Health and school performance during home isolation at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott in Puno, Perú

ABSTRACT Approximately 2000 indigenous students at Institución Educativa Privada Prescott in Puno, located in the Andes high on the Altiplano of Lake Titicaca, have been instructed in Transcendental Meditation. In this study, we examine the impact of home isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on physical, cognitive, and emotional health, and school performance for a group of 54 meditating students, and contrast these results to a comparison group of 53 meditating students who reported their health and learning prior to the pandemic. The study is the first to consider the association of home isolation on students practicing meditation in a group: (A) at the same time of day and in the same place as part of their daily school routine and (B) during online sessions at the same time of day but in a different place. Findings indicate both approaches to group meditation before and during the pandemic produced favourable results for health and school performance.