Effects of Anapana Meditation Technique in School Children
Mukti Prasad Pandey
Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research July 26, 2026 DOI: 10.3126/njmr.v5i1.44617 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 240 |
| Population | Secondary school students from two schools in Kathmandu Valley who had taken ānāpāna courses and continued practice |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Ānāpāna Vipassanā Technique School children |
| Key findings | Ānāpāna practice is associated with improved study habits, academic performance, physical and mental health, reduced anger, and better relationships with friends, family, and relatives. |
Abstract
Ānāpāna is a type of meditation in which the incoming and departing natural breaths are used as meditation objects. S.N. Goenka, a vipassana teacher from the Ledi Sayadaw lineage, has created a special meditation course for schoolchildren called 'npnaĀnāpāna,' which has a good impact on their academic and behavioral outcomes. This article seeks to examine the influence of Ānāpāna techniques among practitioners using primary and secondary data. To assess the effect of ānāpāna, a structured questionnaire set was designed to seek first-hand information from 240 students from two secondary schools of Kathmandu Valley. Students who have already taken ānāpāna courses and continued their practice are chosen for the study. Analyzing the effects of ānāpāna in nine different clusters, the chi-square test is applied at a five per cent level of significance to justify the result. The study showed that the ānāpāna technique helps improve students' study habits and academic performance. In addition to that, regular ānāpāna practice would be helpful to improve physical as well as mental health, reduce anger, improve relationships with friends, family members, and their relatives. The Chi-square test result also showed a significant association with regular ānāpāna practice in all nine variables.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |