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Nepal Prioritizes Yoga, Ayurveda, and Natural Medicine for All High School Students
Photo by Tribesh Kayastha
By Kylie Slavik on March 5, 2020
Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology is making a move to promote healthy living and natural healing modalities for all public school students.
Krishna Prasad Kapri, Joint secretary at the Ministry said, “The ministry has completed designing courses on yoga for grades 9, 10, 11 and 12,” The Himalayan Times reported.
“Through an integrated approach, certain topics about yoga will be included as part of the compulsory subjects such as English and Nepali. However the students can make a choice between yoga, Ayurveda, and natural medicine as optional subjects,” said Kapri.
In addition to integrating natural health and yoga topics into the curriculum, as well as offering individual classes, Nepal’s Ministry of Education will also offer a 3-year vocational course on Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy. The course will come with a certificate and empower youth to offer services when they leave school.
All programs are ready to be implemented next school session, in 2020.
Nepal is taking a stand for principles of yoga and the health of its citizens. Other countries, schools, and cities have implemented mindfulness, yoga, and healthy eating programs to help kids better manage their emotions and give them a solid foundation to become mindful leaders of tomorrow.
According to research done by Yoga 4 Classrooms, a program training organization, empowering children and youth in yoga, meditation, and healthy habits not only supports their long-term health needs, but it also can help students feel better and improve their grades.
There is growing evidence that yoga and mindfulness practices are beneficial for children and youth. UC Berkeley has compiled extensive research on the matter. They cite that emotional regulation, academic performance, reduced anxiety and tension, resilience to stress, fewer problem behaviors, physical well-being, and teacher well-being and classroom climate are among the main benefits of yoga for students in schools.
The government of Nepal furthermore plans to use the 3-year vocational course to contribute to the body of research demonstrating that yoga and natural healing modalities are not only important, but crucial for humanity’s youth.
Go Nepal!
