On 23rd october 2020, delivered online lecture for 3hrs on subject
"Teaching Learning Environmental Stress Management Through Yoga"
in a workshop for lecturers conducted by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, HRD centre (UGC), Aurangabad.
Part
2
1. Prevention
from TLE stress- Some ideal replicable models
·
Shantiniketan
·
Krishnamurti Schools
·
Jnana Prabodhini schools
·
Swa- roopwardhinee schools
·
Pratham schools
·
RYE
·
SALT
·
SVYASA schools
2.
Yogic
approach to education
3.
Yoga-major
tool to remove stress
4.
1. Prevention
from TLE stress- Some ideal replicable models
·
Shantiniketan
Established in 1863 by shri. Ravindranath
Tagore with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the
classroom, Santiniketan grew into the Visva Bharati University in 1921.
From its very inception,
Santiniketan was lovingly modelled by Tagore on the principles of humanism,
internationalism and a sustainable environment.
Nature walks and
excursions were a part of the curriculum, special attention was paid to natural
phenomena and students were encouraged to follow the life cycles of
insects, birds and plants. Other than such everyday subjects, emphasis was
also given to vocational education. Flexible class schedules allowed for shifts
in the weather and the seasonal festivals Tagore created for the children.
The
poet’s vision of situating educational institution amidst nature is
instrumental in playing a significant role in developing a creative mind.
Tagore was a great advocate of
spiritual education and also stressed on harmonious development of the child
with equal emphasis on mental, social and emotional growth.
·
Krishnamurti Schools
“Schools and prisons are the only two places in the world
where no one has to go by themselves.” J. Krishnamurthy
“The school is to prepare students
for a future life. It seems important to create internal discipline than the
external discipline in the school.”
J Krishnamurti founded many schools before eighty years.
There are many Schools all over India and abroad. How to live life and how to
keep good relationships is taught here. All subject as well as yoga, music,
art, dance, photography, fruit farming teach here. Salary of all members is
same.
You can see different expression of students here. Writing,
drawing, drama making, poetry, nature activities. With this how to remain
calm, how to observe body and mind, observing self as a third person is taught.
Learning from curiosity, learning by asking questions, doing
projects, this new way should be adopted by the teachers. And this is possible
due to practice of yoga taken here.
Foundation members discuss about following things before
selecting teachers-
How the teachers should be selected?
How training is given to selected teachers?
How to enhance teachers' understanding of the overall
learning process?
What can be done for good experimental teachers so that thay
can feel school like their home?
What can be done for teacher’s safety and their economical
stability?
Various workshops are conducted in Krishnamurti's schools,
for example, there is a workshop on attention.
The second workshop was on understanding the mind of the
teacher.
·
Jnana Prabodhini schools
A multifarious institution working
in the fields of Education, Research, Rural Development, Women Power, Youth
Organisation, National Integration and Health, with a view to Motivation
Building and Attitude Formation of every person in all age groups to Change the
Face of India for Better.
Founded in 1962 by Late Shri V.V.
alias Appa Pendse
Vision: Combining spirituality with modern
technology; human potentials like intelligence and giftedness are to be
harnessed into leadership abilities and social
concern.
Mission: Knitting an organization of
selfless workers, leading directly and in-directly the social movements to
transform their respective working fields, is the mission of Jnana Prabodhini.
The Key Work Area : Leadership Development
The Gurukul project based on the theme of ‘Education through
the development of Panchkoshas’ (Five sheaths of personality)
1)
Annamay kosha-
In
the morning, student do different exercises every day including yoga, Surya
Namaskar etc. In the evening they are on the play ground for 2 hours.
They are being taught about ideal diet, rest.
Parents are being thought about ideal diet, diet recipes.
2)
Pranamay Kosha-
pranayamas
and Asanas are taught to students for their skill development.
Painting, Crafts, Sculptures, Swimming, Cooking, sewing are being taught
to students as well as management and decision making.
3) Manomay kosha-
Students
have to do silent conversation with living and nonliving things. (Moun Samvad)
Students
are being taught patriotism by doing Mathrubhumi Parichay Shivir.
They have to visit rural areas and through which they can get knowledge of
rural life, rural culture etc.
