Would You Like to Meditate for 30 Mins at School Every Day? Some Schools Are Trying It Out

Could classes on meditation and philosophy eliminate any stigma around mindfulness and wellbeing?

Schools across Australia have begun to include a new wellness program during the school day to promote healthy minds.

According to Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), one of the schools that has introduced the wellness program is Sydney's Homebush West, which sees students spending up to half-an-hour a few times a week learning about meditation and philosophy.

The program, developed by Smiling Mind, is reportedly used by 40,000 educators and more than one million students across the country.

Roxanne Picoaga, the deputy principal of Homebush West Public School has told SMH that since adopting the program, students have become more productive overall.

"Teachers all say students have been more productive in the classroom and more focused and calm, particularly after a session," Picoaga told SMH.

She explained that the program introduces skills like emotional resilience and empathy and encourages classrooms to have a discussion about it. They go on to practice meditation and then debrief about what they've learned to help normalise the process.

At present, the teachers aren't obligated to run these short classes at the school but are told to run them when needed.

Now, we just have to patiently wait for these programs to slowly filter into our workplaces too because a little bit of relaxing, Oprah-style, never hurt nobody.