Qigong in Education

Mindfulness is a key component of the practice of Qigong.

kids sitting in lotus pose meditating

Effects of a School-Based Mindfulness Program for Young Children [Sciutto 2021]. The present study found an 8-week (16 session) school-based mindfulness program for young children across 8 classrooms (K through 2)  was associated with significant improvements in teacher ratings of externalizing and prosocial behaviors PMCID: PMC8046640

Stress Management Interventions Among U.S. High School Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis. Conclusions: These findings support the short-term effectiveness of stress management interventions in improving mental health among high school adolescents in the United States. Subsequent research efforts should focus on sustaining long-term effects. [Qigong is an effective lifestyle stress management practice]. PMID: 36971329.

Newark Students Learn How To Teach Meditation To Their Peers.

Embracing mindfulness to combat life’s stressors and optimize cognitive performance

New school club encourages mindfulness.

Local mindfulness event is helping students stay focused through Tai Chi.

Schools Are Embracing Mindfulness, But Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect.

Can Qigong Improve Attention in Adolescents? A Prospective Randomised Controlled TrialQigong improved attention in adolescents after 4 weeks of practice and should be integrated into physical education classes.

California Schools Move From Suspensions To MindfulnessCalifornia schools will no longer be able to suspend students in elementary or middle school for "willful defiance" beginning in 2020.

Teaching Kids to 'Just Breathe' Through Meditation. Diaphragmatic breathing in Qigong practice positively affects the vagus nerve which regulates the autonomic nervous system, vital organs, and body function.

MINDFULNESS: Spanish schools teach meditation to children to improve mental health. EuroWeekly. Feb 10, 2019.

Teaching Qi Gong to Children. After only one session of Qigong, the results for children may be memorable and reproducible even away from the group. Giving a child beginner skills can be life changing. Qi Gong has the power to bring one physical ease, mental clarity, emotional stability and spiritual awareness. That is worthwhile at any age.

Schools should teach mindfulness.

Reading, writing and mindfulness. As kids struggle with problems of peer pressure, bullying and social anxiety, Winnipeg schools are exploring new ways to promote positive mental health

Mindfully me: Teaching meditation to children.

Use of Yoga, Meditation, and Chiropractors Among U.S. Children Aged 4–17 Years. NCHS Data Brief: Report shows increase in use of yoga and meditation by children. 

A plan to address aggressive behavior and stress in schools. "I recently provided a “Troubled Waters Survival Guide” to this state’s school leaders, which suggests a number of research-based strategies that can be implemented without a significant expense or planning. Teachers, administrators, parents, students and citizens can implement these strategies, both in schools and at home: School-wide mindfulness practices: Increasing mindfulness practices that enable students to better self-regulate, especially in stressful situations, is critically important. Basics include daily mindfulness practice, mindfulness calming glitter jars on every elementary school students’ desk and a “calming corner” in every elementary school classroom. At the secondary level, the basics include several minutes of mindfulness breathing exercises during the morning announcements and another short mindfulness breathing session right after lunch, a mindfulness calming room that students can easily access, and encouragement for families to implement mindfulness practices in the home."

At 15 local schools, mornings that start with mindfulness help kids 'de-escalate and reflect'.

Mindfulness in EducationMindfulness in education or in the classroom, implies a host of different things- it can be something as simple as calming the children down before the start of a class to something more complicated like studying the effects of words on their emotions or just making them aware of their environment and their role in society.

Developing a Health Qigong program for children: a 16-week curriculum. The Health Qigong for Children program has been successfully applied at several local elementary schools. Theme-based lessons and effective teaching strategies helped the Health Qigong program to be fun and age-appropriate for children.

The UK government will teach eight-year-olds mindfulness to tackle spike in kids’ mental health problems.

