By Melinda Dempsey, Member, PR Committee, The Bronxville School Foundation

Apr. 15, 2015:  With increasing pressure on children these days, a couple of Bronxville teachers have taken the initiative to introduce wellness into the curriculum in the high school, middle school, and elementary school. 

Research shows that practicing mindfulness exercises decreases stress, attention deficit issues, depression, anxiety, and hostility in children, while also benefiting their health, well-being, social relations, and academic performance.

Bill Meyer, a high school social studies teacher, submitted a grant application to The Bronxville School Foundation in 2013 to attend a course in mindfulness at the Omega Institute. His goal was to expand his high school humanities curriculum to include mindfulness and then share his knowledge with the middle school advisory and elementary school character counts programs.

Last spring, his students from the Meditation Club went to the fifth-grade classrooms to teach relaxation and breathing techniques. As one fifth-grader stated, "We learned how to breathe deeply and it really did work. Now, I use this technique right before a test."

Additionally, twelve high school students developed a six-week curriculum that includes journaling, meditation, breathing work, and visualization, aimed at reducing stress and anxiety related to testing and academic performance as well as social anxiety. These students are teaching these mindfulness skills to the Meditation Club, as well as Mr. Meyer's high school humanities class. 

The Meditation Club gathers every Wednesday for meditation. There are ten to twenty students who attend regularly. Natalie Knight, president of the Meditation Club, stated, "The clarity that even fifteen minutes of quiet and stillness each week has provided me with is incredible. Being mindful of my thoughts and my body reminds me to slow down and has made me not only a happier individual, but also an improved student and athlete. Introducing mindfulness into the classroom is crucial in the development of students' whole selves. It is amazing how much one can learn about seemingly more complex themes--such as generosity, compassion, and gratitude--just by looking within."  

In the middle school, Latin teacher Eva Cieloszyk and guidance counselor Lisa DeSanto are now incorporating mindfulness into advisory and guidance classes, thanks to the foundation. They, too, applied for a grant to attend a workshop last summer at which they both received certification to teach mindfulness skills to other Bronxville teachers. 

Students are now learning mindfulness strategies like "balloon breath" and yoga positions coupled with positive affirmations. Said Lukas Daub, a current sixth-grader, "Balloon breath helps you open your stomach and relax--it really works!" 

"A positive mindset starts in your head," said Lisa DeSanto. Kids need to be reminded of all the positive things in their lives and not focus on the negative. DeSanto asks every student to write down three positive attributes about themselves and assign them to the warrior one, two, and three yoga positions they practice. As they do the positions right by their desks, each student recites his or her positive attributes. These warrior positions symbolize confidence, power, endurance, strength, balance, and focus. 

As Bill Meyer summarized, "It is so important to develop the interior lives of students; everything is so external these days."

Pictured here:  The Meditation Club practicing. Beginning with Natalie Knight in the center and moving clockwise to the right: Michael Landy Nicolette Petnuch, Olivia Scotti, Martha Thomas, Mimi Buendia, Olivia Gravier, Izzi Mroz, and Alexis Petnuch. 

Photo courtesy Bill Meyer