Researchers worked with a public school in New Orleans to add mindfulness and yoga to the school's existing empathy-based programming for students (third graders who were screened for symptoms of anxiety at the beginning of the school year) needing supplementary support. Students participated in small group yoga/mindfulness activities for eight weeks using a Yoga Ed curriculum at the beginning of the school day. The sessions included breathing exercises, guided relaxation and several traditional yoga poses appropriate for children.
Researchers evaluated students’ 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.
According to principal author Alessandra Bazzano, associate professor of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health, The intervention improved psychosocial and emotional quality of life scores for students, as compared to their peers who received standard care.
Researchers targeted third grade students because it is a crucial time of transition for elementary students, when academic expectations increase. These findings can therefore contribute to reducing stress and anxiety levels in these children, possibly even for those at a younger age.
Category(s):Anxiety, Child and/or Adolescent Issues, Stress Management
Source material from Science Daily
