In the past couple of years, the world of education has had a lot to say about implementing yoga in the classroom. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the world of education has had a lot of suspicion when it comes to implementing yoga in schools. I’ve read and heard a lot of questions from educators and parents alike:

• Should yogic practices be implemented in my school district?
• What if yoga goes against the religious beliefs of my family or others in my community?
• Are there proven benefits, or is yoga just another health-fad?

It is important to step back and ask, is the implementation of yoga/mindfulness within education just a hot-topic, or is it actually beneficial to students?

Long story short is yes, yoga does provide an abundance of benefits when implemented in school environments, especially students who have started adolescence.

Let me explain why.

P.S – All citations within this article can be found in the attached word doc (almost all my references come from academic journals – I don’t have time for fake news).

The rate of American emerging adults struggling with mental illness and external stressors is on the rise, as 62% of undergraduates reported having “overwhelming anxiety” during their 2017 school year, rising 12% from the year 2011 (Undergraduate Student Reference Group).

Despite the increase of young Americans who suffer from anxiety related disorders, there seems to be little to no modern developments in deterring this upward trend, although medicinal and technological fields have continued to advance. Recently, doctors have noted that antidepressant medications are most effective in patients with severe and chronic depression, but may not be effective in those with acute depression or anxiety (Institute for Quality, 2017).

Perhaps the solution to ending the rise of mental illness in adolescents is not a newfound medical discovery, but an ancient practice and philosophy that promotes unity, happiness and a sense of peace… AKA the 5,000-year-old practice known as Yoga.

Yoga is a philosophy, not a religion , that promotes both unity between living things and oneness with the self. One of the most important Yogic texts outlined by the Indian sage Patanjali, called the “Yoga Sutras”, explains that people can reach their highest level of clarity and freedom through overcoming various obstacles. These obstacles, called the Antarayas, are outlined by Patanjali himself. Through observing various teachings and forms of Yogic practice, American society and educational practices can utilize yoga to create a more connected, enlightened, and happy reality for students and emerging adults.

The importance of reducing stress levels and incorporating mindfulness into the lives of youth is not only beneficial in the present but also in the future, as the number of adolescents who have problems in adulthood as a result of adolescent anxiety can be as high as 20% (Lee, Heimer, Giedd, Lein, Sestan, Weinberger, Casey, 2014).

The yogic ideas of mindfulness, control, and peace can be stated over and over, but ultimately data should and can be used to support the efforts behind implementation of yoga in schools.

Let’s look at some case studies from schools across the U.S:

• Yoga instruction was implemented in a U.S urban and alternative high-school back in 2010. At the end of their 18-week run time (practicing once a week for a one hour period), surveys from yoga instructors and students informed researchers Ramadoss and Bose, 2010 that the students experienced an increase of self-control in school settings (Ramadoss and Bose, 2010, p. 81).
  • Perhaps this is because their yoga teachers were specifically trained for environments with students who have short-attention spans and live in high-risk environments, although it does not clarify if these teachers had yogic experience prior to their participation in this study (Ramadoss and Bose, 2010, p. 77).

• Starting in the late 2000’s, the city of Baltimore, (MD) had several institutions implement yoga instruction into public schools. In one particular study with 4^thand 5^thgraders, both students and teachers provided qualitative data, supporting the notion to permanently implement yoga in schools.
  • During one qualitative interview, a 5^thgrade male was quoted as saying, “The most important thing I learned in the program is that it’s all different ways to deal with your stress like instead of like, fighting and stuff” (Mendelson et al., 2010, p.989).

If you would like to see more case studies and background data on the effectiveness of yoga in schools, please read the attached word doc OR conduct your own research… maybe start here).

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My research:

Although I felt somewhat satisfied with the above case-studies and background research, I wanted to explore deeper.

It’s great, yoga is proven to help children and adolescents with both personal and school difficulties. But what if the philosophies and teachings of yoga can be directly tied to the struggles adolescents face in the first place? Would identifying the root of the problem reduce the difficulties and struggles in the first place?

