The end of the first semester is in the near future for Leesville students on January 23. But first comes winter break starting on December 21 through January 3.
This time of year is when grades start to slip which can be credited to a lack of motivation and distractions.
Implementing yoga into a student’s routine has been proven to help with both their mental and physical health. A study by the International Journal of Yoga (IJY) revealed that yoga improves academic performance in schools. So, here are five things that yoga can do for students at Leesville.
- Reduce Stress
Yoga can help reduce stress, it promotes relaxation helping calm all sides of an individual that are affected by stress; the mind, body, and breathing. Yoga can also serve as a preventative measure to relax the individual before they even experience the stressors, in turn relieving them from anxiety.
- Increase Energy Levels
Practicing yoga releases the pleasure hormone, endorphins giving a boost to one’s mood. This can then transfer into a student’s school day increasing their willingness to learn and complete classwork.
- Better Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is very important for a student to be able to achieve academic success. Yoga involves stretching, which requires the relaxation of muscles, reducing tension, and making sleeping easier. “Yoga’s effectiveness on stress reduction, with a potential direct impact on insomnia. Increase in melatonin levels can add to insomnia improvement.” Sleep also plays a major role in memory consolidation and putting them into your long-term memory storage. For Leesville students, yoga might just be the key to getting an A on your next test.
- Greater Concentration
Yoga can help improve a student’s concentration by calming the mind and limiting distractions. Some students struggle with headaches which can prevent them from being able to focus in class. Yoga provides a time for students away from screens reducing eye strain which can in turn relieve a headache. The practice of balancing your breath and holding poses requires mental focus which can carry over into school.
- Increase Productivity
Yoga can help increase students’ productivity in school (and at home). Regular practice can improve mental clarity which raises a student’s self-esteem. “The poses and meditation of yoga can help clear away this mental clutter, helping your employees [students] be more alert, focused, and productive.”
A way Leesville can offer yoga to its students is by creating a yoga club open to everyone. Meeting weekly or even monthly before school would help set up students for the school week ahead. Meetings on either Mondays or Wednesdays would be the most effective because those days the majority of students lack the most motivation.
Lily Bendell, sophomore, is trying to make a yoga club happen. She said, “I want to create a yoga club because it will provide a space for students to decompress and have time to reflect on themselves. It will also allow students to interact with their peers that they might not have met before.” A Yoga club could provide an environment for students to connect with their inner thoughts and feelings as well.
If yoga is added to Leesville it would be beneficial to all participants. Helping them to succeed academically and ultimately improving their overall physical, mental, and emotional health.
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