CHANDIGARH: In a pilot project, students in a Haryana school have started the ancient Indian practice of Thoppu Karanam (meaning to 'hold the ears' in Tamil) -- a form of sit-ups -- to evaluate its efficacy as a super brain yoga to boost memory and creativity. If successful, it might be replicated in other schools across the state.
A group of students of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan School on the premises of the Haryana School Education Board in Bhiwani did fourteen sit-ups in the morning assembly on Monday.
The students were divided into an experimental group and control group. Students of the experimental group will continue doing it for the next year following which their academic performance will be monitored to see if their marks have improved.
Haryana School Education Board, Secretary, Rajeev Parshad said the sit-ups are not a punishment for students. "The students do them with their hands on their ears to activate acupressure points as this will sharpen their brain and thus their memory will be sharper," he said. This was why students used to be punished in class by being asked to do such sit-ups, he added.
"This is being scientifically done under the supervision of the National Brain Research Centre in Gurugram and Haryana Yog Parishad. If this pilot project is successful, then it could be replicated in other schools in the state but it will take time to study and analyse the results," he said. "In our lab school which is based on American principles, our objective is out of the box thinking," he added.
"We will monitor the behaviour and academic changes of the students,’’ said Meenakshi Kaushik Pulastya, principal of the school. This year 43 per cent of students failed in Haryana, while in 2018, 48 per cent had failed.