Every Monday morning the Jaywalker U students participate in either Yoga for relaxation or a meditation practice with Janet DeMars. Harvard Medical School discovered that long-term practitioners of relaxation methods have more “disease-fighting genes,” than participants who practiced no form of relaxation. Yoga and relaxation has also been shown to protect individuals from pain, high blood pressure and even rheumatoid arthritis. The “relaxation effect,” according to Harvard has the potential to be just as powerful as any medical drug without any side effects. This does not mean that JWU students have found the elixir of health every Monday morning, but that they are learning ways to relax and also learning that Yoga and meditation can be practiced any time any place, not just on their mat. The quote that was discussed prior to the guided Lake Meditation today was: in surrendering we know that wherever we are is the place of our practice.
Janet DeMars
Program Director
Jaywalker U
