LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images)

(11 of26)

Indians perform yoga on Rajpath, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts are bending their bodies in complex postures across India as they take part in a mass yoga program to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/ Manish Swarup)

(12 of26)

Two women take part in a mass yoga session to mark the first International Day of Yoga at a park on June 21, 2015 in Huai An, China. (ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

(13 of26)

Indians perform yoga at an event to celebrate the International Yoga Day in Bangalore, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts are bending their bodies in complex postures across India as they take part in a mass yoga program to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

(14 of26)

People do yoga in Times Square as part of the International Day of Yoga celebration on the Summer Solstice June 21, 2015 in New York City. 192 countries joined in for a mass yoga session to mark the United Nations declared, International Yoga Day. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

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Chinese perform yoga under the instructions of Indian yoga teachers at a hotel banquet hall to mark the International Yoga Day, in Changping District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

(16 of26)

Hundreds of people perform yoga to mark the International Day of Yoga in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

(17 of26)

Chinese perform yoga under the instructions of Indian yoga teachers at a hotel banquet hall to mark the International Yoga Day, in Changping District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

(18 of26)

International Yoga Day in Brussels, June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 2014. (Jonathan Raa/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

(19 of26)

Hundreds of people attend a yoga session on the square at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on June 21, 2015 in Paris, France. 192 countries join in for a mass yoga session to mark the first International Yoga Day. (Frederic Stevens/Getty Images)

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Kashmiri school children perform Yoga on the occasion of the first International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2015 in Jammu, India. An estimated 40,000 people participated in the celebrations at Rajpath, with around two billion people taking part across the world. The yoga celebrations are being organised after the United Nations had in December last year declared June 21 as International Yoga Day. (Waseem Andrabi/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

(21 of26)

People do yoga in Times Square as part of the International Day of Yoga celebration on the Summer Solstice June 21, 2015 in New York City. 192 countries joined in for a mass yoga session to mark the United Nations declared, International Yoga Day. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

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Yoga enthusiasts take part in a mass yoga session to mark International Yoga Day in Nairobi on June 21, 2015. (SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Indian NCC Cadets (National Cadet Corps) perform yoga on the banks of the river Ganga in the Jhusi area, at Kriyayoga Ashram in Allahabad on June 21, 2015. The first International Yoga Day is being celebrated on June 21, 2015. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)

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Chinese perform yoga at a hotel banquet hall to mark the International Yoga Day, in Changping District, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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Kashmiri students perform yoga as they mark International Yoga Day in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts across the world bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures Sunday to mark International Yoga Day. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

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Centre for Students with Disabilities cultural appropriation Jen Scharf living Ottawa free yoga

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