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Mindfulness instruction improves psychological functioning and may ameliorate the negative effects of stress and reduce trauma-associated symptoms among vulnerable urban middle school students.

pubmedPromoting Prosocial Behavior and Self-Regulatory Skills in Preschool Children Through a Mindfulness-Based Kindness Curriculum. Self-regulatory abilities are robust predictors of important outcomes across the life span, yet they are rarely taught explicitly in school. Using a randomized controlled design, the present study investigated the effects of a 12-week mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum (KC) delivered in a public school setting on executive function, self-regulation, and prosocial behavior in a sample of 68 preschool children. The KC intervention group showed greater improvements in social competence and earned higher report card grades in domains of learning, health, and social-emotional development. 

Qigong for the Classroom: A study published in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Chinese Medicine has found that including a particular type of qigong exercise program helped calm and energize the students, as well as improving health and reducing aggression.

Qi Gong comes alive for children ages 2 to 9 through this original song and book with accompanying video. Basic moves are combined with catchy lyrics for easy learning in Let the Rain Fall Down. Children as young as two years old and even adults love this song. A moving meditation, Qi Gong emphasizes deep breathing with coordinated, repetitive motions. The exercises are reflective of nature, like a tree rooted and reaching for the sun, a bird flying high in the sky and a warm, gentle rain. Standing with enough room to spread their arms, children benefit physically, emotionally and mentally with this powerful tool.

Dr. Gaspar Garcia realized that if businessmen had been taught from their childhood simple breathing and relaxation techniques, as well as basic preventive medicine concepts, they would not suffer as adults the devastating effects of stress. The Smart Living Program was born from that realization. This program was implemented in schools in Costa del Sol, Spain, and its objective was to convey these teachings to children and young people so they would be able to benefit from them throughout their lives.

pubmedMindfulness in practice: Considerations for implementation of mindfulness-based programming for adolescents in school contexts. The author formulates initial recommendations for successful school-based implementation of mindfulness. Practical resources and recommendations for finding, choosing, and successfully implementing and sustaining a mindfulness program in an educational context are provided.

pubmedLearning to BREATHE: An intervention to foster mindfulness in adolescence. During adolescence, young people are traversing exciting and also challenging stages in their development. Mindfulness, if taught in a developmentally appropriate way, has the potential to be an asset in adolescents' lives. Developmentally appropriate approaches of mindfulness intervention during adolescence need to consider adolescents' social contexts (for example, school setting, peer group, family), their cognitive and emotional stages in development, and age-specific strength and vulnerabilities.

Physical health benefits of health Qigong and Energize programs in American elementary school classroom.Health Qigong can be as effective as aerobic exercise and physical education activities in reducing heart rate and increasing Sit-and-Reach among elementary school children. In particular, body mass index decreased more quickly in the Health Qigong group than aerobic exercise or conventional physical education activities [PMCID: PMC3373475].

pubmed logoReview finds yoga improves children's physical and mental well-being, and yoga in schools helps students improve resilience, mood, and self-regulation skills pertaining to emotions and stress.

Hiruko incorporates Qigong and Tai Chi fundamentals into martial arts training for youngsters.

Children need more meditation and less stimulation.

Yoga Therapy for children with special needs.

The David Lynch Foundation is bringing meditation to schools to help with a silent epidemic among young people: stress.

Research partnership brings mindfulness/yoga practices to schools in Middle East. Palestinian educators, health professionals, social workers and refugee service providers recently received training in Transformative Life Skills (TLS) -- a social-emotional learning program that aims to reduce students’ stress and promote social-emotional health and physical wellness through mindfulness and yoga training -- from a team of trainers and researchers from Penn State, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and the Oakland-based nonprofit Niroga Institute.

 

Meditation Replaces Detention in Schools

Substituting Meditation for Detention Apparently Works Wonders For Kids. For years a Baltimore school has sent more difficult students to their "Mindful Moment Room" instead of detention. The result has been zero suspensions.

Meditation Vs. Detention: Switching Punishment For Mindfulness Exercises Better For School Kids.

Should Meditation Replace Detention in Schools?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIlWz5ZszFE

A Wisconsin school has replaced detention with meditation and is seeing incredible results.

