A holistic medicine to cut stress levels, tension and anxiety.
Teenage years can be a minefield, more so in the new age of technological revolution. Not only do teens need to deal with hormonal and physical changes, they also have to face a deluge of stimuli as they try and find their identity on cyberspace through various social media outlets.
By Maryam Malek
But a study by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, shows that yoga can help these teenagers. The study, which was published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics four years ago, indicated positive psychological effects and improved psycho-social outcome in teenagers who did yoga and meditation compared to those who didn’t.
Over a course of ten weeks, two-thirds of the 51 teenagers participating in the study attended Physical Education (PE) classes based on Kripalu yoga, which comprises yoga poses, breathing exercises, relaxation and meditation. The remaining teenagers took regular PE classes that didn’t include yoga.
The result? The teen group that did yoga reported a decrease in overall total mood disturbance as well as reduced tension and anxiety. They also reported an improvement in negative emotions. The study concluded that yoga could potentially play a preventive role in the development of mental health problems among teenagers.
“A teenager’s mind, when stressed, jumps from thought to thought like a monkey,” says Vikas Malkani, co-founder of SoulCentre in Singapore that also runs classes on ‘Life Skills for Teenagers’. “Meditation helps manage stress, stay calm and respond to challenges rather than get overwhelmed by them. It helps teens connect with their inner strengths, sleep better and develop better social interactions.” Yoga has also proven to successfully help in the treatment of those with eating disorders. A study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health six years ago, randomly assigned 54 participants to an 8-week trial where some participants who did yoga not only reported a decrease in anxiety and depression, but also exhibited less eating disorder symptoms.
“Yoga can help students alleviate their aches and pains, and improve their overall wellbeing,” confirms Yvonne Yan, a leading yoga teacher at Meraki Yoga in Singapore.
While Yoga Journal SG set out to find out more about the benefits of yoga for teenagers, we came across two youths who not only endorse it, but also teach it to their peers—and adults too.
Anjali Mehta and Kabir Samlal, both 16, have made yoga a significant part of their lives. One started doing it to cope with anxiety and the other to improve concentration.
Anjali Mehta– Teacher to her teachers
It’s clear to see why students like coming to her classes—Anjali’s enthusiasm is infectious. Anjali was 10 when she attended her first yoga class, but it was not love at first pose. At 12, she started practicing it more after visiting Temple Yoga, a yoga studio in Bangalore, India. Seeing how much she enjoyed yoga after that, her parents encouraged her to learn well enough so that she could teach. Anjali then trained with Manoj Thakur at Vyasa Yoga in Singapore; and at 14, she was certified to teach both Ashtanga and Hatha yoga.
She started a yoga club at the Singapore American School, where she teaches not only her fellow students, but also some teachers. “My school can get quite competitive and stressful, and I used to be really anxious about everything. So I tell my students to just pop by when they get really stressed out,” says Anjali.
Anjali also teaches a weekly class on Saturday mornings at her condo, and started teaching at Proform Academy, using yoga to help basketball players in their sport. Despite a hectic schedule as a student and a yoga teacher, she makes it a point to set aside time to meditate and practice yoga every day.
“Before I started practising, I used to ruminate about what I should do with my life,” says Anjali, who now wants to become a clinical psychologist and study yoga deeper as a treatment for depression.
Kabir Samlal – Yoga champion and author
Kabir Samlal stepped into his first yoga class at the age of five while he was living in Singapore. By 11, he was competing in yoga championships in the Netherlands, where his parents come from, and at 13, he was named International Yoga Asana Youth Champion.
“After the championships, I felt that I had achieved my goal, and didn’t know what to do next. I started teaching my younger brothers for fun, and then more kids,” says Kabir who went on to train under Dev Kapil of One Wellness Fitness Club in Singapore. Today, at age 16, Kabir teaches yoga on a regular basis at Pralaya Yoga in Houston, Texas, where he currently lives.
Kabir also works with War Child, a charitable organization dedicated to empowering children affected by war. At his first yoga class for the organisation in 2015 in Rotterdam, Kabir taught more than 150 people and managed to raise over 1,500 Euros.
Additionally, Kabir has written a pictorial yoga book for kids that carries illustrations by his friend, Saar van Ommen. He also plans to develop a specialised yoga teacher training course just for kids.
A regular teenager with a life immersed in books and sports, Kabir wants to study Astrophysics when he finishes High School. “School is a priority for me, and yoga helps me keep my focus,” he says.
Kabir continues to deepen his practice and when he went to Singapore to meet his guru, Kapil, he encouraged him to teach a few classes in his studio. A sports fanatic who plays soccer and tennis, Kabir says yoga was once a “good exercise” for him but is now something more meaningful.
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