Vidnyanmaya kosha-
Students
have to do yearly project for their intellect development. They gather
information from books, internet and their teachers for completing their
project.
Anandmay Kosha-
Daily prayer, meditation.
They
have to read literature from Saints like Sant Ramdas and Sant Dnyaneshwar.
(Dasbodh and Dnyaneshwari)
There
is no servant in Gyan prabodhini Nigdi Gurukul. students have to do cleaning
which is helpful for removing their ego and and to develop sevabhav in them.
·
Swa- roopwardhinee schools-
'Swa'-Roopwardhinee was founded in the year 1979 by late Mr. K. L. Patwardhan. They are dedicated for enrichment of latent qualities of
young, intelligent and capable children of society without any discretion of
caste, color and creed. It is a place where future leaders are continually
nurtured. Living by example, selfless-ness, character, spirituality, respect
and compassion for others are the values we strive for in every aspect of the
organization. It is a concentrated effort on selected few, with intention of
creating selfless social workers and examples for others to follow. There is
Buddhist teaching which say, "Make of yourself a light for others".
they do our best to provide hope, care and loving kindness through different
activities and projects.
·
Pratham schools
Established in 1995 to provide
education to children in the slums of Mumbai.
Pratham is an innovative learning
organization created to improve the quality of education in India.
Pratham developed innovative
teaching-learning approaches, materials, and measurement methods.
Testing tools are also developed by the Pratham team to
check the learning levels of children so as to determine the course of action
best suited to each child and to assess impact of their programs.
·
RYE(Research on Yoga in
Education) project by Bihar school of yoga
It was founded in 1978
by Swami Yogabhakti in France, under the inspiration of Swami Satyananda and
using her own experience as a yoga teacher and English teacher in a French
secondary high school in Paris.
The difficulties that
teachers, educators and 'parents meet with nowadays are well known, so RYE has
not spent much time criticising the system, but rather, has tried with the help
of yoga to devise means to alleviate and, if possible, correct the environment
that the new generation is subjected to.
They took five minutes
at the beginning or in the middle or even at the end of each class.
Use of Astang Yog of
Patanjali
The RYE training was
devised according to the eight steps given by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. The
first two steps are yama and niyama.
They translate yama as
awareness, attunement to the environment, relating to others.
Niyama concerns the
physical mind environment, purifying the body and mind. For instance, you have
to eat in a certain way, pay attention to the air you breathe and also to the
thoughts that come to your mind.
To the public they
present yama as "learning how to live together,"
and niyama as
"cleaning the house".
The third set of
techniques which they call "operation straight back" concern the
body, the asanas.
The fourth set of
techniques is pranayama, learning how to breathe, which they call "breath
is life."
The fifth step is
pratyahara which they call "learning how to relax", dissolving
tensions.
Dharana is the sixth
step, making the mind like a laser in order to learn better. Dharana is about
quality of mind, clarity of mind, which is an area that the educational
authorities are responsive to. Children are less and less attentive and the
purpose of the RYE techniques is to train the mind to increase the level of
attention. Patanjali's seventh and eighth steps are dhyana and samadhi which they decided were
dependent on the teacher's own personal training and belonged to his own
spiritual practice. So, for safety reasons they decided to leave them out and teach
only the first six steps of Patanjali.
To train the mind they begin with steps two to
six; the first step, attention to the environment, comes later because you
cannot oblige children to be attentive if they have physical or emotional
tensions. So they begin with exercises such as Pawanmuktasana, which can be
done while sitting, then stretching postures, and then when the tensions are
reduced, correct breathing and rotation of consciousness through the body are
practised. Rotation of consciousness through the body is very important.
The systematic
introduction of alternative activities like speech, silence, stillness,
movement, writing, reading and listening will not only reduce the monotony of
school procedures, but also increase the awareness of environment, body,
breath, levels of tension and states of mind. Such observation will bring about
relaxation, better assimilation of knowledge and feeling for fellow human
beings. This type of pedagogical action reduces the common split between
intellectual, technical and artistic subjects as usually taught in schools, and
being by nature trans-disciplinary will foster self-confidence and creativity.
By recognising the
importance of the inner potential, an all-encompassing education would give
birth to true citizens of the world.
