Something amazing just happened up here in Boston, Massachusetts. The Breath, Water, Sound course was taught at Hyde Park High School to about 40 kids who recently came from Haiti. Some had arrived before the earthquake, while others had relocated to Boston shortly after the earthquake.
The school was looking for a way to help these kids because they were traumatized and they didn’t have a way to process the emotions that they harbored. The kids needed a way to decompress. Talking about it helped, but it wasn’t enough according to the teachers and administrators.
The school felt that the Breath, Water, Sound course would empower students by providing them with tools to help them relax and manage stress as well as difficult emotions. The tools include breathing techniques, sound relaxation, meditation, and yoga.
The course is offered through the International Association for Human Values, an Organization founded by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It works in concert with the Art of Living Foundation.
Though I was not able to participate and teach on this particular course, I made sure to check-in with the Breath, Water, Sound teachers to hear of their experiences. Justin (who flew in from California), Tejeswi, Jayshree, and Dhanashree all taught together.
Justin writes:
“The students were regular students, just with a very deep and rich outlook on life because of their experiences. They were still playful, still smiling and laughing, but underneath there were the worries and anxieties and all of the other negative emotions caused by stress. I laugh at it because I knew that these students were going to teach me more about life than anything I was there to give them. All it took was the LA LA meditation for everyone to accept that these breathing techniques were something they’ve never experienced. They wanted more. It was just the space they had been looking for, a quiet place where they could just forget about everything for a few moments. Their voluntary testimonies were poetic, feelings such as “floating in space, being released from jail, and finally free.” As a YES! for Schools teacher, I am used to teaching in a 5 week format. It was incredible to see how much transformation took place here in just a few hours. Everyone involved at Hyde Park noticed the shift and are excited to make these techniques available for the rest of the students and teachers. I am just grateful to be allowed to play a part in it!”
Tejeswi writes:
"It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life…In spite of being so young and having gone through such a traumatic experience, I was surprised to learn that most of them had such a positive outlook on life and most importantly they kept their smile. This was very inspirational. The course experiences that some of the students shared were amazing. I remember one of girls who said: “I used to be angry all the time...but after doing this technique I feel so happy. I want to feel like this all the time.” Another one who did not even say a word the 4 days we were there, said on the last day, “ I feel I was born again. I feel powerful.” I believe we truly made a difference in their lives…”
The school now wishes to teach this course to all 180 of their students based on the results of this select course for Haitian students and would even like to televise portions of it. Needless to say, the course was a great success and it can serve as an example for how other schools can model the integration of such programs into their curriculum. The adolescent years, in general, are a time of great transformation and stress. And, the way stress is channeled at an early age can often lead to beneficial or destructive behavioral tendencies that can persist into adulthood. All schools should consider including a program that addresses stress management.
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