June 14, 2013

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg Comes to Total Education

On 27th May we were treated to two engaging presentations by leading Australian Psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, on student well-being — one for teachers and one for parents. The talks were organised by Medicare Local and were open to the general public.

We had over 150 people at each session — which was a big surprise to Medicare Local, who are used to much smaller attendances. It was a wonderful opportunity to open the Vijayadev Yogendra Auditorium to the broader community in a really positive way.

Dr Carr-Gregg was high energy. He spent the time between his two presentations giving telephone interviews to the press, so there was not the opportunity to show him over the whole school. However, I did get to chat and explain to him about the School and give him some literature. There was a strong resonance between his approach, which is very much research-based, and our approach at the school in relation to creating positive and well-adjusted young people.

I plan to write in more depth on this later, but one thing really stood out — and that was his recommendation that students do meditative practices. Dr Carr-Gregg was impressed with our approach in teaching the children quietening practices — breathing and listening — and offering Yoga classes to those who are interested. (He was enthusiastic about a lot of our programs, actually!). Apparently the positive impacts on student wellbeing from these types of practices have been well documented in a number of recent studies.

Again, great to get such positive feedback on the school’s programs from another eminent person in their field.