Participating in yoga and mindfulness activities at school helps third-graders exhibiting anxiety improve their well-being and emotional health, according to a new Tulane University study published in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
Participating in yoga and mindfulness activities at school helps third-graders exhibiting anxiety improve their well-being and emotional health, according to a new Tulane University study published in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
Researchers worked with a public school in New Orleans to add mindfulness and yoga to the school's existing empathy-based programming for students needing supplementary support. Third graders who were screened for symptoms of anxiety at the beginning of the school year were randomly assigned to two groups. A control group of 32 students received care as usual, which included counseling and other activities led by a school social worker.
The intervention group of 20 students participated in small group yoga/mindfulness activities for eight weeks using a Yoga Ed curriculum. Students attended the small group activities at the beginning of the school day. The sessions included breathing exercises, guided relaxation and several traditional yoga poses appropriate for children.
Researchers evaluated each group’s health related quality of life before and after the intervention, using two widely recognized research tools. The Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale-Peabody Treatment Progress Battery version was used to assess life satisfaction, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory was used to assess psychosocial conditions and emotional well-being at the beginning, middle and end of the study.
Read more at Tulane University
Photo credit: ruthieprasil via Pixabay
