Pranayama meditation (yoga breathing) for stress relief: is it beneficial for teachers?

he effects of stress can have a significant impact on an individual’s personal life, relationship with colleagues, job satisfaction and career prospects. If unmanaged, stress can be the trigger that drives talented, motivated teachers out of our classrooms and into other professions. Yoga and meditation have been prescribed as a form of complementary alternative medicine for the treatment of stress, anxiety and depression. The current exploratory, mixed-methods case study aimed to determine if the participants in a five-week pranayama meditation (yoga breathing) course experienced a degree of stress relief. The course included one 60-minute weekly meditation class focusing on breath awareness. The Perceived Stress Scale was administered pre and post-course, weekly journal reflections were recorded, and a structured interview was completed at the conclusion of the course. Findings indicated that the participants experienced a decrease in their perceived level of stress. Participants reported benefits in both their professional and personal lives

The thriving kids and parents schools project: protocol of an incomplete stepped wedged cluster randomised trial evaluating the effectiveness of a Triple P seminar series

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the normality of daily life for many children, their families, and schools, resulting in heightened levels of anxiety, depression, social isolation, and loneliness among young people. An integrated public health model of interventions is needed to address the problem and to safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of children. The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is one system of parenting support with a strong evidence-base and wide international reach. When implemented as a public health approach, Triple P has demonstrated population level positive effects on child wellbeing. This study will be the first large-scale, multi-site randomised controlled trial of a newly developed, low-intensity variant of Triple P, a school-based seminar series, as a response to the impacts of the pandemic. Methods The evaluation will employ an Incomplete Batched Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial Design. At least 300 Australian primary schools, from South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria will be recruited and randomised in three batches. Within each batch, schools will be randomly assigned to either start the intervention immediately or start in six weeks. Parents will be recruited from participating schools. The Triple P seminar series includes three seminars titled: “The Power of Positive Parenting”, “Helping Your Child to Manage Anxiety”, and “Keeping your Child Safe from Bullying”. Parents will complete measures about child wellbeing, parenting, parenting self-regulation and other key intervention targets at baseline, six weeks after baseline, and 12 weeks after baseline. Intervention effectiveness will be evaluated with a Multilevel Piecewise Latent Growth Curve Modelling approach. Data collection is currently underway, and the current phase of the project is anticipated to be completed in January 2024. Discussion The findings from this study will extend the current knowledge of the effects of evidence-based parenting support delivered through brief, universally offered, low intensity, school-based parenting seminars in a post pandemic world. Trial registration The trial is registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12623000852651)