Benefícios e contribuições para o desenvolvimento integral do estudante

Abstract

Standards set by United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and by National Curricular Parameters (PCNs) aim an education that promotes the integral development of the human being, although this reality is distant from the most of the Brazilians Educational Institutions. Nowadays, the youth faces a series of problems, such as, physical and mental stress, low self-esteem and conflicts in the relationship between people, which are barely addressed at school, since the focus here is the huge scholar curriculum. The practice of Yoga is widely known by bringing physical, emotional, social and cognitive benefits, although the introduction of Yoga at school is poorly approached and discussed. The propose of this study was to examine the effects of Yoga after a year weekly practice at Colégio Marista Champagnat de Uberlândia for students of first grade of High School. We evaluated if changes in the levels of self-esteem, stress, school performance and social life occurred. Among 25 students that began the Yoga classes, six of them finished the year practicing. Among those six students, three showed a decrease in the stress level, four showed a better school performance and five improved their discipline at school, according to the Lipp Questionnaire of Stress and school report, respectively. All the students described a better physical force, four described an improvement in the self-esteem levels and three students related a better relationship with family and friends. Six students recognized that Yoga may have brought these positive changes into their lives and started practicing independently. Through the results that confirmed the benefits of Yoga already pointed out by other studies, it is suggested to insert the practice of Yoga in an optional way in the Basic Education Schools with a reduced number of students (about 10 students), at a different time of Physical Education class (since they have distinct approaches), and that they should be taught by qualified professionals. The responsible teachers for these classes can be formed based on existing initiatives such as "Little Flower Yoga" or "Recherche sur le Yoga dans l'Education" (RYE), already present in Brazil, including optional Yoga learning subjects inserted in the undergraduate curriculum.