Mindfulness And Yoga Help At-Risk Kids Cope With Stress

Education, Yoga and Youth Development

Guest article

Mindfulness And Yoga Help Kids Cope With Stress In Low-Income, High-Crime Neighborhoods

Stepping outside the perceived yoga “norms” of thin and stretchy folks sipping green smoothies and spouting quotes from a bottomless well of inspiration, somewhere in the middle of high-crime, poverty-level, gang-ridden neighborhoods, school kids stand strong in mountain pose.  Some such kids currently reside in East Palo Alto, CA where they are faced with very real stresses and anxieties that should be beyond their years, but instead take the form of piled on anger, fear and sadness.  For the students of Cesar Chavez Academy, though, a new yoga and mindfulness program may help them cope on the inside with the violence and noise going on outside.  

PBS NewsHour reports on how a Stanford University backed project is bringing yoga and mindfulness practices to Cesar Chavez Academy where middle schoolers, at such a young age, are already showing signs of PTSD just by living their daily lives.  

According to Dr. Victor Carrion, a professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and head of Early Life Stress Research Program who is overseeing the project at Cesar Chavez Academy, up to 30 percent of children living in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods will show signs of PTSD which can in turn affect and impair their ability to learn.  In fact, there is a link between stress and behavior that actually shows up in the chemicals and activity of the brain.  But Dr. Carrion is hoping to help the kids at Cesar Chavez by providing the tools of  yoga to ease the stress before things go too far.  

Says Michael Fu, a Stanford University medical student involved in the project:

“The principals of mindfulness really try to make you focus on the present moment.  So whether or not you came in this morning experiencing something stressful at home or something bad happened, for you to be able to come into the classroom and really embrace it and embrace the learning, I think it really allows students to reach their potential.”  

While it took a little while to get the kids to be OK with doing poses and breathing in front of everyone else (these are middle schoolers, we’re talking about!), students are showing improvements in their attitude and reactions, which can translate into better learning abilities, and environments, as well as more positive temperments overall.  

“When I get home, I want to play, but [my mother] doesn’t let me because it’s too dark now.  And I get so mad,” says student Brayan Solorio.  ”And then I put my yoga mat that they give me, and I start using it.  The difference is that I’m angry, and then as soon as I use it, I’m not angry no more.  It calms me down.”  

Principal Amika Guillaume echoes young Brayan adding, “If we can get kids to the point that they realize that, oh, I’m getting hotheaded, oh, my adrenaline is flowing, I am not thinking clearly, I need to stop, step back and reassess, then maybe we have a chance.”  

Watch the full PBS NewsHour report.  It’s an inspiring and sobering look at how yoga can make a real difference for current and future generations even in its simplest of forms.  

This article originally appeared here

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Mindful Kids, Peaceful Schools

Education and Youth Development

Guest article

By Jill Suttie UC Berkeley  

With eyes closed and deep breaths, students are learning a new method to reduce anxiety, conflict, and attention disorders.  But don’t call it meditation.  

At Toluca Lake Elementary School in Los Angeles, a cyclone fence encloses the asphalt blacktop, which is teeming with kids.  It’s recess time and the kids, who are mostly Latino, are playing tag, yelling, throwing balls, and jumping rope.  When the bell rings, they reluctantly stop and head back to their classrooms—except for Daniel Murphy’s second grade class.  

Murphy’s students file into the school auditorium, each carrying a round blue pillow deco-rated with white stars.  They enter giggling and chatting, but soon they are seated in a circle on their cushions, eyes closed, quiet and concentrating.  Two teachers give the children instructions on how to pay attention to their breathing, telling them to notice the rise and fall of their bellies and chests, the passage of air in and out of their noses.  Though the room is chilly—the heating system broke down earlier that day—the children appear comfortable, many with Mona Lisa smiles on their faces.  

“What did you notice about your breath this morning?” one teacher asks.  

“Mine was like a dragon,” says Michael, a child to the teacher’s right.  Albert, another child, adds, “Yeah, I could see mine.  It was like smoke.”  

The teachers lead the children through 45 minutes of exercises focused on breathing, listening, movement, and reflection.  At different points, the kids

Meditation For Kids: Parents Turn To Mindfulness for Children's Progressive Development

Education and Youth Development

Guest Article

By Carolyn Gregoire at Huffington Post

As more adults turn to mindfulness practices like yoga and meditation to combat mounting stress in their own lives (91 percent of Americans experienced stress in the month of March, according to a Huffington Post survey), they're also experimenting with alternative practices to teach their kids to relax.  

Unfortunately, little ones aren't immune to the damaging effects of stress -- but they may benefit from stress-relieving practices meant to calm the mind and release physical tension.  

Boston dad Andre Kelly told ABC News that he practices mindfulness meditation with his 10-year-old son Hayden every morning before school.  Teaching kids mindfulness can go a long way in helping them boost awareness and control their moods, according to Kelly, who started a meditation program for children, Boston Buddha, to bring mindfulness programs into elementary schools.  

"The magic moment where they understand mindfulness is when they can catch themselves not paying attention.  That's their chance to control their impulsivity,"Kelly said.  "It helps them stop themselves from doing things like jumping on the couch or whacking their younger brother."  

Mindfulness -- the focused awareness on the present moment, generally cultivated through a meditation practice -- can help to curb kids' impulsivity, and research has also shown school mindfulness programs to be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety among adolescents.