ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
Addressing Anxiety in Children
​
Our Proposed Activity
Research has continually supported yoga as an effective means of relieving anxiety symptoms (Woodyard, 2011). With this in mind, my group organised a basic yoga lesson for local primary school students. The lesson aimed to impart practical relaxation techniques that can be applied in their daily lives.
Was it effective?
​
Though logically sound in its rationale, there were certain factors which impacted the lesson’s ability to effectively address anxiety in the students.
1. Learning was not reinforced
As the lesson was a one-off event, there was insufficient time to reinforce the learning of the exercises, which may have resulted in them being either forgotten or not applied in the students’ lives.
​
2. Wrong choice of tone
​
The facilitators adopted an energetic tone to make the lesson fun and engaging for the students. However, the high-energy atmosphere we created may have resulted in students not feeling the relaxing effects of the exercises.
​
​
​
Room for improvement
Instead of having a mass yoga lesson for one session, there could be short yoga segments during every session. These segments can take place after students complete their worksheets, or after a high-intensity game. By doing so, students would get to experience yoga as a way to cool down after a physically or mentally demanding activity.
Having allocated cool-down yoga segments will not only expose the students to the therapeutic effect of yoga but will also show how it can be incorporated into a routine.
References
Woodyard, C. (2011). Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life. International journal of yoga, 4(2), 49. Retrieved from https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/39/12/884.full.pdf