·
SALT(System of Accelerated
Learning and Training) project by bihar school of yoga
·
In 1980, SAN FRANCISCO
·
the role of yoga in
education from various angles
·
the different levels
of stress that children face in the classroom environment.
·
The difficulties,
problems, conflicts, distractions and dissipation of their energies were also
considered.
·
started using certain
principles and practices of yoga,
1) as an experiment to increase the children's learning ability
and,
2)
to inspire teachers to teach their subjects in a slightly different way.
Balancing both hemispheres of the brain
Science tells us that there are two
hemispheres in our brain, the right and the left. These two hemispheres perform
different functions. The functions of the left hemisphere are linear, logical
and intellectual. Those of the right hemisphere are artistic, creative and
intuitive. If we consider these facts, the education system does not allow
the child to develop the full potential of the right and left hemispheres of
the brain. The trend of education has been through books. You read, memorize,
sit for an exam and receive a grade.
Developing the whole mind
The brain is only the medium through
which we educate our mind.
The mind is a composition
of four different faculties, which in yogic terminology are defined as
manas, buddhi, chitta
and ahamkara.
manas means to rationalize, to think about
something.
Buddhi means intellect.
Chitta is an area of consciousness where
impressions are stored.
Ahamkara is the concept of ego.
In the modern
education system we are feeding only one aspect of the mind - buddhi.
We are not dealing
with the manas aspect, which deals with the faculty to know what is right and
what is wrong.
We are not dealing with
chitta, where impressions of knowledge are stored in the form of memory and
experience.
Nor are we dealing
with ahamkara, the ego.
Rather we are cramming
buddhi with information without boosting up the other aspects of our mind.
Therefore, despite all our education, we are not able to apply it
constructively and creatively in our lives.
It is important for
each one of us to provide opportunities for our children to recognize
themselves, to use their potential, to develop and awaken their personality,
without parents imposing their own personal ideologies on them.
Proper education can
only be received when you allow children to use their intuitive abilities along
with their intellectual abilities, when you allow them to overcome their fears
and inhibitions, to overcome the psychological pressures which are created
without you imposing your own conditions on them.
Yoga in the classroom
The system of
educating children has to be different. It has to be combined with certain
practices which can remove their psychological blocks, which can make them
aware of the psychological changes that happen in their body and brain, which
can make them aware of their own distractions and which can give them the
ability to focus on the theme of the subject they are studying.
They started with very simple yoga practices
in the classroom environment.
classes begin and end with the practice of two
asanas and one pranayama.
In Europe, the schools
have a psychologist who monitors the performance, behaviour and aptitude of the
child and who tries to create a support group for the child in the home
environment.
When the children who
were practising yoga in the classroom were monitored, a marked improvement
in their responses, creativity, receptivity, memory, willpower and behaviour
was found. The children were more relaxed, focused, one-pointed and tranquil
than their
counterparts in other classes who were not practising yoga and who were
more destructive, restless, violent and distracted.
when we breathe in,
we create psychological, emotional and rational blocks in our mind. The energy
of the body, brain and mind is withdrawn. When we breathe out,
relaxation takes place in the body, in the nervous system, in the mind and in
the brain. If you provide information when the physical systems are relaxed, it
is retained by the brain and not easily forgotten.
Developing awareness and rapport
Please remember that
yoga in the classroom is not confined to the physical practices and breathing
techniques that are taught. Rather, the teacher has to be aware when to
speak and when to be silent. Speech is the medium of instruction, but at
the same time silence is also the medium of instruction because silence allows
you to assimilate what you have just heard. So don't only speak. After ten minutes
give the children a three minute break or after five minutes have a one minute
break. Become silent and ask everybody to be silent.
In the period of
silence get the children to play a game of observing their own breath. Ask them
to count their breath backwards from fifteen to one.
Alertness and dynamic
instructions have to be combined with passive visualization. You instruct, you
stimulate their intellect, but at the same time you have to give them a chance
to visualize passively what they have just heard which has stimulated their
intellect.
You have to develop a
rapport with every student - not that of a teacher but that of a considerate
friend to whom they can come and say, "Look, I am having such and such a
difficulty with my studies, what can I do?" You should be able to guide
them.
·
SVYASA schools
We don't just want bread-earning education, we want man-making
education, added on to the bread-earning education. This is also what is said
in the Upanishads.
