Yoga Shows Psychological Benefits for High-School Students

Mind, Brain, Neurology

For thousands of years humanity has developed and proven the efficacies of yoga and tantric practices, while many in contemporary Western culture still find such practices exotic, peculiar to primitive cultures, or just simply body-centered vanity surfing -- such a stark contrast from true practice of either or their contributions to human evolution.  I've added the article below to demonstrate clinical evidence of the efficacy of yogic practice in fostering healthier mind-frames and dispositions for young people as well as adults.  

I have been practicing tantra yoga more than 40 years, I can assure you that such practices greatly facilitate not only physical health, also psychic wellbeing and optimizing intelligence as well as conscience, with students, of any age, gaining as much as one grade-point average through tantric practices I convey to students, unique to their specific needs. More here.

Yoga classes have positive psychological effects for high-school students, according to a pilot study in the April Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.  

Since mental health disorders commonly develop in the teenage years, "Yoga may serve a preventive role in adolescent mental health," according to the new study, led by Jessica Noggle, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.  

Pilot Study Shows Improvements in Some Psychosocial Outcomes Fifty-one 11th- and 12th-grade students registered for physical education (PE) at a Massachusetts high school were randomly assigned to yoga or regular PE classes.  (Two-thirds were assigned to yoga.) Based on Kripalu yoga, the classes consisted of physical yoga postures together with breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation.  Students in the comparison group received regular PE classes.  

Shamanism and Psychotherapy: Reclaiming Self After Trauma

Shamanism involves practices explored by earliest humans that, through trial and error, and acknowledging and utilizing subtler realms of our being along with characteristics evident in Nature, have evolved and attained lasting presence well into modern times.  Of such shamanic practices, Tantra is the oldest and most developed shamanic practice extant today. 

This article derives from the ideas discussed in Sandra Ingerman’s book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self. Ingerman discusses the techniques shamans use to retrieve parts of a person which seem to have left them in consequence to a traumatic situation.  These situations can range from anything which some would consider insignificant like the loss of a toy as a child to sexual and physical abuse.

    “For shamans the world over, illness has always been seen as a spiritual predicament.” They say that because of some crisis, the essence or vital part of our life-source separates from our consciousness in order to survive the experience and the full impact of the pain.  We see this clearly happening in cases of abuse.  This does not differ from some of the views therapists take about a particular situation.  John Bradshaw in particular says that “in incest parts of the vital self will split off to lessen the impact because the pain and humiliation are unbearable.  

    Shamans and psychotherapists both deal with the reintegration of these split-off parts.  What makes the shaman different from the therapist is that the shaman does not put the loss in the realm of the unconscious or blocked out memories.  The shaman sees the other parts living or existing in another separate reality.  He is a messenger, a communicator, and retriever between those parts and the main body of consciousness.  When a part of the soul is lost, a vital essence of one’s being is gone.  One may feel depressed, lonely, bored or anxiety-ridden and not know why.  This lost part is what some people tend to look for in relationships, addictions, or even religious organizations.  There is false idea that these things are going to make them feel more alive.  

Early Music Lessons Boost Brain Development

Mind, Brain, Neurology  

Montreal researchers find that music lessons before age seven create stronger connections in the brain.  

NeuroScience News

If you started piano lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded, or loved, helped develop your brain. The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain.

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger connections between motor regions, the parts of the brain that help you plan and carry out movements.

This research was carried out by students in the laboratory of Concordia University psychology professor Virginia Penhune, and in collaboration with Robert J. Zatorre, a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University.  

Study suggests early musical training has a significant impact on brain development. Image credited to Eldan David.

The study provides strong evidence that the years between ages six and eight are a “sensitive period” when musical training interacts with normal brain development to produce long-lasting changes in motor abilities and brain structure. “Learning to play an instrument requires coordination between hands and with visual or auditory stimuli,” says Penhune. “Practicing an instrument before age seven likely boosts the normal maturation of connections between motor and sensory regions of the brain, creating a framework upon which ongoing training can build.”  

US Marines Studying Mindfulness-Based Training

Mind, Brain, Neurology

Associated Press

U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Carlos Lazano talks about a special training he underwent in which Marines were taught methods to "quiet the mind" and to reach an inner calm as a means to battle stress Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013 at Camp Pendlton, Calif. Marine Corps officials say they will build a curriculum that would integrate mindfulness-based techniques into their training if they see positive results from a pilot project. Mindfulness is a Buddhist-inspired concept that emphasizes active attention on the moment to keep the mind in the present. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) — The U. S. Marine Corps, known for turning out some of the military's toughest warriors, is studying how to make its troops even tougher through meditative practices, yoga-type stretching and exercises based on mindfulness.

Marine Corps officials say they will build a curriculum that would integrate mindfulness-based techniques into their training if they see positive results from a pilot project.  Mindfulness is a Buddhist-inspired concept that emphasizes active attention on the moment to keep the mind in the present.  

Facing a record suicide rate and thousands of veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress, the military has been searching for ways to reduce strains on service members burdened with more than a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

Marine Corps officials are testing a series of brain calming exercises called "Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training" that they believe could enhance the performance of troops, who are under mounting pressures from long deployments and looming budget cuts expected to slim down forces.  

"Some people might say these are Eastern-based religious practices but this goes way beyond that," said Jeffery Bearor, the executive deputy of the Marine Corps training and education command at its headquarters in Quantico, Va..  "This is not tied to any religious practice.  This is about mental preparation to better handle stress."