Yoga Life

Daya Lupinacci

2024 was my second year being part of a wonderful project to teach teens, in English, yogic techniques to manage stress, considering they are in a highly competitive and goal oriented environment, aka high performance school. There are many different conversations I could start on this topic, however, what stood out the most this time was how mentally fatigued, overwhelmed, and even detached those kids were. It’s different kind of challenge when I teach a class to people that want to be there, than when I go to an environment where their attendance is mandatory. In the second case there is often more resistance, which, in my experience, comes primary from exhaustion. Nevertheless, by the end of the class, when the techniques began to take effect, the students appeared to enter another dimension; most of them completely blacked out during the brief 5 min relaxation session at the end, even the ones who practiced in chairs. They had so much build up tension and toxic stress that only after target movement, breathing and meditation exercises, they were able to experience true relaxation. I see a lot of myself in them, considering I had a very similar background in school. I also know that highly competitive school environments exist because it’s “preparing” us to succeed in society. It’s also funny that a lot of the times when I teach adults, I use the term “improves performance” as an incentive for people to practice certain techniques. I also remember the identity crisis I had after graduating, feeling lost from myself and how the goals I once thought would bring me purpose felt narrow. Maybe somewhere in the future our priorities will shift and the systems will better support us in that, but until then I’m grateful some schools are open to incorporating yoga, even if it is only once a year. The teacher contacted me afterward, mentioning that the students wanted me to return and even requested a guided meditation recording. This brings me joy and a sense of purpose, because even if one of them, in 10 years from now, are able to remember these tools and turn back to them in a moment of need, it will have made enough of an impact.