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TWI News

BENEFIT CONCERT WITH
CHANDRIKA TANDON
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2ND ANNUAL YOGATHON
The event was a great success. Learn more here.

FALL 2011 NEWSLETTER
See what we've been up to and what's on the horizon. Click here.

EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO
writes article about TWI. Read article.

SOCIAL VENTURE PARTNERS BOULDER COUNTY invests in The Wellness Initiative. Learn more.

LISTEN TO OUR STUDENTS talk about the impact of yoga on their lives. more...


  

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Students of all ages suffer from increasingly stressful lives, and they often lack the opportunities and tools to relax, reflect, strengthen, and focus. This reality negatively impacts their self-confidence, relationships with others, physical health, and academic performance. In response to this persistent and growing problem, The Wellness Initiative was founded in 2006 to deliver secular wellness programs to K-12 students in Colorado. The mission of The Wellness Initiative is to improve the physical health, social and emotional development, and academic performance of low-income youth through yoga-based wellness programs. During the 2010-2011 school year, we expect to serve 2,125 students and 350 classroom teachers in 25 schools.


Did You Know:

  • Experts estimate that anywhere between 10 and 15% of all children and adolescents have symptoms of a mental health disorder severe enough to cause some level of impairment. These conditions can include depression, substance abuse, stress, anxiety disorders, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and eating disorders.
  • The combined prevalence of anxiety disorders is higher than that of all other childhood and adolescence mental disorders. The one-year prevalence in children ages 9 through 17 is 13%.
  • Use of psychotropic medication for children and youth has increased sharply, with more than $1 billion spent in 1998 for these medications. Stimulants and antidepressants account for about two-thirds of the bill.
  • In the United States today, more than 9 million children are overweight. The majority of these kids — as many as 80% — will become obese adults, and will be at higher risk for some of today's deadliest diseases: heart disease, stroke and diabetes.