Stretching Out for Student Wellness
Wellness Center now offers yoga classes in the Fitness Center during FLEX
By Joelle Gendzel
Wellness Center now offers yoga classes in the Fitness Center during FLEX
By Joelle Gendzel
As concerns surrounding student mental health have continued to grow, Wellness Center Coordinator Amy Hernandez was tasked with discovering creative ways to increase student well-being during the school day.
Focusing on the helpful benefits of physical exercise, yoga classes are now being held during FLEX on Wednesdays in the Fitness Center, as a way to offer students a way to de-stress during the school day outside of the space of the Wellness Center.
According to Hernandez, students can benefit from the yoga class by using it as an alternative outlet for stress and anxiety. While visiting the Wellness Center is helpful for many students, they are also aiming to reach out in other ways.
“The Wellness Center is just one piece of the puzzle. As we are building a wellness program, we feel we want to offer a variety of different ways for students to support themselves and take care of themselves. While the center might be one piece of the puzzle that works for some people, others might need something different. Yoga and meditation is just another way to speak to your own mental health,” said Hernandez.
Yoga classes offer students different tools for dealing with stress while focusing on calming the body and mind. Hernandez hopes that by providing students with more services outside of the program, those in need will help them take better care of their mental health.
“(Yoga classes are) more focused on the body, breathing and calming your mind,” said Hernandez. “It’s really important to spread wellness outside the center and not just ask students to come into the center. The circles and the yoga class really accomplish this goal.”
Taught by a certified yoga instructor and alumna Heather Goodman, the program was created with the aim to help students stay calm during stressful times and develop the necessary skills to manage mental health.
“I hope that the students discover a few new skills to help restore their calmness within. We need to build a toolbox of inner working abilities since we have focused much of our lives on outside matters like topics we are studying and taking tests on. It is time for us all to explore and understand what being a human being means and yoga/meditation is designed for just that,” said Goodman.
Many students also agree with Goodman’s ideas. With 500 total visits to the Wellness Center and 50 students attending the yoga class, these services seem to be reaching a large number of students. Antonia Čupić, 12, found that attending the yoga class during the school day helped her understand the benefits of taking time to de-stress and learned a valuable strategy she could use in stressful situations in the future.
“Having the yoga session made me realize the importance of taking a couple minutes to stretch, take deep breaths, and relax my body whenever I’m stressed or overwhelmed, which I can definitely see me using to help myself in different situations,” said Čupić.
As students become increasingly stressed about grades, college applications, and standardized tests, they may need more resources to help manage their own mental health and be successful academically.
Assistant Principal of Guidance Elizabeth Brush hopes that adding these additional programs to the wellness program will not only help student performance, but also help students feel more successful and able to manage everyday stress at school.
“We want to improve attendance and grades,” said Brush. “But more importantly, we want kids to feel supported, part of the community and like they have all the tools they need to be successful at Pioneer and in life.”
Focusing on the helpful benefits of physical exercise, yoga classes are now being held during FLEX on Wednesdays in the Fitness Center, as a way to offer students a way to de-stress during the school day outside of the space of the Wellness Center.
According to Hernandez, students can benefit from the yoga class by using it as an alternative outlet for stress and anxiety. While visiting the Wellness Center is helpful for many students, they are also aiming to reach out in other ways.
“The Wellness Center is just one piece of the puzzle. As we are building a wellness program, we feel we want to offer a variety of different ways for students to support themselves and take care of themselves. While the center might be one piece of the puzzle that works for some people, others might need something different. Yoga and meditation is just another way to speak to your own mental health,” said Hernandez.
Yoga classes offer students different tools for dealing with stress while focusing on calming the body and mind. Hernandez hopes that by providing students with more services outside of the program, those in need will help them take better care of their mental health.
“(Yoga classes are) more focused on the body, breathing and calming your mind,” said Hernandez. “It’s really important to spread wellness outside the center and not just ask students to come into the center. The circles and the yoga class really accomplish this goal.”
Taught by a certified yoga instructor and alumna Heather Goodman, the program was created with the aim to help students stay calm during stressful times and develop the necessary skills to manage mental health.
“I hope that the students discover a few new skills to help restore their calmness within. We need to build a toolbox of inner working abilities since we have focused much of our lives on outside matters like topics we are studying and taking tests on. It is time for us all to explore and understand what being a human being means and yoga/meditation is designed for just that,” said Goodman.
Many students also agree with Goodman’s ideas. With 500 total visits to the Wellness Center and 50 students attending the yoga class, these services seem to be reaching a large number of students. Antonia Čupić, 12, found that attending the yoga class during the school day helped her understand the benefits of taking time to de-stress and learned a valuable strategy she could use in stressful situations in the future.
“Having the yoga session made me realize the importance of taking a couple minutes to stretch, take deep breaths, and relax my body whenever I’m stressed or overwhelmed, which I can definitely see me using to help myself in different situations,” said Čupić.
As students become increasingly stressed about grades, college applications, and standardized tests, they may need more resources to help manage their own mental health and be successful academically.
Assistant Principal of Guidance Elizabeth Brush hopes that adding these additional programs to the wellness program will not only help student performance, but also help students feel more successful and able to manage everyday stress at school.
“We want to improve attendance and grades,” said Brush. “But more importantly, we want kids to feel supported, part of the community and like they have all the tools they need to be successful at Pioneer and in life.”