Apara vidya, formal, academic or worldly knowledge which
helps you to earn a living in daily life. It gives empirical knowledge about
mathematics, science, astrology, physics, chemistry, biology and other material
sciences. The second purpose
Para vidya, spiritual knowledge. This form of education
instructs you about yourself, your body and your social dealings. This is to
impart knowledge about the inner world by which you can remove the darkness of
ignorance within you.
The purpose of
education should be twofold.
1)
It should make
students capable of earning their own bread and butter without spending so many
years at school.
2)
It should develop the personality so that
students can discover their own self.
Children should be
taught from an early age how to cope with the demands of day to day life
according to their particular circumstances.
It
is that actual process of transformation by which we develop our total
personality, raising ourselves from our animal level to become normal, super,
great, divine human beings and reach that ultimate goal itself: a total
physical, mental, emotional, intellectual personality with a spiritual basis.
This has to be brought forth. That is the real vidya, the para vidya that our
ancient seers had based the gurukul system of education on. They did not want
students to be great scholars only. That is necessary, but it is not all. There
should be a process of transformation. Anubhava jnana – realization is
necessary. This is what yoga tells us. You have two dimensions: one is understanding,
the other is experience.
S VYASA education efforts
Way
back in 1975, they started their journey of bringing this dimension into their
primary and secondary school education. The objective was total personality
development. They looked at personality development using different modules of
yoga like jnana yoga, raja yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, hatha yoga. They
looked at all dimensions and started building this module to bring about a
total personality. Keeping in step with the modern system, they included voice
culture, hearing development, memory development, concentration development,
creativity development, ego management, and emotional development. They
included the attitude of service, civic sense, the patriotic urge and spiritual
zeal.
they started in 1975
and continued up to 1990 in Arunachal Pradesh, in the north-eastern part of
India, and the results were extremely fascinating. Our children blossomed like
flowers, and today the entire North-East, almost sixty schools, herald this as
a grand education system.
The
University Grants Commission asked us to start this system in higher education.
They started their modules of yoga in eight different university campuses.
they have both
dimensions. They have the modern education system in which they
teach them all that has to be done and along with that they have the yoga
dimension.
·
Anatomy and
physiology- Pancha koshas.
·
Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras- Modern psychology and modern
parapsychology.
·
Quantum physics- The dimensions of consciousness from the
Upanishads.
This is how they have
developed the whole syllabus, bringing the effervescence of the two, the best
of the East with the best of the West.
Specialized guna inventory
It
measures how much tamas, rajas and sattwa was there in the beginning,
and how it has changed at the end. How much sattwa has developed, how
much rajas has been reduced and how much tamas has been
shattered.
They are trying to
bring this same effect into the education system and into the higher education
system in our university.
Most
importantly, we need to train our students to fly with two wings. Our modern
education system has made students very sharp, intelligent, brilliant, dynamic
and full of energy. Therefore, some of our students who come from abroad are so
full of energy and vitality.
I am happy to share
with you the first hand experience of Yoga Centre where I am working i. e.
Niramay Yog Prasar va Samshodhan Kendra, Parbhani.
It was 6 years long
project. Participants were students of 5th class. Yoga and health regimen
advised to them and it was implemented by teachers and parents. When the
students passed 10th class, their physical, intellectual and behavioral
changes where observed. Notable changes where observed in all students.
Many
of the tricks in the above examples can be used in rural as well as urban,
primary, secondary as well as higher secondary, college education. And
it's in your hands.
Students should
understand how personality develops from yoga, ideal lifestyle and social
responsibility. It can all happen through you.
Yogic approach to education
According to Sri Aurobindo, each human being is a
self-developing soul and the business of both parent and teacher is to enable
and to help the child to educate himself; to develop his own intellectual,
moral, aesthetic and practical capabilities and to grow freely as an organic
being, not to be kneaded and pressured into form like inert plastic material.
Every child possesses inherent potential, but neither the
teachers nor the parents know how to awaken that dormant potential. The more
this potential is awakened and utilized, the more children's lives will evolve
in a satisfying and fulfilling way. This perhaps is the real education.
The highest education
is that which inculcates pure love, courage, and a sense of duty, balance of
mind, devotion, faith, discrimination, tolerance, dispassion and knowledge of
the Self.
