Getting a formal notice from your HOA is rarely a good way to start the morning. For one homeowner (u/clammyanton on Reddit) who shared her story on social media, the letter arrived after months of peaceful sunrise yoga on her rooftop terrace, a routine she’d built around the views and the quiet of early morning. The notice informed her that a neighbor had filed a complaint about her “inappropriate public displays” and “disturbance of community aesthetics.” She was baffled. She practiced at 6 AM when almost no one else was awake, wore standard workout clothes, and made no noise. Then it got stranger. When she followed up with the HOA manager for specifics, she learned the neighbor had gone further than a written complaint. They had been photographing her in various poses and submitted the photos as evidence, arguing they were “inappropriate for children to potentially see” and were “promoting Eastern religious practices in a family community.” A woman meditates while doing yoga. Photo credit: Canva “I’m literally just doing basic vinyasa flow!” she wrote. The detail about Eastern religious practices caught significant attention when the post went viral on Reddit, and for good reason. Legal experts and housing advocates are clear on this point: the Fair Housing Act prohibits HOAs from restricting a homeowner’s use of their property based on religion. As one legal resource explains it plainly, an HOA can ban exercise broadly, but it cannot single out yoga specifically because of its perceived religious associations. The same logic applies to holiday decorations — an HOA that bans string lights for Diwali but allows Christmas lights is on legally shaky ground. Commenters on the post were quick to flag this. “If that whole promoting Eastern religion thing is an exact quote, I feel like that right there is your ticket to fight,” wrote  u/cheybananas. “They can’t just outlaw religious practices.” Others were more focused on the neighbor’s surveillance. Several urged her to file a counter-complaint about someone photographing her on her own private terrace at dawn. “Taking photos of someone on their private residence without their knowledge or consent?” u/ok-pomegranate-6479  wrote. “Involve authorities if you have to, that’s creepy.” A woman executes an advanced yoga pose on the beach. Photo credit: Canva The homeowner had already come to the same conclusion on her own. After reviewing her HOA’s bylaws, she found nothing prohibiting yoga or exercise on private terraces, only a vague clause about maintaining community standards. She drafted a formal email to the HOA board requesting the specific bylaw citation they were relying on, along with copies of all photos collected of her. She also made clear she was considering a counter-complaint about the neighbor’s behavior. “The irony is that yoga is supposed to reduce stress,” she wrote, “but this whole situation is doing the opposite.” Her experience isn’t unusual. A Rocket Mortgage survey of more than 1,000 HOA homeowners found that more than 3 in 10 feel their HOA has too much power, and 10% have considered selling their home because of it. This article originally appeared earlier this year. The post A neighbor complained that her rooftop yoga was “inappropriate for children” and promoted “Eastern religion.” She made them regret it. appeared first on Upworthy.