Why boys need yoga

GUEST POST: Trish David

Behaviour correlating with adulthood, or more specifically for the purpose of this essay, manhood, is not hardwired and the emotional and psychological transition is not automatic. Boys need guidance and structure to develop emotionally and psychologically. The vast, structured system of yoga codified by Patañjali in the Yoga Sutras in the second century BC has a lot to offer our millennium males and females. It is the purpose of this essay to explore correlations between a step-by-step approach through yoga and the social, personal, physical, emotional and psychological development of boys. We all have a stake in being part of that ecological system, community or village that it takes “to make a man”.

Observations, Restraints and Self-Knowledge

“Childhood is the foundation stone upon which stands the whole life structure — the seed sown in childhood blossoms into the tree of life…In the process of human growth, proper guidance along with environmental learning is important” (Rama, 2005 p.2). Sax states that “we are beginning to reap a fearful harvest of young men who do care about being real men and who-receiving no guidance from the adult community about what that means are turning instead to gang violence, or street racing, or drug abuse, for affirmation of their masculine identity and for their rites of passage” (2007, p.183). Kantrowitz (1999) believes that boys are “desperate for guidance, and when they don’t get what they need at home or in school, they cling to cliques or immerse themselves in a universe out of their parents’ reach”.

It is therefore important to build awareness of the first two steps of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga: non-violence, non-lying, non-stealing, non-greed and non-abuse of sexuality (attitudes towards others/our environment) and cleanliness, contentment, effort, self-knowledge and surrender to something greater (attitudes towards ourselves). Lark (2003) considers that “these values in turn, build confidence, self-esteem and self-expression, vital for mental and emotional health, and forming connections with others” (p.11).

Parents and teachers are encouraged to support children’s personal and academic development and participation in society. We cannot do the latter two, without also addressing the former. We need to strive to understand what motivates boys and help them to better understand themselves. As psychologist Max Wetheimer explains “a boy with maladaptive behaviour generally starts out with his own ego at the centre of his world — regardless of the structure of the social environment he is in. This frequently leads to discord and rejection from others, because in a social environment, most people intuitively seek to relate to a common ‘centre’ to achieve a collective harmony and productivity. And the lone egoist is simply not interested in such a shared agenda” (as cited in Farmer, 2009. p.35). Offering opportunities to explore non-violence and self-knowledge through Yoga is one way to reach out to such children and enable them to better connect with themselves and eventually others.

The Eight-Limbs of Yoga

Experienced teachers will tell you that boys feel insecure if there isn’t enough structure in a situation. Their testosterone-driven make-up leads them to want to set up hierarchies, but they can’t always do it when they are all the same age. If we provide structure, then they can relax. Yoga’s structure encompasses a guide for ethical, social and personal conduct, physical postures, breathing practices and successive steps leading through focus, sustained concentration and meditation. Yoga is traditionally taught according to a life-cycle model, emphasizing various aspects of the practice at certain stages of a person’s growth. Like school-based programs such as “You Can Do It”, yoga is not a quick-fix.

For children and adolescents, the accent is primarily on fostering yogic qualities and channelling energy through physical postures, simple breathing practices and stories. Dryden (1994) states that “fifty percent of what is natural in our view of how the world works is in place by the time we are four: a further thirty percent is in place by age eight” (p.223). Therefore, it would appear crucial for boys in their early years, to be guided by values and practices that we hope to cultivate in society. Yoga sessions, conducted in small groups within the context of underlying principles for ethical living, provide for a non-judgemental practice where the student is responsible for exploring their own body and mind under the guidance of an adult teacher. Yet if yoga is non-competitive, how can it motivate some boys who thrive on competition?

Experiential Learning

Some schools have been offering yoga classes for years to complement academic studies and team sports like cricket, soccer or rugby. Bruner’s theory of constructivism states that children develop cognitively through interaction and experience. Yoga requires effort (Tapas) and can be challenging. Therein lies the key to motivating some boys. Research in psychology and neuroscience has shown that people learn best in a context that provides moderate challenge (Csikszentmihalyi, 1998). In a survey of 62 south-east Queensland high school boys taking part in 6-week yoga modules as a component of their Year 11 Health Science class, results showed that challenging balance postures were rated the most appealing. While perhaps not a rite of passage into manhood, perching in Bakasana affords a fleeting sense of humility or mastery to be re-examined each time the student returns to the mat. Tangible self-knowledge and perseverance are fostered.

Equilibrium and Academic Performance

In a twelve month study of over 400 primary and middle school students, Slovacek, Tucker and Pantoja (2003) found that as a consequence of participation in a yoga curriculum for one hour per week, ‘bad’ behaviour, as measured by school discipline referrals, decreased. Research suggests that yoga can help decrease stress levels, build positive emotional experience and improve academic performance in school children (Aftanas, 2001; Kauts and Sharma, 2009). As well as providing evidence that students who practiced yoga performed better in academics, Kauts and Sharma (2009) show that low-stress students perform better than high-stress students, “meaning thereby that stress affects the students’ performance” (p.39). Researchers are finding clear links between students’ emotional discomfort and their diminished cognitive performance (Davis, 1998; VanTassel-Baska, 2006).

