A judge ruled Monday that the Encinitas Union School District can teach yoga, siding with administrators who argued that the practice was a secular way to promote strength, flexibility and balance and rejecting pleas of some parents who said the classes were inherently religious and violated the constitutional principle of separating church and state. Yoga is a religious practice, but not the way the district teaches it, Judge John S. Meyer of San Diego Superior Court said. He emphasized that the district stripped classes of all cultural references, including the Sanskrit language. The lotus position was renamed the “crisscross applesauce” pose. A lawyer for two Encinitas parents said he would most likely appeal. About 30 families have opted out of the classes.