Yoga, Mindfulness and School kids

Tools for life should start at school - my findings

Today's papers (July 13th) have been reporting research declaring that mindfulness lessons are wasted on teens. "Giving teenagers mindfulness lessons at school to boost wellbeing is largely a waste of time, a major UK study has found" said the BBC and The Guardian ....

You may be aware that 85 UK schools have been offering teenage pupils mindfulness sessions as part of a trial to gauge whether it was worthwhile introducing it across the board, and so far sessions have been dismissed as ineffective by staff and 'boring' by kids interviewed. Although interestingly teachers found the mindfulness tools useful for their own wellbeing. That phrase Education is wasted on the young, springs to mind ;)

Well, I can't help wondering if it is how the  mindfulness sessions are offered and delivered. I have seen incredible results - witnessed and commented upon by staff. I truly believe that all children benefit from learning to move with awareness, paying attention to their breath, and finding tools to focus, calm themselves and help themselves relax. 

As a yoga teacher, for me mindfulness is part and parcel of what Yoga is – doing whatever you are doing with awareness, finding tools and techniques to help slow the breath, clear and calm the mind and help you focus. I do not teach mindfulness alone but it is of course always present in my classes.

As well as my adult /general population classes, I teach yoga sessions in inner city secondary schools as part of enrichment offerings, mainly for sixth formers. The pupils who sign up for classes choose to come - they could go to a range of other activities, so I am grateful that they do choose to come and keep it up and classes are busy. I have also taught weekly yoga sessions in primary schools, and some sessions for secondary school SEN students.

Of course every single pupil present doesn't stay mentally present for the duration of the class, and there are a fair amount of giggles and trying to put off their classmates, but there are amazingly points when everyone does the same thing - the posture, breathing exercise or sequence that I am teaching! There are times when everyone seems totally engaged and focused in that moment! 

We always start with pranayama - breathing exercises, helping the youngsters to observe, track and feel the breath in their bodies, not necessarily a complicated pranayama but it can be. There is always a detailed class plan, but it is a dynamic one, as you really have to be prepared to gauge the children's moods and make the most of them, move more to less, change pace and shift the energy as needed. 

I always find that getting the children to move through varied asana (poses) is important, some teens do not have any physical activities in their day and posture, digestion and general health can be affected just through that. Some of them moan and others love to try more challenging things and are very capable and encouraging to their peers. Some students are involved in other sports and like to find ways to release hamstrings, to avoid injuries in their chosen sport. They always love to hear why they are doing something, which again is a tool to help them pay closer attention and think what their body needs. K Pattabhi Jois, who developed and popularised the Ashtanga Vinyasa method of yoga in the 1940s (a dynamic, fairly challenging, strength building style originally developed for young boys) maintained that you can draw students in with movement closely linked to breathing and awareness, and then the other aspects of yoga would naturally fall in place. Personally, I think that almost everyone needs to move and release their limbs and stiffness before they can sit in quiet contemplation or even sit comfortably.

However, so many secondary school kids find it difficult to sleep and all seem to enjoy the Savasana, and guided relaxations. It can take a while to get everyone settled and then for many to stop fidgeting, looking around, annoying their neighbour or just moving, especially and understandably in classes for children with special education needs. At one recent SEN class, there were a couple of students who just could not settle for final relaxation, were out of sync with the rest of the class and as the allotted time was ending they all finally just stayed still and silent. As it was an SEN class I had school staff present and the lead teacher just looked around in amazement and you could feel the warmth of her smile. She just indicated that I could let it continue and the following session allocated even more time! It can really help when you are working with a good team. 

When I ask my six form students what they like the best or if there is anything they want to work on, do more of, they all beg for a longer Savansana! Many tell me they try a guided relaxation to calm themselves before an exam for when worried and use some of the techniques to help them sleep.

It's certainly not a huge investigative research, but I have seen positive changes within the room and cover the course and know there is something to be said for giving youngsters tools to calm themselves and assess their moods and stress levels, which they can take off the mat and into their lives. Helping them to pay attention to the breath can do that, how can that be a waste?