“Thank you for taking your time and knowledge to help reduce stress and teach new techniques to deal with stress and anxiety; thank you for not only increasing my fitness but also helping me clear my mind, you have helped me with classes and generally enjoy school, you are all life savers.”
In 2017, Baylor College of Medicine, the Institute, and Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions (DBH) began partnering to provide education to high-school students regarding mental health and the benefits of yoga/meditation in reducing stress and improving overall well-being.
During school hours, 40 ninth graders receive yoga/meditation classes for 45 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. Utilizing self-report rating scales, students in the yoga class reported improvements in their attention span and a decrease in stress levels in comparison to the students who did not participate in the yoga group.
The results of this program were recently published:
An Evaluation of Yoga and Meditation to Improve Attention, Hyperactivity, and Stress in High-School Students. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (New York, N.Y.), 26(8), 71-707. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2020.0126
Importantly, the stress and isolation felt by students during the pandemic inspired the student leader of their student wellness club to coordinate an extended series of virtual mind-body skills offerings to students and their families. The eleven-week series was geared to ameliorating stress and anxiety, as well as building community. It introduced new skills to participants each week in a safe, supportive virtual atmosphere, with between five and ten students attending each session.
Questions about this project can be directed to programs@ish-tmc.org