  

 Baltimore students get meditation, not detention  

This school replaced detention with meditation. The results are stunning.

 

Qigong in Secondary Schools

Valley High School students learn to cope with stress in 'mindfulness room'.

students lying on yoga mats

Valley High students in South Jordan meditate in the school's 'mindfulness room.' (Photo: KUTV)

Mind-Body Practices Like Meditation And Yoga Help Teens With Anxiety, Study Finds.

girl in yoga pose

Teenage anxiety is a pretty common occurrence these days—and it’s not just the usual stress implicit in adolescence. Almost a third of teens have a full-fledged anxiety disorder, according to prevalence studies, and, as with other mental health disorders, there just aren’t enough effective treatments. A small new review study looks back over the evidence, and finds that several mind-body practices are helpful in treating teen anxiety, in school and at home. More.

Mindfulness-based yoga can help youngsters deal with stressful situations 

yoga on surfboard at sunset

Practising mindfulness-based yoga can help young people, who are dealing with stressful situations like exposure to violence and family disruption, avoid turning to negative, risky behaviours. More...

Benefits Of Tai Chi For Teen Boys

Statue doing snake creeps down tai chi move

With all of the stressors that life can throw at teenage boys, Tai Chi may be a good option to remain balanced and calm. Read Article.


Mindfulness in Schools: Richard Burnett at TEDxWhitechapel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mlk6xD_xAQ


 Integrating mindfulness training in school health education to promote healthy behaviors in adolescents: Feasibility and preliminary effects on exercise and dietary habits. PMID: 29527459.

Teaching meditation and yoga in high school.

Educator Jay Robbins describes how to integrate Qigong into school physical education programs in A New Approach to Mental, Physical, and Emotional Achievement in the Ken-Ton School District.

pubmedIntegrating a relaxation response-based curriculum into a public high school in Massachusetts.

pubmedQualitative evaluation of a high school yoga program: feasibility and perceived benefits. Harvard study finds many benefits to 9th and 10th graders including stress reduction and promoting healthy behaviors at a societal level by focusing on the prevention of negative patterns during the adolescent transition.

Meditation Becoming More Popular Among Teens.

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A Randomized Trial Evaluating School-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Ethnic Minority Youth: Exploring Mediators and Moderators of Intervention Effects. The study provided evidence that mindfulness intervention was beneficial for low-income ethnic minority youth in reducing perceived stress and internalizing problems, and improving emotion regulation outcomes. Furthermore, mindfulness training was associated with reduced mental health symptoms via improvements in emotion regulation.

Chinese school principal teaches students shuffle dance during break

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkaJrzd6-hw

In Xi Guan Primary School in China’s Shanxi province, students can shuffle dance with their principal during break time. The principal, Zhang Pengfei, learned the shuffle dance himself and taught his students. Knowing that students tend to stay in front of computers and phones, he hoped every student would exercise more with the dance.

4 year-old doing Five Animal Frolics at the 7th Hong Kong Wushu International Championship.

The Global Transformation Project

This "UN RESOLUTION PROPOSED: SCIENCE BASED MIND BODY EDUCATION for PUBLIC EDUCATION PETITION" will be submitted to UN Missions worldwide inviting them to co-sponsor this UN Resolution in the General Assembly for science-based Mind Body Education as a core part of Public Education worldwide. The Resolution would not be mandatory for any nation, school or student, but an available elective one-hour per day Mind Body course utilizing science-based Mind Body Education; Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga, Tai Chi, and Chi Kung [Qigong]. 

the Global Transformation Project's simple elegant vision will SAVE TRILLIONS of dollars in future health & social costs ... while immensely boosting global immunity ... creating a kinder, more creative, and compassionate planet ... AND lifting Public Education worldwide via a paradigm shift of teaching cognitive improvement (not just fact learning)

https://globaltransformationproject.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU016mxMrko

Mindfulness in Education

Jon Kabat-Zinn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm-qnkclUyE

The effect of relaxation education intervention on stress, anxiety, and depression in female teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results obtained suggested teaching short-term relaxation techniques as highly recommended to all school teachers. These techniques include diaphragmatic breathing and meditation, both of which are fundamental to the practice of Qigong. They can reduce their stress, anxiety, and depression, improve their mental health, and empower them to control their tensions and negative emotions. PMCID: PMC10743839.

