Manish, a 9th standard student of Salwan International School in Delhi-NCR, has never missed an academic class since he began attending optional yoga sessions in his institution. “Doing yoga regularly de-stresses me, and helps me concentrate more on my studies,” he says.
The school introduced optional yoga classes for all students from the 2018-19 academic session, and ensured the continuation of online sessions even during the Covid years, all thanks to the huge response from students cutting across all standards. However, the yoga sessions are not compulsory for students.
How it all began
In fact, several private schools in Delhi-NCR began holding yoga sessions for their students in 2016, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi convinced the United Nations to designate June 21 as International Yoga Day and subsequently held a large-scale event in Delhi — it was attended by tens of thousands of people, including students, on Rajpath at the heart of Delhi.
“I got calls from two schools to join them as a yoga teacher in 2018, nearly two years after I had applied, inspired by the PM’s call for making students fitter from an early age. I chose the lucrative one,” says Sarbani Sil, who teaches yoga at a leading private school in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi.
“I held online classes for students during the two years of pandemic also. Parents have confided in me the benefits their wards got after the school introduced the yoga classes. And with no outdoor games during the Covid years, yoga kept my students cool, calm and collected,” she adds.
The benefits of yoga
“Yoga provides physical and mental health benefits for all. For children, it is gradually becoming important life skills that can help them succeed in today’s world. The breathing exercises help children to de-stress themselves and help them gain a peaceful state of mind,” says Madhu Rai, a leading yoga expert in Delhi.
These benefits eventually help students to stave off negative thoughts and concentrate more on studies, she adds.
According to proponents of yoga, it decreases impulsivity in kids and teaches them discipline. “By giving kids a physical outlet to express themselves, yoga helps lower disruptive behaviors in the classroom. As they practice focusing their brains and refining their poses, it also teaches kids discipline,” says Sarbani.
It may be mentioned here that a 2009 study, published in the prestigious Journal of Child and Family Studies, also indicated that yoga teaches kids to distance themselves from negative emotions, leading to decreased anxiety and improved concentration levels. Some researches in the US have even reached the conclusion that practicing yoga improves students’ engagement or academic achievement.
“One of the major benefits I have got from practicing yoga is that its various postures helped me to concentrate more on studies and increase my memorisation skills. This has improved my overall academic achievement,” says Naina Singh, a student of DPS.
Yoga must go on
“The push for yoga in India came from the PM, who is himself a yoga enthusiast. We have recently introduced yoga in our school and students and parents have welcomed the move. Though the yoga sessions are not compulsory, we would like the authorities to make the same mandatory in all schools,” says SK Rathore, the principal of Little Trots in Gurgaon.
Agrees Sil: “Yoga should be included in school curriculum and can be part of extra curricular activities. It’s essential for a fitter future.”
