Teaching Mind-Body Connection, Meditation, and Yoga to Urban Youth Improves Psychological Functioning

Mindfulness instruction to enhance nonjudgmental awareness of the present and reduce rumination on the past and worries about the future diminished negative psychological symptoms.

Many urban youth experience toxic stress (the inability to manage or cope with acute and chronic stress) owing to limited educational and economic opportunities, drug use, and community violence. Mindfulness programs that include meditation, yoga, and body awareness techniques have been developed to improve psychological functioning and enhance an individual's capacity to manage chronic stress and trauma. Researchers examined the efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in two urban middle schools located in a low-income minority community.

In all, 300 students (grades 5–8) were randomized to the 12-week MBSR program or standard health education program (HE). Both programs were incorporated into the school curriculum. …

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics