Mindfulness in Human Development (2019-2020)

This multiyear Bass Connections project brought together Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and students, Y.O.G.A. for Youth NC and community partners to analyze the effects of a regular yoga and meditation practice on after-school students’ mindfulness, emotional regulation, self-esteem, stress response, resilience, physical health, academic performance, social behavior and body image.

The 2019-2020 project team continued the data analysis and manuscript development based on the previous studies conducted with Chapel Hill-Carrboro public middle school students and Durham public middle school students.

Team members introduced elementary school students in Durham to 1 yoga class per week delivered by a professional Y.O.G.A. for Youth Teacher as well as 5-minute yoga moments delivered daily by classroom teachers. They evaluated the effectiveness of these sessions through End of Grade (EOG) test scores and surveys from students and teachers. Data collection was supposed to last for 11 weeks, but the study was unfortunately interrupted at week 7 due to COVID-19.

Timing

Fall 2019 – Spring 2020

Team Outputs

Yoga for Elementary School Students (Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase 2020)

Designing a Yoga Intervention for All Bodies (poster by Shylah Duchicela, Roxy Ghadimi, Joanne Kim, Lindsey Noonan, Sierra Winters)

This project team was originally part of the Education & Human Development theme of Bass Connections, which ended in 2022. See related teams, Mindfulness in Human Development (2020-2021) and Mindfulness in Human Development (2018-2019).

 

Image: Courtesy of Y.O.G.A. for Youth North Carolina

 

Courtesy of Y.O.G.A. for Youth North Carolina.

Team Leaders

  • Michele Berger, Department of Women's & Gender Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill
  • Keval Kaur Khalsa, Arts & Sciences-Dance
  • Harlyn Skinner, Social Science Research Institute

/graduate Team Members

  • Shylah Duchicela, Masters of Public Policy
  • Katherine McMahon, Psychology-AM, Psychology-PHD

/undergraduate Team Members

  • Tiffany Ghadimi, Neuroscience (BS)
  • Joanne Kim, Public Policy Studies (AB)
  • Lindsey Noonan, Biology (BS)
  • Sierra Winters, Cultural Anthropology (AB)

/zcommunity Team Members

  • Briana Bernstein, Undergraduate Student, UNC-Chapel Hill
  • Y.O.G.A. for Youth
  • Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Harvard Medical School

Theme(s):