Educating Students for a Lifetime of Physical Activity: Enhancing Mindfulness, Motivation, and Meaning. For many years, pedagogical scholars and physical education (PE) teachers have worked to enhance effective teaching and learning environments. Yet for some children, youth, and young adults, many of the benefits associated with a physically active lifestyle remain elusive. Enhancing programming and performance to meet physical activity goals may require moving programs beyond "effective." It will require teachers and program leaders to focus programmatic attention on strategies to actually increase students' out-of-class physical activity behavior. Transformative PE provides physical activity content within a nurturing and motivating environment that can change students' lives. It focuses on PE students' role in cognitive decision making, self-motivation, and their search for personal meaning that can add connection and relevance to physical activities PMID: 28742426.

Breathe Deeply: Mindfulness coming to a school near you.

Mindfulness training for teens 'brings them back down to earth'. Summer camps are increasingly bringing mindfulness into their teaching spaces to help youth reduce stress and boost attention.

Opinion: Students should consider mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Teach Kids About Mindfulness With These Everyday Objects

pubmed logo Mindfulness-Based Program Embedded Within the Existing Curriculum Improves Executive Functioning and Behavior in Young Children: A Waitlist Controlled Trial. The inclusion of focused, targeted mindfulness activities throughout the day may represent a value-added component to the regular school curriculum that can result in benefits for the students.

monks and burning candles

"If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation."
-- 14th Dalai Lama

Qigong in Primary/Elementary Schools 

The Effects Of Slow Breathing Exercise On Heart Rate Dynamics And Cardiorespiratory Coherence In Preschool Children: A Prospective Clinical Study. Conclusion: Slow breathing training exercise induced increased cardiorespiratory coherence and increased nonlinear behavior of heart rate dynamics suggesting improvements in health status. Increased cardiorespiratory coherence reinforces the importance of including respiratory exercises in strategies that aim to promote physical health and self-regulation skills in educational settings. PMID: 32088664.

Tai chi for tots: A life-learning experience | Opinion

Yoga and mindfulness activities at school can benefit children with anxietyParticipating in yoga and mindfulness activities at school helps third-graders exhibiting anxiety improve their wellbeing and emotional health, according to a new Tulane University study published in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.

Inside a 'Calm Classroom,' Arlington Heights students use guided meditation for learning.

Mindfulness at the center of South Side school’s education. "Life on the violent and unpredictable streets of Chicago are not always easy for a kid. What's impacting them in their own homes and neighborhoods often plays out in the classroom. One school on the South Side is taking giant steps to address it and, in time, teachers hope the skills taught at school will become life skills.Their approach is not new, but the difference is that the approach is coming from every teacher, every staff member, from every angle in the school."

Tai Chi for Kids has been adapted for students with special education needs, including those in wheel chairs and who have severe physical and mental disabilities.

Children in Uganda at an elementary school for AIDS orphans love to do Tai Chi. Here they are doing the elephant. Another favorite is the tiger. You should hear the breathing sound of the ferocious tiger as it focuses and charges.

pubmed logoHarvard Medical School finds school-based yoga advantageous for stress management and behavior in second- and third-grade students.

pubmed logoMind-body integration practices reduce stress in children. The intervention enhanced health at an individual level and favored social network diversity at a group level. Our research illustrates how children can incorporate techniques that help them cope with stressful moments.

San Francisco Schools Transformed by the Power of Meditation.

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 Harvard Medical School review recommends yoga for schools.

