NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dave Beal, the founder of Brain Power Wellness, reviews the last 20 years and is excited about the difference he's made in people's lives through teaching.

When he entered the profession in 2002 as a Teaching Fellow at Public School 375 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Beal knew he wanted to make a difference. However, he took a much different path to do so than the one he originally envisioned.

Dave Beal says he didn't know when he entered the profession after receiving an outstanding graduate degree in education from Pace University just how ill-equipped he would be to navigate the challenges of his own classroom.

When he completed his second year of teaching fifth grade at the school in May 2004, it was the fifth lowest-performing school in New York City. Only two years into his career as a teacher, he began suffering headaches, insomnia, and chest pain, despite eating well and exercising regularly.

Public School 375 was an intense environment. There were 1,000 students from Pre-K through Grade 8, 98% of whom received free or reduced lunch. Five security guards and two deans constantly roamed the building.

To deal with his own stress and energy levels, Dave Beal turned to mindfulness, tai chi, and yoga. After experiencing immense benefits, he started incorporating regular brain and mind-body exercises into his classroom.

Administrators loved how students responded, so they asked him to develop a school-wide mindfulness/SEL program at his own school and Bayview Elementary in Freeport, Long Island.

After three years of developing these programs, Dave Beal made the difficult decision to leave the classroom and focus on these mindfulness programs. He joined a wellness company, sharing wellness and mindfulness techniques with 50 schools in New York City. He left that company in 2010 and started a private teaching and consulting practice for students and families.

But, Dave Beal didn't give up on his dream of sharing wellness with schools and being a part of fundamental systemic change within the educational system.

In 2016, Dave Beal realized this dream when he started his new company, Brain Power Wellness, with the goal of creating learning environments for a better world.

The company's mission is to help transform the culture of partner schools through community building, self-development, SEL, mindfulness, holistic wellness, and brain training. It provides this in part through Brain Power Wellness retreats geared toward administrators, students, parents, and teachers.

Since the company launched in 2007, Dave Beal and his experienced team have worked with more than 500,000 students and more than 25,000 teachers in 500 schools worldwide.

Dave reflects on his love and dedication to the ongoing development of effective mindfulness practices to integrate into the classroom and the staff that make it happen:

"Looking back over the past 20 years, my heart is full of gratitude for this beautiful journey of sharing mindfulness, brain training, and wellness with so many wonderful principals, students, teachers, and parents," Beal explains. "Most of all, I'm grateful for all the dedicated, talented, and compassionate team members within Brain Power Wellness that help make our dream of sharing these methods with every school possible."

Brain Power Wellness is a school-based wellness company that supports healthier school environments. Transforming partner schools through self-development, mindfulness, community building, retreats, SEL, holistic wellness, and brain training, Brain Power Wellness helps teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Since 2007, it has impacted more than 25,000 teachers and half a million students in 500 schools worldwide.