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Stephen,
a fourteen year old who lives in Richmond Hill,
Queens had a difficult time in school - poor grades,
tardiness, frequently absent from classes, and
when he attended he was defiant and inattentive.
The school's psychologist diagnosed Stephen as
having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and prescribed
Retalin for him. But his mother, Nandi refused
to get her son "hooked on drugs". So she spoke
to the Stephen's counselor at school who recommended
that Stephen took up martial arts or yoga to improve
his attention span and energy. But his family
could not afford to pay for these activities.
A few months later, Nandi had found out about
MOM's programs through a flier posted in a local
food store. With tears in her eyes, Nandi informed
MOM's instructor that God had answered her prayers
when she first brought the reluctant Stephen to
the center. She confided that there was a profound
lack of communication in her family, that her
husband was working two jobs to make ends meet
and that they rarely spent anytime together as
a family. She said that Stephen was "drifting
away" and that she could not "reach" her son.
Stephen sat in the rear of the classroom like
a rock during the first two classes. By the time
the third class came, the instructor had succeeded
in persuading Stephen to join the class. In fact,
Stephen who is very flexible caught on quickly.
After two weeks, Stephen would be the first student
to arrive for Yoga. He volunteered to assist the
instructor with setting up the yoga mats and assisted
her with other chores in the classroom. He was
also the last to leave. He would first put away
the mats and pay his regards to the instructor
before leaving. He has even managed to persuade
his mother to attend classes with him. As a result,
mother and son have grown closer and their communication
is vastly improved. It is now three months since
Stephen first began doing Yoga. His grades in
school are tremendously improved, he is energetic
and has actually joined his school's basketball
team this season.
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