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Importance of Yoga for Students
he ancient practice of yoga offers a multitude regular physical education for a semester, reported
Tof benefits to modern-day students at almost better kinesthetic awareness -- the sense of how
every grade level. Yoga’s combination of breath and your body moves through space -- and more respect
movement can help alleviate social and academic for their own bodies. Students who participated in
stress, clear the mind and soothe cramped bodies yoga also reported to the researchers from Osher
jammed into desks and hunched over computers. Research Center at Harvard Medical School and
With more than 20 million practitioners as of 2013, the Department of Biomedicine at the New England
as reported by the Huffington Post, yoga is making School of Acupuncture that its regular practice
its way into schools with plenty of potentially could give them the incentive and strength to refuse
positive outcomes. peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol.
De-Stressed Students Reduced Conflict
One of yoga’s primary benefits for adults is the Yoga may also help students get along better with
alleviation of stress. Students may be young, but one another, which fosters a more positive learning
they aren’t immune to stress. Family pressure, environment. A school in Milwaukee instituted a
financial fears, academic performance standards yoga program consisting of two classes per week for
and peer groups can all take a toll on a student’s students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The
psyche and success in school. A study published in classes emphasized respectful behavior as well as
the “International Journal of Yoga” in 2009 examined yogic breathing and movement practices. After a
the effect of yoga on academic performance on highly year, the school’s number of disruptive “incidents”
stressed adolescent students. The researchers -- decreased by more than half. Yoga may teach students
from MGN College of Education in Jalandhar, India to better manage their emotions and reactions as
-- found that seven weeks of regularly doing poses, well as to respect the feelings and emotions of others.
practicing yoga breathing and participating in
mediation practice reduced students’ stress levels, Improved Concentration
which translated into better academic performance. Yoga offers time for the body and mind to relax
A later study performed by Harvard Medical School from the rigors of learning. This may help students
researchers and published in the January 2012 be better at applying themselves when studying
issue of the “Journal of Behavioral Health Services or learning in a classroom. Medical students who
and Research” also found that high-school students practiced yoga for just one month reported better
who participated in yoga instead of traditional sleep and improved concentration during their
physical education offerings for a semester exhibited studies as a result in a study published in a 2013
improvements in mood, anxiety, perceived stress issue of the “Indian Journal of Community Medicine.”
and resilience. Yoga, especially breathing techniques, can also
increase concentration and academic performance
Enhanced Body Image in students struggling academically, concluded a
Students often struggle with poor body image and 2012 study published by the International Society
awkwardness of movement. A study published in for Scientific Interdisciplinary Yoga Research.
“Explore” in the summer of 2013 found that high-
school students who practiced yoga instead of Article by Andrea Cespedes from livestrong.com
www.sifbahrain.com Scientech 2014-15 77
