Reading, 'Rithmetic, Relaxing: Making Yoga Required In School

New York Times:

It was 6:30 p.m. The lights were still on at Needham High School, here in the affluent Boston suburbs. Paul Richards, the principal, was meeting with the Stress Reduction Committee.

At Needham High School, Paul Richards, the principal, has formed a stress reduction committee to urge students to slow down.

On the agenda: finding the right time to bring in experts to train students in relaxation techniques.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[isis]

06:28 PM on 10/30/2007

A good idea to teach them how to relax and be flexible. I'm all for it.

[arvosmom]

08:43 AM on 10/30/2007

I tried to do a very basic yoga thing in our middle school last year. I had kids who signed up for the program, then refused to participate when they were told by a preacher at the youth rally that yoga is a first step into cult indoctrination.

As long as there are "funny-soundin'" words being used, people are going to be able to twist the intent of the thing into something they can be afraid of.

[ceasenake]

07:43 AM on 10/30/2007

or maybe a nap.

[MissingAmerica]

03:37 PM on 10/29/2007

Yoga is an excellent way to control tension. Yoga works every part of the body, clears the mind, improves concentration and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. For those who don't believe it, try it. I have personally learned the difference it can make on mobility and stress issues. To get children involved in this healthy activity at such an early age is a very positive step toward their wellness. Since we have no healthcare for them, it is advantageous to teach them to stay well.

[MaxGowan]

03:05 PM on 10/29/2007

We know for adult that if, say, you were to take a civil service test, the best preparation on the day of the test is a 20 minute walk.

I'll bet these kids easily outperform their counterparts. I've seen it in kindergarten, where one of our best teachers has her kids do yoga every 20 minutes during a reading lesson. It's an excellent way for kids to re-set their internal clocks.

[sonofsamstone]

02:44 PM on 10/29/2007

I've got 3 children all in different levels of school, and I don't see them as particularly stressed out. If I started seeing stress related diseases in them or their friends (anxiety disorders, colitis, ulcers, hypertension, etc.), then maybe I'd think of yoga as a "band-aid approach to cancer:....too little to help. I'm not seeing high levels of stress in them. Maybe we don't push them hard enough or something.
I think yoga could probably be helpful, so could volunteering or meditating or just physical activity. Before spending a lot of dough on yoga teachers, I'd cut back on some of the unnecessary homework!

[jeter2]

02:32 PM on 10/29/2007

For those who still don't think Liberals are running our public schools...I bring you YOGA.

And of course it's already here in Massachusetts aka Democratic Liberal Moonbat Central...

[MagisterLudi]

07:02 PM on 10/29/2007

Jeter2
Obviously only competitive sports like bone-crushing football, crushingly boring baseball and leg-breaking soccer are the only proper way to exercise for real red-blooded Amerikans. Not to mention watching lolitas in their little cheer-leading uniforms.
Added bonus: the beer guzzlin' idiot parents can vent their frustrations on their kids and other parents.
the problem with yoga for the hick parents:It's non-competitive...gasp! How un-Amerikan

[jeter2]

10:00 AM on 10/30/2007

Want Yoga for your poor little stressed out darlings...then pay a User Fee just like the parents of the kids involved in sports do. I, as a taxpayer, am not going to pay one more dime towards the extras offered in school. How about getting back to the basics & teaching subject matter like Civics/history, math & english.

If your kids are stressed...maybe it's their family life. Your problem, not mine.

[drricklippin]

11:44 AM on 10/29/2007

Yoga = a bandaid on the huge cancer of stress on US children/students.

Dr. Rick Lippin
http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com

[drricklippin]

11:42 AM on 10/29/2007

YOGA = a bandaid on the cancer regarding how stressed our US children are.

Dr. Rick Lippin
http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com

[MagisterLudi]

07:08 PM on 10/29/2007

Only an ignoramus whose only exposure to yoga was at the local YMCA can say that.

Good yoga practice is not a band-aid it's ER room for the stress.
Personally, I prefer Tai Chi and Chi Gung for kids+ some creative visualization.Tai Chi can be performed in street clothes and you don't need mats. You can easily do it in a school yard. In fact in some countries I lived in the whole schools would do morning exercises before classes... What a great idea over-sugared, over-caffeinated, over-weight and under-nourished American youths ....

[drricklippin]

09:25 AM on 10/30/2007

Sure it helps MagisterLudi. But the social problems run much deeper that anything yoga could possibly achieve.Especially in low income, minority community schools.

As you said it is the ER. But more ERs are not the answer either medically or for stress epidemic among our youth.

Dr. Rick Lippin