 

More Schools are Practicing Tai Chi

In the past 12 months (as of July 2010) Tai Chi for Kids workshops have been given in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado and Mexico. Schools in Australia and Great Britain love the Tai Chi program. With video conferencing Tai Chi workshops can be held anywhere. As teachers we inspire our students with knowledge, tools for success and a belief in our own success. Tai Chi is helping us realize these goals through flowing movements for relaxation, focus, and concentration.

Michelle Broady, PE teacher at PS 45 in Brooklyn, NY has taught Tai Chi to the whole student body. They have done it simultaneously with the music over the PA system as part of the ACES program. One fifth grade teacher now does Tai Chi Moves every morning with his whole class. Every student in this class is in the top third of all students in this Grade A school. They are so proud. Ms Broady has taught Tai Chi in day care, in the scouting program and finds it particularly beneficial in the Modified Education classes. Not only do the kids love it, but it helps in transition from lunch or between different activities.


Tai Chi for Kids: What is Tai Chi?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jhZK0OKWkQ

Tai Chi Moves (see Tai Chi for Kids) can be used as part of the State mandated minutes of physical activity in the classroom or in PE.


During and after five weeks of tai chi lessons, adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) showed less anxiety, daydreaming, inappropriate emotions and hyperactivity, according to a study by the Touch Research Institute (TRI). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: benefits from Tai Chi

Press Release: New research shows Transcendental Meditation improves standardized academic achievement - A study with at-risk urban middle school students.

Yoga ideal activity for tweens

Meditation should be "an everyday task, like brushing your teeth," says Goldie Hawn who recommends daily meditation to create well-being, health, and happiness. Hawn describes the benefits of a personal meditation practice. She also mentions the Hawn Foundation'sMindUp program which is bringing the multi-faceted benefits of meditation to schools. MindUP™ is a comprehensive social and emotional learning program for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students, and is informed by current research in the fields of cognitive neuroscience, mindful education, social and emotional learning, positive psychology, and evidence-based teaching practices.

Meditation helps kids perform better at school. A University of California, Los Angeles study found second- and third-graders who practiced "mindful" meditation techniques for 30 minutes twice a week for eight weeks had improved behavior and scored higher on tests requiring memory, attention and focus than the nonmeditators. Another study of more than 3,000 children in the San Francisco Unified School District found a dramatic improvement in math test scores and overall academic performance among students who practiced transcendental meditation, a form of mediation that promotes relaxation and "an awakening" of the mind. The study also found a decrease in student suspensions, expulsions and dropout rates, ABC News reported.

A Quiet Revolution - Mindfulness in Education

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJzcdeEaOBA

Teaching Qi Gong to Children

group of children sitting on floor

Acupuncture Today. September, 2015, Vol. 16, Issue 09

Children today have a plethora of challenges and it seems only prudent to give them a skill set that allows them to thrive in many situations. Qi Gong requires no equipment, only a mindset that is open to imagination. Children are usually good at that. Useful in the classroom, at home or almost any situation, Qi Gong is a valuable take-along tool to facilitate calm focus... After only one session of Qigong, the results for children may be memorable and reproducible even away from the group. Giving a child beginner skills can be life changing. Qi Gong has the power to bring one physical ease, mental clarity, emotional stability and spiritual awareness. That is worthwhile at any age. More...

kids sitting on floor meditating

'Mindfulness' meditation technique finding new fans in Triangle and beyond. "The formal practice of mindfulness meditation is like going to the gym," she said. "You are training your brain toward focus, toward being able to marshal your own attention." Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh showed why this works by looking at MRI images of study subjects who had been practicing mindfulness meditation for eight weeks. The images showed a decrease in the size of the amygdala, which is the "fight or flight" center of the brain.

Yoga, mindfulness reap big benefits for Philadelphia elementary school.

A Philadelphia charter school is piloting a different kind of elective: yoga and mindfulness for elementary school students. Students say it calms them, while principal says it has reduced disciplinary problems. More...

