Yoga has been gaining popularity in many high schools since it has been shown to relieve stress. This generation seems to be more stressed than others, and yoga is the reliever many are leaning towards.
Senior Natalie Adams recently took up yoga again with the volleyball team, but first started at age 10. Her only regret is that she doesn’t have as much time for it as she did back then. “It is very calming and it helps relieve my stress that I didn’t even know I had. I definitely have less now and know how to cope with stress now than before yoga,” she said.
High school is a stressful environment, especially at the beginning of the semester. The use of yoga to help relieve this stress on many high schoolers has many benefits other than stress relief. It can be seen as a new way for physical activity, because although it looks easy, it is much harder than one would think.
Another benefit of yoga is rooted in the practice of mindful meditation. English teacher Ann Berger has said many times “Mindfulness is being aware in the moment, instead of focusing on time or being in the past or the present.”
Berger is also a yoga teacher, and incorporates it into her own classes, teaching the concepts of mindfulness. She even starts her psychology classes with a minute of mindful meditation leading up to the unit in which meditation is studied in depth. This technique is used in close conjunction with yoga, many times to start a yoga class.
There are many different types of yoga, such as hot, goat, mindfulness, etc. Adams recently traveled to Galena to try goat yoga, her experience overall being “Super fun, I was completely stress-free, plus the goats were cute,” she said.
No matter the type of yoga, the important thing is to not worry about things and try to relax. Doing these things can help lead to a stress-free life, which in turn will help with school and getting better grades.
Yoga has been shown to lower aggressive behavior, while simultaneously improving mental, physical, and psychological well-being. Practicing yoga skills during school can reduce stress, and being less stressful has been shown to increase GPA’s. Many students struggle with anxiety, and yoga has been proven helpful in managing anxiety while increasing concentration.
Yoga is a fantastic way to relieve stress, an excellent way to practice mindfulness and meditation and is exploding in popularity. As such, there are several yoga studios in and around the Quad Cities with classes ranging from beginning to master. Not only is it beneficial, it is also an excellent physical regimen. Yoga is changing the way people exercise while also helping them relieve stress.
