U.S. Schools Begin Enrolling in Peter Amato’s Meditation in Classrooms Competition
Scranton, PA (PRWEB) July 19, 2013 -- “I am pleased and excited to report that schools throughout the country are beginning to enroll and compete for an opportunity to bring meditation to their classrooms to reduce stress and increase morale and socialization,” announced Peter Amato, meditation master and doctoral candidate in mind-body medicine.
Through his global mind-body movement, Pathway To Peace, Amato launched a nationwide search for schools that are interested in starting a meditation program as well as those who want to compete to receive the program training free. Schools that wish to compete are required to submit an essay or video to the website, http://www.pathwaytopeace.org, explaining why they should be selected to receive the program training for free. Amato will donate the materials and training to five deserving schools free of charge.
He is also seeking to partner with individuals, businesses and major corporations to sponsor the meditation program in their community school systems.
“The competition is still underway, and I encourage every school, teacher and community to become involved,” Amato added. The competition ends September 30, 2013 and the five selected schools will be announced in October. Interested schools which have obtained a sponsor, or would like to be matched with one, may enroll at any time.
To date schools in Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Ohio and Washington, D.C. have enrolled.
“This is certainly not a single person project,” admitted Amato. “Since government nor school district funding is not readily available, the goal, and the hope, is to garner collaboration among communities and corporate America so that students from every public and private school, rural and inner city, throughout the country are provided the benefits of meditative practices.”
Amato knows the program is effective as proven in a multi-year pilot program he developed and implemented under a U.S. Department of Education grant in the Scranton (Pennsylvania) School District. He utilized a quantitative research methodology to measure the attributes and benefits of the program. A qualitative case study methodology was then added to develop a mixed method research approach.
By making meditation a regular part of the school day, Amato said, young children and teens will be given the tools to reduce stress in their lives, and cope with competition, peer pressure, bullying and the violence all around them. “Key research findings in pilot and current school meditation programs included increases in calm in the classroom, increased attentiveness, increase in a desire to learn along with a strong retention span, and an increase in morale and socialization. Overall, teachers saw a sizeable increase in emotional balance with less behavioral issues and acting out.”
Peter Amato is a trailblazer who possesses the innate ability to anticipate new paradigms in a changing marketplace, leading him to become a founding partner in several national businesses. Inspired by personal growth and the realization for the need for a higher standard within healthcare, he established the Inner Harmony Wellness Center and the Center for Integrative Medicine which is recognized as one of the first and foremost authentic centers for integrative medicine in the nation. A meditation and yoga master, with certifications from Deepak Chopra, MD Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. and Yogi Amrit Desai, Peter was the first to introduce a Meditation in School program and publish the results. Peter is the author of the book “Soul Silence” which explores one’s relationship to prayer and meditation, as well as numerous articles on mindfulness. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in mind-body medicine at Saybrook University. A student of many global healing systems, Peter is an in-demand speaker who has motivated audiences across the world.
Elaine Ferri, Lavelle Strategy Group, 570.969-6000, [email protected]
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