Schools turn to mindfulness to tackle student anxiety

students sitting meditating

Instead of going straight into their next lesson after recess or lunch, students at a school in Sydney's west spend up to half an hour on mindfulness several times a week, and teachers say the lessons have improved focus and productivity. More. 

Schools in England Introduce a New Subject: Mindfulness

children sitting in circle raising arms

Students in England already learn about mathematics, science and history, but hundreds of schools are preparing to expand the traditional curriculum with a new subject: mindfulness. “It’s not just to make them feel better in the short-term,” Dr. Deighton said, “but to better equip them for later in life.” New York Times. More.

Pushing for Peace Introduction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6snpLd8aM

Pushing for Peace is a program that promotes mindfulness and calm, decreasing youth violence.

Powerful Video about Mindfulness in Schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGM_-zKPTE

Peace in Schools offers mindfulness education for students and mindfulness trainings for educators in Portland, Oregon. Please learn more and support this important work by visiting Peace in Schools: https://peaceinschools.org

Sanjay Gupta MD: Teaching mindfulness in schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7UfsuJef0

Students get lesson in tai chi

students doing tai chi

Qigong and Tai Chi should be part of public education for the health and wellbeing of individuals and society.

Movement And Breathing Breaks Help Students Stay Focused On Learning

little kids in classroom standing

For many kids, sitting still all day in school is a big challenge, which is why movement breaks are good practice, whether it's in elementary school or high school. Additionally, learning science shows us that movement activates the brain and improves cognition. More.

Little Girl Performs Chen Tai Chi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4A_l1P8zno

children sitting and meditating

Qigong in
Higher Education

Students Spread Meditation and Mindfulness on Campus

students sitting on floor in circle doing meditation

Bucci said he initially started meditation in high school, in Gardiner, Maine, as a way to improve his focus and his schoolwork. Since then, it has evolved into much more for him. “Meditation has allowed me to be more introspective,” he said, “more aware of my emotions when they’re rising in my body, more aware of this internal sea.” Whether one is experiencing nervousness, anxiety, or anger, he recommends people first note these states, then “take three deep breaths, be aware, allow them to be there, and then let them go.” Read article.

Effects of 3-month Qigong exercise on heart rate variability and respiration in anxious college students. Qigong is an effective mind-body exercise strategy for relieving anxiety. HRV and breathing were improved accordingly among college students after the completion of the 3-month Qigong program. PMID: 37815004

Exploring the impact of a mindfulness meditation class on college student stress levels and quality of life. Offering mindfulness meditation classes for credit helps promote positive mental health and well-being for students on a college campus. PMID: 36328779

Effects of aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan interventions on problematic mobile phone use and the potential role of intestinal flora: A multi-arm randomized controlled trial. Tai Chi is an effective, safe and efficient intervention for college students with problematic mobile phone use, providing some physiological and psychological benefits and having some impact on their intestinal flora. PMID: 38218013

Mindfulness to improve the mental health of university students. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis found that mindfulness is effective for improving the mental health of college students. PMCID: PMC10726040

Mindfulness in the ClassroomAt first, most students reported that they felt silly engaging in the activities and/or didn’t see how five minutes of meditative practices could really help. But over the next several weeks, they found themselves looking forward to the practices, welcoming the opportunity to clear their minds so they could in fact focus.

Meditation reduces stress for Yalies, New Haveners.

Meditation, Nutrition, Fitness: One 'Party School' Tries To Tame The College Brain.

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Mindfulness-Based Interventions help High School and College Athletes Reduce Stress and Injury, and Improve Quality of Life.

pubmedSystematic review shows Tai Chi yields psychological and physical benefits, and should be considered by higher education institutions as a possible means to promote the physical and psychological well-being of their students.

Many colleges and universities offer Qigong instruction and degree programs. They are very often associated with the Physical Education and Kinesiology departments.

Information and Meditation -- Improving attention in the digital-age In the University of Washington Information and Contemplation class, participants scrutinize their use of technology: how much time they spend with it, how it affects their emotions, how it fragments their attention. They watch videos of themselves multitasking and write guidelines for improving their habits. They also practice meditation—during class—to sharpen their attention.

