PORTLAND, OR: Woodrow Wilson High School in Portland-Oregon is offering one-of-its-kind Yoga/Mindfulness for-credit year-long course and according to sources this is getting very popular.
“We are fortunate to be able to offer our students a course that incorporates mindful practice and yoga to help with stress management and achieve body awareness, strength and flexibility; improve concentration, focus and attention; find healthy motivation; build confidence and healthy self-expression; and develop conscious, compassionate, communication skills”, the School website says.
The idea behind mindfulness is that focusing on the present moment helps a person deal better with stress, difficult emotions and negative thoughts. Mindfulness, yoga and meditation have gained popularity among Americans in recent decades, buoyed by studies showing their benefits to emotional, mental and physical health
Such practices are now offered by corporations like Google, Target and General Mills to their employees. Prison inmates, hospital patients and the U.S. Marines are using them to combat stress and illness, increase focus and well-being. And now schools all over the country are introducing the practices.
In this Oct. 1, 2014 photo, students meditate during Mindful Studies class at Wilson High School. Calling it a “step in the positive direction”, Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, observed that Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline for everybody to share and benefit from. He urged that it would be in the fitness of the things if schools incorporate yoga as part of their curriculum.
He further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali, who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
According to National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to an estimate, about 21 million Americans, including many celebrities, now practice yoga. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed added.
WWHS, a comprehensive public high school spread over 20 acres and with about 1230 pupils; exceeded District, State and National averages in SAT and AP scores. A part of Portland Public Schools (PPS), Brian Chatard is its Principal. PPS, largest school district in the Pacific Northwest founded in 1851, has about 48,745 students in 81 schools who speak
about 94 languages at home. Ruth Adkins and Pam Knowles are Co-Chair of its Board of Education while Carole Smith is Superintendent.
India Post News Service
