A recent report shows that schools are turning to a form of guided meditation to relax students. Meditating in the classroom practice may seem a little unorthodox, however, some students claim that it’s actually helping them.

“At the start of the school year at Marblehead High School in Massachusetts, students started moving their desks out of the way, grabbing a mat and laying down on the floor for guided meditation before French class. Lexxi Seay, a senior, was skeptical,” according to CNN.

"I actually never believed really in meditation. ... I thought it was a joke," she said during an interview, according to the report.

Seay, like many who may be reading this didn’t believe in meditation. Why would she? You go to school to learn and interact with your teachers and peers. Who would have thought that meditation could actually be a party of a busy student schedule?

“While she was on her computer working and everyone else in her class was meditating, she just fell asleep sitting up,” according to the report.

“When I woke up, I was like, 'What happened?' ... It just completely relaxed me."

Students do have a certain level of stress that is rather unhealthy in many cases. This is heightened in students who feel extra pressured to achieve or those who are struggling in classes. The Marblehead High School isn’t the only one experimenting with guided meditation in the classroom.

“The guided meditations are all part of a fast growing trend in education, where more schools are providing mindfulness exercises to students and teachers in response to the enormous pressures students are facing,” according to the report.

“The drive to get good grades and gain acceptance into elite colleges, combined with participation on sports teams and other after-school activities, and hours of homework mix together to make teenagers the most stressed group of people in America when school is in session, according to a 2014 American Psychological Association survey.”

With students having much better responses to the practice, adding meditation to the school day seems more like viable solution to reduce students’ stress levels and improve their concentration.

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Article by Navindra Persaud, Education World Contributor

Related EdWorld story: Mindfulness for Educators