"namaste" news and stories

With childhood obesity at the front of everyone's minds, schools are under a great deal of pressure to be part of the solution. A charter school in Chicago is getting special attention for what they're doing to fight chidlhood obesity; and they're not just air-baking their French fries.

The Namaste school, located in a Chicago neighborhood that is dominated by minority students, faces obesity rates in children that are three to four times the national average. The school was conceived to address two of the most difficult educational and public health issues facing today's low-income, minority urban children -- lack of access to high-quality public education and childhood obesity. The word "namaste" is a common yoga term that is Hindu for "my inner light salutes your inner light." The school seeks to provide an environment that nourishes both the mind and the body of children.

Namaste uses a complete immersion approach. Training in health and nutrition and regular physical activity are integral components of the entire academic curriculum. The following are just some examples of what the school is doing:

• Walking School Buses - human-powered train that safely walks children to school
• Nutritious breakfasts
• Morning Movement exercises include stretches and yoga poses
• Students get a full hour of gym as well as outside reces
• Teachers build physical activity into lessons on reading, writing and arithmetic
• Nutrition is taught in the classroom
• In the cafeteria, a "creation station" at lunch is stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains
• Parents get involved by receiving training in nutrition and having access to a weekly farmers market that Namaste sets up in the school.

It seems like their approach is working.