So, I asked…

How do stressors of emerging adults relate back to the Yogic Antarayas, and can this relation further help adolescents in education overcome their Antarayas to achieve full potential and/or reduced fluctuations of the mind?

…and I found!

After interviewing and analyzing qualitative data from five individuals (ranging from adolescent age to young adulthood aged 16-24 years old), I found yoga can and does directly outline and explain the root of many problems that young people face in the 21^st century. These explanations and explorations of problems experienced throughout the human condition are mentioned through numerous yogic texts, as outlined by the sage Patanjali.

“Overcoming Obstacles: How Yogic Practice Aides Emerging Adults in Managing Educational Antarayas” (click here for the file) further outlines the previously mentioned background research and resources, a literature review of the Yogic texts, as well as individual research mentioned.  

I would invite you to read the above APA exploratory paper on yoga in schools, titled “Overcoming Obstacles:  How Yogic Practice Aides Emerging Adults in Managing Educational Antarayas”. For those who don’t have time to read through this study (I get it), below are some of the connections I made between Yogic vocabulary/philosophy and the obstacles that adolescents face in the 21^stcentury.

Findings:

Common Educational Struggles:

The first questions within the student questionnaires address struggles that the students encountered in regard to their academic lives. Most responses stated that their struggles involve and stem from a lack of motivation and difficulty in staying on task. Key words that participants used include “saying on task” and “avoiding procrastination”. This struggle can be directly related to several of the Patanjali obstacles, including Alasya (lack of motivation) and Avirati (distraction). Another struggle reported by two participants was the attempt to balance school life and personal life, which led to Alabdhabhumikatva (feeling that there is so much to do one cannot move forward). A common response was that school evoked feelings of anxiety, which would later affect personal life. In addition to anxiety, obstacles like Alasya and Avirati are prevalent in affecting the lives of adolescents and emerging adults in personal life. Seeing the connections and influences of school life on personal life in adolescents is of utmost importance, since this research shows that the various obstacles and struggles coincide (as outlined in the next sub-section).

Common Personal Struggles:

Personal struggles, like the academic struggles, highlighted that the interviewees felt a sense of lacking in their lives, for example lacking in confidence and lacking in the ability to be decisive. Interestingly, the inability to focus effects individual’s personal life both directly and indirectly. Directly speaking, one interviewee (a junior in high school) stated her struggle as, “Having an abundance of wonderful paths I could choose to take in life and deciding which one I want to pursue”. Instead of confidently choosing and following one path, she would start to hesitate then doubt herself, like stated in the obstacle Samsaya (which translated in English to doubt). Yet indirectly, the inability to be decisive and complete tasks influences an individual’s personal life because they spend so much time trying to fulfil academic needs that they neglect or leave little time for personal needs. The inability to start and complete objectives, as outlined in Alabdhabhumikatva, would lead to participants to feel low self-esteem and low self-confidence. The inability to start, conduct, and finish tasks left participants feeling like they were not smart enough or good enough to accomplish tasks (both I academic and personal life). The same participants that struggled with Alabdhabhumikatva noted their acute levels of anxiety and depression that influenced various aspects of their lives. Although many times Alabdhabhumikatva is rooted in academic pursuits, its effects transcend into the personal lives of emerging adolescents.

It is extremely important to analyze respondents’ comments regarding their levels of anxiety and depression. One respondent, a sophomore in college, said, “My anxieties are based off of persistent, irrational and intrusive thoughts that cause severe long-term anxiety and panic.  While I am aware that I have these thoughts, I am unable to stop them and if they can progress into sickness and long-term panic”. Her obstacles of self-doubt (Samsaya) and loss of confidence (Alabdhabhumikatva) lead her to experience more obstacles, like Vyadhi (illness). As stated before, it is common for the obstacles to lead into each other, and for many obstacles to correspond. Like this emerging adult, others outlined how the anxiety would lead to overall stress in their lives.