Yoga in Schools: The Scientific Rationale, Prevalence and Research Evidence December 29, 2015 8 th International Conference Yoga & Education: Principles & Practice Kaivalyadhama Brigham & Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director of Research, Kundalini Research Institute Research Director, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Editor in Chief, International Journal of Yoga Therapy Research Associate, Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
Transcript
1. Yoga in Schools: The Scientific Rationale, Prevalence and
Research Evidence December 29, 2015 8th International Conference
Yoga & Education: Principles & Practice Kaivalyadhama
Brigham & Womens Hospital Harvard Medical School Sat Bir S.
Khalsa, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical
School Director of Research, Kundalini Research Institute Research
Director, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Editor in Chief,
International Journal of Yoga Therapy Research Associate, Benson
Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
2. Psychophysiology of Yoga
3. Yoga teaches you the techniques and awareness to stay
healthy. You gain strong immune, glandular and nervous systems.
This foundation gives you energy and lets you deal with the mental
and spiritual facets of your life. Yogi Bhajan
4. Bagchi and Wenger, 1957 physio- logically Yogic meditation
represents deep relaxation of the autonomic nervous system From:
Electro-physiological correlates of some Yogi exercises, Bagchi BK,
Wenger MA, Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 7
(Suppl):132-149, 1957.
5. the effects of Kirtan Kriya suppressing expression of
inammation-related genes and up-regulating expression of genes
involved in antiviral and immunoglobulin responses
6. Yoga Meditation and Cerebral Blood Flow From: Cerebral blood
flow differences between long-term meditators and non- meditators,
Newberg AB, Wintering N, Waldman MR, Amen D, Khalsa DS, Alavi A.
Conscious Cognition, 19:899-905, 2010. CBF of long-term meditators
was signicantly higher (p < .05) compared to non- meditators in
the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, thalamus, putamen, caudate,
and midbrainThe observed changesappear in structures that underlie
the attention network and also those that relate to emotion and
autonomic function. Non-meditators Meditators
7. Yoga, Brain Structure and Pain From: Insular Cortex Mediates
Increased Pain Tolerance in Yoga Practitioners, Villemure C, Ceko
M, Cotton VA, Bushnell MC, Cerebral Cortex (in press), 2013.
8. Reasons for Practice in a Beginners Program From: Yoga in
the real world: Perceptions, motivators, barriers, and patterns of
use, Quilty MT, Saper RB, Goldstein R, Khalsa SBS, Global Advances
in Health and Medicine, 2:44-49, 2013.
9. 23 chapters with theory, rationale, research & practice
~60 chapter contributors, ~30 yoga therapist contributors
13. M ajority of seriously impairing and persistent conditions
have child- adolescent onsets and high
14. From: One-year incidence of psychiatric disorders and
associated risk factors among adolescents in the community. Roberts
RE, Roberts CR, Chan W., Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry. 50:405-15, 2009. Adolescent / School Mental Health
Challenges
15. From: Cumulative prevalence of psychiatric disorders by
young adulthood: a prospective cohort analysis from the Great Smoky
Mountains Study, Copeland W, Shanahan L, Costello EJ, Angold A,
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
50:252-61, 2011. the lifetime prevalence of psychiatric problems by
age 21 well exceeds 80%, suggesting that the experience of
psychiatric illness is nearly universal.
19. Demonstrated Benefits in Children Stress, anxiety,
depression Self-concept Cognitive function, memory, perception
Flexibility Cardiopulmonary fitness Psychomotor & neuromuscular
performance Weight loss
20. Yoga Use in the Last 12 Months 2012 From: Use of
complementary health approaches among children aged 4-17 years in
the United States: national health interview survey, 2007-2012,
Black LI, Clarke TC, Barnes PM, Stussman BJ, Nahin RL, National
Health Statistics Report, 78:1-19, 2015. There was a statistically
significant increase in the use of any yoga, tai chi, or qi gong
between 2007 (2.5%) and 2012 (3.2%). Most of this increase can be
attributed to the increased use of yoga (2.3% to 3.1%)
21. Yoga in Schools
22. Implementing Yoga within the School Curriculum: A
Scientific Rationale for Improving Social-Emotional Learning &
Positive Student Outcomes Butzer B, Bury D, Telles S, Khalsa SBS
Journal of Children's Services, (in press), 2016.
