(I wrote this originally as a comment on another post, but want us to have a discussion anout it/get more visibility so decided to make its own post)
Something that I think gets overlooked in the inappropriate nature of these performances for children is the fact that many young girls are enrolled in dance classes where they're often underdressed and over sexualized- yet this slided by as totally normal and acceptable.
I took dancing as a kid and while pur dance costumes were typically spandex, there were always longer shorts under the skirts, no revealing low cut tops etc. And the dance moves themselves werwnt sexual in nature at all.
Over the years the typical dance companies have moved more and more into competitive dancing, and with this the costumes and dances themselves have changed drastically.
I have no idea if there is a larger umbrella group that is pulling the strings behind the dance conventions and competitions that has driven this trend, and then the individual groups just following suit in order to be comparable to the competition; or if this is just happening organically and along side the larger cultural shift that's taken place where young girls are being sexualized in media, tv, etc.
I've found it rather disturbing going to dance recitals for family and friends and seeing gueks as young ad 7 and 8 years old doing stripper moves in booty shorts. Absolutely disgusting. And a pedophiles dream, as most of these performances are open to the public.
Even my family members who are very religious seem to ser no problem with this as it's just become a widely accepted part of "dance culture"
I thought when there was so much outrage over Cuties that this reality would be acknowledged, yet somehow I never saw it come up. Even my family members who were very loudly against Cuties and cancelling Netflix etc seemed absolutely oblivious to the fact that their own daughters were wearing the same types of clothes and doing similar dances. Very biizarre.
This goes into the whole child pageant realm as well. Such young girls made to look like women. Basically with so much make up and frills they'd fit right in at any child drag show.
I think this is a major blind spot, and something we need to start speaking up about in the same way we speak out about children in drag. It's the same form of abuse, just without the rainbow flag.
In general, I agree with you here. Stretching and exercise are very important, especially given the obesity crisis we face in the west.
When I speak of the satanic nature of yoga or dance, I'm referring to the institutionalized, commodified versions of these activities. I'm focusing mainly on yoga here, because dance is a much broader term and I can get behind the idea that there is something "fundamentally human" about engaging your body to a rhythm.
Yoga is not a catchall for "stretching." Will you burn calories doing it? Sure, but you can also get your cardio from doing any number of physical activities - it doesn't have to be degrading. Point is, yoga was not created with scientific rigor in mind. There are better ways of training your body that don't involve "downward facing dog" (even the names are degrading...)
EDIT: Here's a good article that goes into more detail about the scientifically unsound nature of modern yoga:
https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/truth-about-yoga-flexibility-mobility-training
I haven't read the whole thing, but I don't think it goes into yoga's satanic origins or anything like that. I just wanted to back up my claim that yoga is not a great exercise.
Anyhow, the human body is an incredible thing and physicality is not intrinsically evil, but it is being exploited at a cultural level. Let's go with an obvious example: sex can have a positive, crucial role in our lives, but how does it manifest in the culture? Porn. It's done incredible damage to the male psyche. In a way, I'd say yoga is to exercise as porn is to sex. They take something positive and spin it in a perverted way, that's the whole idea.