Amid the stresses and strains of school life, the practice of yoga can be an effective form of ‘stress-relief’. Recently, the PE department have incorporated it into our lessons which has proven to be rather calming, but energising too. I will be interviewing some students on their stance on yoga and work. Moreover, I will include some particularly worthwhile poses that will enable you to unwind after a strenuous day.
There is a myriad of opportunities to do yoga, whether that is going to a class, doing it in PE at school or even in your own home. As A Level students, with the daunting prospect of exams approaching alongside extracurricular activities and social events, it might all seem fairly overwhelming at times. Therefore, I have questioned students on the helpfulness of yoga and if they have any suggestions for the improvements that could be made in schools (in terms of wellbeing and exercise). After having questioned a few of my peers, the consensus was that yoga overall has a positive effect on them. One student said that ‘Yoga helps to essentially declutter your mind’ and she thinks that ‘meditation should be implemented in schools as switching off for a few minutes and focusing on your breathing is very important.’
Furthermore, it could be a possibility to either integrate yoga into form times or perhaps even at the start of lessons for five minutes. This could be particularly useful as studies have shown that “One in four British girls hit by depression at 14 as experts blame increase in cyber bullying and academic pressure” (source: www.nhs.uk). Moreover, research has shown that there is a correlation between cortisol levels and stress (researchgate.net). Therefore, doing yoga for even 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the day in schools could have a profound effect on students’ confidence and mindfulness.
One of the most wonderful aspects of yoga is that you only need yourself to do it, so I am going to suggest some poses which you can do whenever you have a spare moment in order to revitalise yourself! For ‘de-stressing’, ‘Warrior 2’, ‘Triangle’, ‘Downward dog’ and ‘Forward bend’ have proven to be some of the most effective postures for this purpose.