23. Yoga in Education The very essence of education is
concentration of mind, not the collection of facts. If I had to do
my education once again, I would not study facts at all. I would
develop the power of concentration and detachment From: Swami
Vivekananda, in Education, Compiled from the speeches and writings
of Swami Vivekananda, T.S. Avinashilingam,1943. Swami
Vivekananda
24. Yoga in Education the faculty of voluntarily bringing back
a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of
judgment, character and will. No one is [master of himself] if he
have it not. An education which should improve this faculty would
be the education par excellence. From: William James, The
Principles of Psychology, 1890. William James - 1890
25. From: The Hygiene of the School Child, LM Terman, 1914. the
health and welfare of a child will be regarded as one of as much
importance as arithmetic and geography
26. Implementing Yoga within the School Curriculum: A
Scientific Rationale for Improving Social-Emotional Learning &
Positive Student Outcomes Butzer B, Bury D, Telles S, Khalsa SBS
Journal of Children's Services, (in press), 2015.
27. Survey of Formal Yoga Programs ~36 existing yoga in schools
programs # of years in service 2 to 21 yrs, mean 9 yrs ~940 schools
across the United States more than 5,400 trained instructors 42% of
programs require 200-hr YA certification 75% offer programs from
pre- to high school 8 full yoga sessions only, 3 in-class only, 25
both
28. Research on Yoga in Schools
29. From: Are There Benefits from Teaching Yoga at Schools? A
Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials of Yoga-Based
Interventions, Ferreira-Vorkapic C Feitoza, Marchioro M, Simes J,
Kozasa E, Telles S, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, Article ID 345835, 2015. Systematic Review of Yoga in
Schools RCTs
30. Bibliometric Review Published Yoga/School Studies ~50
studies of yoga in school settings ~2/3 done in U.S., ~1/4 in India
~60% elementary school, ~25% high school ~50% used RCT, ~25%
uncontrolled only 10% were after school programs
31. Published Yoga/School Studies
32. Published Yoga/School Studies
33. Published Yoga/School Studies Stress coping Self-regulation
Physical and emotional arousal Aggression, hostility, anger Mood,
anxiety, depression Rumination, cognitive functioning Self-esteem
Mental, social & physical well-being Behavior
34. Yoga in Public School Research 12-week 1-hr Yoga Ed/Kripalu
classes 2-3 times/week RCT, yoga vs. physical education, N ~ 100
Qualitative interviews post-program Self-report pre-post mental
health questionnaires
35. Mental Health Outcomes
36. Mental Health Outcomes
37. Academic Outcomes From: Yoga May Mitigate Decreases in High
School Grades, Butzer B, van Over M, Noggle Taylor JJ, Khalsa SBS,
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume,
Article ID 259814, 2015.
38. Physiological Outcomes From: Effects of a classroom-based
yoga intervention on cortisol and behavior in second- and
third-grade students: A pilot study, Butzer B, Day D, Potts A, Ryan
C, Coulombe S, Davies B, Weidknecht K, Ebert M, Flynn L, Khalsa
SBS. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, 20:41-49, 2015.
39. Before youre taking a test relax and breathe and you dont
get as nervous or as tense. I used breathing outside the classroom
in my life to calm me down if I was stressed or angry I would then
do the breathing to calm me down and I will probably continue to do
thisI was less anxious about school in general... Yoga denitely
helped with sleeping ... it would take me a long time to get to
sleep. When I was doing yoga it was much easier to fall asleep and
stay asleep. Stress From: Qualitative evaluation of a high school
yoga program: Feasibility and perceived benefits, Conboy LA, Noggle
JJ, Frey JL, Kudesia RS, Khalsa SBS, Explore: The Journal of
Science & Healing, 9:171-180, 2013.
40. I learned how to pay attention to how my body feels...
Respecting how my body works ... the poses helped with gaining
control over myself ... yoga gave me a new perspective on my body
and I have more control than I thought I did. I have been eating
healthier, more fruits and vegetables and not a lot of junk food;
[for example] ice cream and candy... Awareness From: Qualitative
evaluation of a high school yoga program: Feasibility and perceived
benefits, Conboy LA, Noggle JJ, Frey JL, Kudesia RS, Khalsa SBS,
Explore: The Journal of Science & Healing, 9:171-180,
2013.
41. I am fascinated by the culture of yoga, how people can
change their lives and help themselves physically, emotionally ...
I am interested in learning more. I have been a lot more happier
lately ... I feel like a better person, making better choices, and
staying out of trouble. It (yoga) has made a huge impact on our
schoolIt is making our school a better place. Transformation From:
Qualitative evaluation of a high school yoga program: Feasibility
and perceived benefits, Conboy LA, Noggle JJ, Frey JL, Kudesia RS,
Khalsa SBS, Explore: The Journal of Science & Healing,
9:171-180, 2013.