When the body is under stress, it reacts by releasing the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These relate to the sympathetic nervous system and allow the body to deal with fight or flight situations. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands that control functions such as blood pressure, blood sugar, mobilising energy in the brain and fighting inflammation or infection. Too much cortisol over a long period of time, produced in response to high stress levels, leads to a weakened immune system and decrease in memory and concentration. It also depletes serotonin production, one of the chemicals responsible for how we think and feel. Randomised, controlled trials have shown that yoga is effective in helping with the management of exam stress and reducing anxiety (Kuttner, 2006). A study by (Ehud, 2010) of yoga in Israeli schools indicates that participation in yoga classes may be “beneficial as an intervention for children in post-war stress situations” (p.42).

A sense of personal control of our actions and their consequences is necessary and when belief in personal efficacy is destroyed so is a part of our humanness. Self-knowledge and self-reliance can be powerful tools for shifting locus-of-control from external to internal. Attitude and motivation are also critical to learning. In the cyber age, some parents and researchers argue that certain video games and screen-time in general, are undermining mental and social well-being. Yoga is a pathway to clarity of mind and an arguably necessary way of unplugging. Developing self-awareness strategies and encouraging boys to develop other real life interests is crucial to their social and emotional wellbeing.

Yoga should be considered as part of a comprehensive educational program aligning with educational goals to nurture healthy attitudes to food, reduce bullying and increase academic performance. In order to cultivate a balanced outlook on life, it has been stated that boys crave guidance, structure, discipline and boundaries provided by competent, responsible and caring adult role models. Like Maslow (1970), and Rogers (1980), Farmer (2009) believes that “regardless of how dysfunctional, and even dangerous a boy’s behaviour might be, his true nature or consciousness carries all the potential of the highest and best of humanity” (p.23). When it comes to dealing with violence, domestic or otherwise, nourishing the seeds of non-violence seems like an approach worth exploring. Exposure to yogic practices and philosophy in childhood could offer weight to the proverb that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

References

Aftanas, L. I., & Golocheikine, S.A. (2001). Human anterior and frontal midline theta and lower alpha reflect emotionally positive state and internalized attention: high-resolution EEG investigation of meditation. Neuroscience Letters, 310, 57–60.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement With Everyday Life.: Basic Books.

Davis, G. A., & Rimm, S. B. (1998). Education of the Gifted and Talented (4th ed.). Boston London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore: Allyn & Bacon.

Dryden, G., & Voss, J.,. (1994). The Learning Revolution. Aylesbury: Accelerated Learning Systems Ltd.,.

Ehud, M., Bar-Dov,A., & Avshalom, S. (2010). Here and now: Yoga in Israeli schools. International Journal of Yoga, 3, 42–47. doi: 10.4103/0973–6131.72629

Farmer, R. (2009). Love Changes Everything Toogoolawa Schools: Stories from the real Education Revolution. Australia: Toogoolawa Schools Ltd.

Kantrowitz, B., & Wingert, P. (1999, 10 May 1999). How well do you know your kids? Newsweek, 36–40.

Kauts, A., Sharma, N. (2009). Effect of yoga on academic performance in relation to stress. International Journal of Yoga, 2:1, 39–43. doi: 10.4103/0973–6131.53860

Kuttner, L., Chambers, C. T., Hardial, J., Israel, D. M., Jacobson, K., & Evans, K. (2006). A randomized trial of yoga for adolescents with irritable bowel syndrome. Pain Research & Management, 11(4), 217–223.

Lark, L. (2003). Yoga for kids. Toronto: Firefly Books.

Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). N.Y.: Harper & Row.

Rama, S. (2005). Living with the Himalayan Masters (17 ed.). Honesdale, PA: The Himalayan Institute Press.

Rogers, C. R. (1980). A way of being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Sax, L. (2007). Boys Adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men. USA: Basic Books.

Slovacek, S., Tucker, S., & Pantoja, B. (2003). A study of the yoga ed program at the Accelerated School Retrieved 29 August 2011, 2011, from http://www.yogaed.com/img/researcharticle.pdf

VanTassel-Baska, J. S., T (2006). ‘Accomodating special populations of gifted students through tailored curriculum experiences’ Comprehensive curriculum for gifted learners (3rd ed., pp. 246–260.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Trish David has been working with students and teachers for over twenty years. She is a Level II member of Yoga Australia, a counsellor and educator. You can contact Trish through smilingheartyogatherapy.com.au