Buddhist Meditation and Yoga Classes Offer Students Chance to Relieve Stress
By Livy Loving’10
News Reporter
Needham High School, in the Boston suburbs, recently initiated mandatory yoga classes for all seniors, according to an October 29 New York Times article. The program is meant to “bring the culture to a healthier place,” the school’s principal told the writers of the article.
While programs like these are not mandatory at Choate, they do exist. In the winter term, students can elect to take either morning or afternoon yoga, and groups like the Buddhist Association hold weekly meditation sessions in the chapel.
“Meditation enables students to take a break from the constant stress of worrying over past and future events,” said Loren Olson ’08, President of the Buddhist Association. “It requires effort and patience to experience the present moment purely, and meditation moves students closer to this awareness.”
Ned Gallagher, Director of Athletics, meditates with the Boys’ Cross Country team the day before each race. “For the boys’ cross country team, Friday meditation sessions have become an important tradition,” he said. “I think what the cross-country team does is a great example of fitting meditation practically into a student’s life,” Olson said. “The benefits of meditation and yoga are passed from individual to individual, whether on a team or in a class.”
Meditation, combined with sports, has also become an important tradition for other athletes. On the Buddhist Channel website, which provides news and features on Buddhism, a high school senior from Wilmette, Illinois wrote that in meditation, “You’re training your mind and body at the same time. Even in high intensity sports, when athletes perform well, it’s because they’re focused and aware.”
“It can be applied to business or any part of your life,” the student adds on the site. “People perform better when they use it.”
James Davidson, faculty leader of Buddhist Meditation, said that “Managing stress is an important skill to develop. Meditation is a technique that can help, but there are others too. I would say that 60 to 70 percent of the students who come to meditation connect it to relieving their stress.”
Stress is Alleviated
Some students agree that incorporating these methods at Choate could enhance student performance, while also relieving daily and typical stress.
“When I took World Religions, one of our assignments was to go to Buddhist Meditation. It was really quiet and it was really a good stress reliever,” Andrea Lee ’08 said.
“I think that Choate should have more options,” said Christine Valente ’11. “We could maybe have an available yoga teacher at school, as an adviser in the dorm.”
When asked if teachers are accommodating in understanding that students have other classes and activities to worry about, Carlin Dacey ’08 said, “You’ll get some teachers that are more accommodating than others, but it depends on how much stress you have or how much pressure you’re under. They’ll be very understanding if you have a lot to do.”
Meditation is not Mandatory
However, while students may feel that meditation and yoga are good supplements in their lives, some feel that these practices should not be mandated.
“Meditation and yoga should not be levied on unwilling students,” said Olson ’08. “This defeats the point of the exercise.”
Morning Chapel at St. Paul’s School gathers students four days a week to programs that involve speakers, meditations, or prayer, according to the school’s website. “We recognize that adolescence can be a period of emotional stress and adjustment,” the SPS site explained.
A club at Phillips Academy Andover exists solely for the purpose of doing yoga. Andover’s Summer Session also incorporates yoga and meditation into their afternoon activities, according to its website.
Alternatively, Phillips Exeter Academy offers a physical education course that is entitled “Beginning Yoga” and emphasizes body awareness as well the knowledge of basic stretches and positions. The program is set to improve students’ “overall physical flexibility, strength, balance, and stress reduction,” explains its website. As is so in the yoga course at Choate, this class meets in the winter, as well as in the spring.
According to the New York Times article, Needham High implemented their yoga program in response to increasing rates of drug and alcohol abuse. The program is meant to eliminate or lessen these practices as well as cultivate “better emotional and social skills,” the article reported. The high school has also introduced later start times and eliminated posting end-of-year college matriculations to further reduce stress.
Despite its current offerings, “Choate could make more opportunities for meditation and yoga available, or increase the visibility of existing programs,” Olson added. “It’s amazing what yoga does to relax the body, and what this relaxed body engenders in the mind.”
Students practice yoga to relieve stress. Buddhist meditation provides another opportunity for stress relief. PHOTO/Dan Homer ’10
