You have probably heard of the term Mindfulness.
There is a growing focus on learning mindfulness and the implementation of mindful practice and teaching in school.
If you Google Mindfulness there are 100’s of scholarly articles that promote the teaching of mindful practice and the benefits of integrating it into schools as common practice.
I will link a few good articles which explain what mindfulness is and why we are incorporating it into the schools.
However, to give you a quick breakdown:
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. In short, it is the ability to focus on the present.
What the research shows:
Based on scholarly research Mindfulness practice decreases stress and anxiety, increases attention, improves interpersonal relationships, strengthens compassion, and helps with emotional regulation
If you are interested in more information, I encourage you to read the links I have provided but also participate in the practice yourself.
It is not something that you can learn overnight and often takes practice especially with kids.
That is why I like to use a guided practice to start teaching mindfulness to our students. I have recorded some guided practices and will do my best to upload a different guided practice every few days.
The most important thing when participating mindfulness is to find a quiet comfortable space. Then do your best to follow along. You will find that the first few times your mind will wonder and you will fidget. Keep at it, don’t give up. The longer you practice the better you will get at it.
Please visit my mindfulness section of the website for links to articles and my guided practice videos.