eNarada, Bengaluru, November 12, 2016
We can’t imagine a house without a garland. So, how to make a garland without buying one? Well, this was what the students of Government Higher Primary School, Kurubarahalli learnt today.
Art of Giving core team member, H.C.Dodde Gowda teaching the benefits of meditation to the sixth and seventh standard students of Kurubarahalli Government Higher Primary School. eNarada Pictures
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The Art of Giving, Bengaluru chapter, which has been relentlessly working towards empowering the government school kids, took another leap when they taught how one can make garlands out of waste cloth. The AoG members demonstrated that waste cloth is being thrown out from either households or factories. These pieces were collected and then dyed before turning into garlands.
Women’s team of Art of Giving, Bengaluru chapter demonstrating as to how easy it is to make garlands out of waste cloth.
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Students are quick to learn tips and tricks.
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Meanwhile, AoG member H.C.Dodde Gowda taught meditation to the students. Speaking to students, he said meditation was a practice that has a long history dating back to ancient India. While some stress is healthy and occasional, short bouts are okay, the amount of stress most school students experience on a regular basis is not healthy. Although there is no concrete scientific proof that meditation decreases stress, there is evidence to suggest it does. According to the National Institutes of Health, meditation is believed to work on stress by “reducing activity in the sympathetic nervous system”, which is colloquially known as the “fight or flight” system, and “increasing activity in the parasympathetic nervous system”, which is associated with times of rest. But even if the science doesn’t have you sold, meditation is still worth a try during your stressful weeks, if only for the mental break it offers. Taking the time to focus on something besides impending exams, projects, and presentations, even for just a few minutes, can help rejuvenate your mind and ease your worries. He said meditation not only improved concentration but also helped in increasing overall emotional well-being.
Meditation is bliss.
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Government Higher Primary School, Kurubarahalli headmistress KS Manjula said she was really proud of AoG members. “It is common to forget your teachers and school once you walk out of your studies. However, the AoG members, who are inspired by KIIT & KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta’s mantra of giving back to the society, are coming back to school to teach moral values as well as life skills.” She said meditation may be frustrating at first and it is easy to give up when you feel as though you are not experiencing the benefits or that it is taking too long to learn. However, try and keep with it! She told students to try meditating for shorter periods of time and build a way up to longer stretches. The benefits of meditation will reveal themselves in time, but only if one keeps working at it.
A sneak peak view of Art of Giving demonstration class.
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