In a recent Time Magazine article called The Mindful Classroom, there is a movement afoot in some schools to provide meditation as a required class for students starting kindergarten.  The implication being that if we start children learning at an early age to meditate we can alleviate one of the great challenges found in students as they move through school:
Anxiety.

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Breathing exercises, yoga, meditation all help this.  The Time Magazine article states:
Although research on mindfulness in children is still preliminary, studies show that it can help kids who have anxiety and trouble paying attention with their schoolwork, behavior and stress regulation.  First through third graders who were taught mindfulness and breathing techniques had fewer ADHD symptoms and less anxiety one study found.

Which is not difficult to imagine, as the process of meditation and breathing exercises alleviate stress.  If meditation class became a part of school structure, I think we’d see quite a bit less   challenging students.  The article from Time Magazine mentioned that teachers are being taught meditation as well in order to show their students.  

There is even a program in place in some schools in The United States where detention has been replaced with meditation class.  If students misbehave the normal response is to punish them.  But that only encourages more negativity.  Why not find a positive response insead?  By replacing detention with meditation, students who continually have behavior challenges may become less difficult by meditating.  Meditation takes away the stress, and the anger that caused the outburst in the first place, replacing it with a calm.  If more schools looked into replacing detention I believe we’d see less behavior challenges just as if meditation became part of a school’s regular curriculum.

Yoga, breathing exercises, meditation.  They are all part of a healthy lifestyle and it’s so good to see that primary schools are now focusing on more than simply intellectual learning and turning their attention to esoteric education as well.  Long time coming.  Let’s hope it continues far into the future.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris

Once you realize that life is eternal,
That our souls our eternal,
That we return to light and physical over and over;

We then lose all our distress
We then lose all our fear of dying.  For there truly is no end.