"77 percent of medical students believe that patients whose doctors are knowledgeable about complementary and alternative medicine benefit more than those whose doctors are trained only in Western medicine.Five Branches University Graduate School of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

(UC Davis, The California Aggie) Maintaining homeostasis in the body is perhaps the single most important factor related to health. Homeostasis is created through focus, calmness and opening of internal circulation through breath, blood, lymph and body heat. As these bodily systems begin to regulate, there is of course nothing wrong with hittin' the treadmill. The heart is just one organ (albeit an important one) that stays in shape through cardiovascular activity. However, there are multiple organs in the body that require upkeep. More.

pubmedChanges in Mindfulness, Well-Being, and Sleep Quality in College Students Through Taijiquan Courses: A Cohort Control Study. Tai Chi improves sleep and reduces stress in college students.

Meditation can boost test scores, study suggests
The study, which appeared in the March 2013 issue of Psychological Science and was reported by The New York Times Wednesday, found subjects who participated in two weeks of “mindfulness training” had improved test scores and memory capacity as well as reduced distracting thoughts. 

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Students benefit from meditation stress management techniques.

Tai Chi Kicks Students' Taoism into Shape
What started as a six-person class over 15 years ago has grown into a 60 or 100 student waitlisted course, making it one of the most popular classes taught at Carleton.

Students Relieve Stress Through Meditation. “Meditation is not just for the spiritual or religious being,” meditation practitioner Kurt Valle says. “Meditation is about the release of the mind from the physical world and the opening of the heart. This leads to a healthier lifestyle.”

Mindfulness-Based Meditation and Higher Education

students walking to class

Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) has at least a short-term positive effect for university students not initiating MBI based on a specific mental health diagnosis. MORE.

Meditation in Education

Meditation is a fundamental component of Qigong.

pubmed logoContemplative neuroscience, self-awareness, and education. The underlying networks supporting various types of self-awareness are malleable following meditative practice. However, the field of education has developed independently from the study of the self and its relation to contemplative neuroscience thus far, and to date there is no systematic account linking this accumulating body of knowledge to the field of education or discussing how it might be relevant to teachers.

Meditation helps kids pay attention, leading researcher says. About 200 students at four elementary schools have used breathing techniques to hard-wire their brains to improve their ability to focus on their work. "It's so widely popular and successful, the district wants us to scale it up the entire (Madison) school system."

Neuroscientist touts benefits of meditation for kids. "Simple meditation techniques, backed up with modern scientific knowledge of the brain, are helping kids hard-wire themselves to be able to better pay attention and become kinder, says neuroscientist Richard Davidson."

Meditation can boost test scores, study suggests. The study, which appeared in the March 2013 issue of Psychological Science and was reported by The New York Times Wednesday, found subjects who participated in two weeks of “mindfulness training” had improved test scores and memory capacity as well as reduced distracting thoughts.

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Johns Hopkins School of Medicine trial shows meditation improves psychological functioning of urban male youth more than standard health education.

Focusing and Calming Games for Children.

Hawn Foundation

Meditation should be "an everyday task, like brushing your teeth," says Goldie Hawn who recommends daily meditation to create well-being, health, and happiness. Hawn describes the benefits of a personal meditation practice. She also mentions the Hawn Foundation's MindUp program which is bringing the multi-faceted benefits of meditation to schools. MindUP™ is a comprehensive social and emotional learning program for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students, and is informed by current research in the fields of cognitive neuroscience, mindful education, social and emotional learning, positive psychology, and evidence-based teaching practices.

David Lynch Foundation

The David Lunch Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 2005 to fund the implementation of scientifically proven stress-reducing modalities including Transcendental Meditation, for at-risk populations such as underserved inner-city students; veterans with PTSD and their families; American Indians suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high suicide rates; homeless men participating in reentry programs striving to overcome addictions; and incarcerated juveniles and adults.

