From next week to the beginning of October, Gina Biegel, founder of the Stressed Teens Program, will be conducting “Take a Chill” classes on mindfulness and stress control for Upper School students during lunch.

Trained as a psychotherapist, Biegel worked at a children and adolescent psychiatric hospital for eight years before she transitioned to teaching at schools. She has also been holding workshops regarding stress for 10 years, and now is teaching parents and professionals about her program through her website, www.stressedteens.com.

For high school students, Biegel’s typical program consists of classes over an eight-week period. She has offered such classes to four other schools in the Bay Area, which has allowed her to deviate from her initial focus on psychotherapy.

“Aside from just the therapeutic setting, [I am working to promote] mindfulness in education,” Biegel said.

She plans to modify her customary program so that Upper School students will only have to commit to six days of instruction spread out over three weeks.

“It’s difficult for some students here to commit to something that long,” Biegel said. “I am taking the best of the eight-week program and shortening it.”

Biegel plans to hold these classes to introduce students to the practice of mindful living and “waking up to [one’s] life.” Meetings will be split up by grade, and most of the curriculum will be related to mindful meditation activities.

For some students, like Wei Wei Buchsteiner (11), taking the classes will minimize the amount of daily free time.

“I was kind of thinking about [taking the classes], but the problem is I don’t have time to do it. Lunch is one of the few breaks that I have, and I just [want to] use [that time],” he said.

Freshman Arun Shriram also feels that the timing of the classes is inconvenient.

“I thought it was [kind of] interesting. It was a kind of different perspective on how you think about things,” he said. “I’ll try [to attend the classes], but I mean, I’m kind of full and booked up right now.”

In addition, similar workshops have been offered to the teachers. According to biology teacher Dr. Matthew Harley, it is not easy to afford time to participate in the program, despite its potential benefits.

“I am so interested in doing it, [but] the problem – the catch 22 – is that especially those who are more stressed tend to be busier,” he said. “It’s difficult to take time out of your life […] to go to these types of meetings.”

In September, Biegel will be conducting classes for students on 9/26 and 9/27. October classes will be held on 10/1, 10/2, 10/10, and 10/11. All classes will take place during lunch for the duration of 40 minutes.

Contributing to the article: Maya Jeyendran