The function of
education is to assist the evolution of mankind, which is movement towards
perfection.
Purpose of education
Education has two
purposes. The first is to equip you with qualifications so you can earn a
livelihood. Through education you receive instruction about the outside world.
This is apara vidya, formal, academic or worldly knowledge which helps
you to earn a living in daily life. It gives empirical knowledge about
mathematics, science, astrology, physics, chemistry, biology and other material
sciences. The second purpose is to impart knowledge about the inner world by
which you can remove the darkness of ignorance within you. This is para
vidya, spiritual knowledge. This form of education instructs you about
yourself, your body and your social dealings.
Evolutionary education
According to Swami
Sivananda there are three aspects of the personality which need to be dealt
with together in order for balanced growth and evolution of the whole
personality – the head, the heart and the hand – symbolizing man's
intellectual, emotional and practical nature. He says: “All must be trained by
scientific, artistic and practical education – body, mind, psyche, intellect,
emotions, spirit – all must develop together harmoniously. The inner man must
be educated; only then will evolution be quick.”
2. Yoga-major tool to remove stress
Cleansing of the body- Shatkarmas and stress
According to the ancient science of ayurveda, all the body
functions are controlled by three humors: kapha (mucus or phelgm), vata (gas or
wind) and pitta (acid or bile). When we cleanse the body internally from time
to time, we remove the excesses of these three metabolic products, thereby
regulating their formation and balancing the proportion of each.
Hatha yoga traditionally prescribes the shatkarmas or six ways
of purifying the body; neti, dhauti, basti, nauli, kapalbhati and trataka.
Asanas and Stress
Asanas greatly influence the functioning of the endocrine
system. We know the important role the endocrine glands play during stress
adaptation, by secreting the stress hormones. There is such an intricate
relationship between the glands that one malfunctioning gland can cause the
disruption of the whole system.
Asanas bring about harmony in the functioning
of the various other bodily systems, which are closely 'interwoven, such as the
circulatory, nervous, respiratory, and digestive systems. Any disruption in the
proper working relationship between these systems results in loss of health and
body efficiency. Here again, all these systems play an active role during the
body's adaptation to stress.
The practice of asana with body
and breath awareness, keeps the mind off tension and worry, at least during the
practice. However, the temporary relaxation achieved during the practice,
gradually builds up to bring permanent changes in one's mental and emotional
makeup. As our mental attitude is reflected in our body, in the same way
physical poise achieved during the practice of asanas has a corresponding
effect on the mind.
Pranayama and stress
Becoming aware of the
breath has a calming effect on the mind. In pranayama, relaxation is achieved
through the total awareness of the breath, and through the subtle control and
modification of the breath.
Nadi shodhana
pranayama induces calmness and
tranquillity.
The other techniques
of pranayama recommended in the management of stress are brahmari, bhastrika
and kapalbhati. Brahmari is very useful for removing mental and emotional
tension, anxiety and hysteria. Bhastrika and kapalbhati are essential for
revitalising the exhausted and depressed nervous systems. Bhastrika revitalises
the sympathetic nervous system, while kapalbhati tones up the parasympathetic
nervous system.
Meditation is dhyana
and through dhyana, we are able to view our problems in proper perspective.
Through dhyana, we are able to realise that our disappointments, our
unhappiness and other problems are internal, self-made. Through dhyana, we
learn to discover our inner self, to achieve inner harmony. This practice needs
no particular belief system. The type of meditation most often used in a
medical setting is what is known as 'concentrative meditation'. It involves
focussing the mind on a symbol or sound.
Meditation practices
·
Pratyahara- sense
withdrawal
·
Dharana- concentration
·
Dhyana- meditation in
the traditional sense of the word
·
Samadhi- Blissful
state
Antar mouna is the
first step to a permanent state of inner quietude and understanding.
Yoga Nidra and stress
yoga Nidra can be used to speed up the process
of swotting and memorizing the basic rules and facts of
languages, maths, science and so forth.
The basic method is to
practise yoga nidra for 10-15 minutes before the class begins. The students are
then relaxed, attentive and receptive. Facts and figures given by the teacher
bypass conscious blocks in the mind and directly penetrate the subconscious
mind. Thus all the data is firmly impressed on the mind and retained
permanently.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