The Foundation also funds university and medical school research to assess the effects of the program on academic performance, ADHD and other learning disorders, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and diabetes.

David Lynch on Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain (Transcendental Meditation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2UHLMVr4vg

Note: Transcendental Meditation is just one of the many types of meditation that bring about the same results. The only difference is in the particular way that the meditation is practiced. Some types of meditation have movement and others do not. Particular types of breathing may or may not be incorporated. The use of mantras is important in some types of meditation such as TM. For more on meditation see Meditation.

The Chinese go to great lengths in schools to encourage a lifelong habit of exercise. They have very commendable programs for their children, including healthy meals in schools. Tai Chi is an important part of their wushu practice described in the video. From personal observation, in modern China it seems that voluntary physical activity participation in public spaces, especially during the AM, is predominately older people and not the younger generation. Qigong and Tai Chi are the main practices. Perhaps life's distractions become too great after secondary school. Nonetheless, the government saves enormous amount of money on health care costs because of its citizens' large-scale  participation in regular exercise.

China - Sport and PE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DhjaqAasRw

China - Sport and PE. "A fascinating and visually spectacular programme providing unique insights into how Chinese schools, and the country at large, value physical education. We also see the extraordinary lengths that schools go to in order to engender a lifelong habit of exercise."

Educating Students for a Lifetime of Physical Activity: Enhancing Mindfulness, Motivation, and Meaning. "Using sport, physical activity, dance, and adventure activities as the means to an end for personal and social growth, we can meet our commitment to effective standards-based education while preparing students for a lifetime of physical activity."

How to Support Your Teen's Meditation Practice 

girl looking at smartphone

Psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher Gina Biegel explains what practices work best with young adults (and if you should even try to make them put down their smartphone). Read the article.

What these kids really need is Qigong, and not just the mindfulness part of it. Add diaphragmatic breathing integrated with the mindfulness. Then layer on some movement. Now you have a basic Qigong practice. The author mentions that more active practices will have a greater appeal to teens. 

Keynote Address: Goldie Hawn on Why Mindfulness in School Matters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh5-Pwj9T8E

TEDxBlue - Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. - 10/18/09

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu7wEr8AnHw

Dr. Daniel Siegel explores the neural mechanisms beneath social and emotional intelligence and how these can be cultivated through reflective practices that focus on the inner nature of the mind. He talks about a way of making important changes in the "minds" of our children, which will change the future of the mind and our culture. 

Local students practicing mindfulness

children lying down meditating

"You're never too young or too old or too old to learn how to take care of your body." That's how Deborah "Deb" Lewis described the importance of teaching mindfulness — a practice of being in the present moment with nonjudgmental awareness — to young children. This week, Lewis began two eight-week mindfulness education programs, one at Molly Stark Elementary, and another at Pownal Elementary. "The younger you start, the easier it is for them to incorporate it into their everyday lifestyle," said Lewis, who owns Manchester-based Mindful Paths Stress Management & Yoga. "And that's important in mindfulness." More

Thai Cave Rescue Highlights the Value of Teaching Children to Meditate

sitting child meditating

The coach of the rescued boys taught them techniques to stay calm, and any parent can use meditation to help their children deal with stress. Read Article.

Thai soccer coach meditated with boys to calm them in the cave. We can all learn from them.

monk holds praying ceremony

"[The coach] helped keep the boys breathing and emotionally balanced during the crisis, and also readied them for their hours-long treacherous escape guided by expert cave divers. In the process, he also gave them vital tools they needed — specifically, teaching them how to tap into their own tranquility and inner stillness. He taught them how to keep themselves calm; a minor but magnificent distinction." More.

School-Based Mindfulness Leads to Stress Reduction, Study Finds

sitting in lotus position

Researchers find improvements in stress-related outcomes among middle school students exposed to a school-based mindfulness program characterized by attention and focus-related strategies, mindsets associated with stress, and overarching beliefs. Read article.