Implementing Mindfulness Practices School-Wide

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Wendy Ellis
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1 Implementing Mindfulness Practices School-Wide This document (as a supplement to a staff training) is intended to provide a general framework for schools in creating a more mindful culture school-wide, within the classroom, and within staff and students. Research supports mindfulness practices increase healthy mental and physical functioning, ultimately leading to more effective instructional days. STEP1: Make it Personal: Create your own mindfulness practice The best first step is always to start with yourself. Create an intention of why you would like to start to practice (for self-care care, stress relief, increasing compassion, expanding your awareness, decreasing anger, etc). If you know the why, you can live any how. Friedrich Nietzshe SCHEDULE IT: It is hard to start practicing mindfulness when you keep forgetting Help yourself remember! Put it on your calendar and set a reminder. Put it on your Daily Schedule on the board. Set a timer or alarm on your phone. DO IT!: A wise meditation teacher once said, You don t have to like it; you just have to do it. It is difficult to create new patterns of behavior, but it s worth it. When the scheduled time arrives, don t ignore it. Take a deep breath; understand the importance and benefit of taking the pause; and choose a mindfulness activity to practice. There is no need to overwhelm yourself with too many mindfulness practices; you can just pick one at a time until you make it part of your routine. Here are some suggestions: Mindful Breathing- focus on your breathing, feel your inhale and your exhale, breathe deep from your belly Body Scan- Notice where you feel tension in your body and allow yourself to relax Mindful eating- Snack time? Slow it down, really taste what you are eating, chew much more than you usually would, be grateful for your food Mindful movement- Making copies or doing the laundry? Move slower than usual, feel your feet touch the ground, the object in your hands, your breath moving in your body. Loving Kindness Mediation- Stop for a moment to send kind thoughts to yourself and/or others, Send a sweet text or , smile at a stranger Write in a gratitude journal- think of what you are grateful for and write it down. Mindful Pause/Check-In: STOP for a minute or two. Check in with your thoughts, emotions, breath and body. Give it your full attention. Whatever you are doing, do it with purposeful, nonjudgmental attention.

2 GET SUPPORT: Practicing mindfulness may seem simple, but it can be difficult to maintain. The more support you give yourself, the more likely you are to stick to it long enough to reap the benefits. Here are a few ways to give yourself support: AND, REPEAT: Use Guided Meditations: Download the Insight Timer app! Join a community or online group/class (MBSR, Intro to Mindfulness online, local groups) Get a daily mindfulness for inspiration (the options are endless ) Make it a routine in your classroom- the students will remind you if you skip it! Go slow and try to develop one habit at a time. Do it daily. Challenge yourself to practice every day for 21 days..even if only for 1 minute Suggested Tools and Resources: Free online class about the basics of mindfulness and simple, guided practices with an emphasis on education (created by a teacher) and practical life issues: Mindfulness 101 by Left Brain Buddha: The Insight Timer app is free and offers thousands of guided meditations in different lengths and focuses (i.e. anxiety, tension relief, breath, body scan, sleep). STEP2: Bring mindfulness practices into your classroom routines and culture Building on our own mindful foundation; you can start to weave these practices into the day with your students. You do not need to be an expert in mindfulness to teach others, you just need to practice. We all know MODELING is a very effective and powerful teaching tool- be sure use it for good! The more students see and hear you practicing, the easier it will be for them to get it. The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we care about, they will bloom like flowers. - Thich Nhat Hanh FIRST, CREATE A CORE PRACTICE: From the earliest grades up, the recommended approach to bringing mindfulness into the classroom is to first establish the habit of deep belly breathing and focused attention. How? Start your school year off, day 1, with introducing the Core Practice (belly breathing and focused attention) in order to allow it to become part of the classroom culture/routine. The MindUp Curriculum books offer detailed lessons of how to introduce the Core Practice, how to practice, reflect, and an abundance of ways to connect it to curriculum. Use this as a guide. You don t need to do every activity listed in the lesson plans; just make sure you do at least one. Being overwhelmed with the process can stop you from actually doing, so make it simple.

3 When? Daily. To make anything a routine or a habit, it needs to be done daily. Again, it does not need to be for a long time. It is very beneficial to practice for even 1-2 minutes during transition times: The beginning of the day (a great way to check-in and unify the class, regulating the nervous system for learning) Between subject areas to reset the brain Before moving from one room to another Settling down from recess or lunch Right before a test (visualize success, calm the system, slow the breathing) At the end of the day (end the day on a high note- share successes, gratitude, compliments) Consider making it a rotation/center to allow the students to practice independently NEXT (OPTIONAL), EXPAND INTO ADDITIONAL PRACTICES: If you have gotten as far as to make mindful breathing a daily routine in your classroom (practiced daily for at least 4 weeks), you will likely then be motivated to want to experiment with other mindfulness practices as well (while always keeping the mindful breathing/focused awareness component). The MindUp Curriculum books are a fantastic resource for lesson ideas. They each take about 15 minutes for the lesson and then can be integrated easily into the curriculum to reinforce over the upcoming week(s). Alternately, you can create your own ideas (or find many online). You can choose a practice to focus on each month and look at aligning it with any school-wide character education. For example, November is a good time to practice lovingkindness to go along with gratitude and Thanksgiving. Recommended Activities beyond the CORE PRACTICE: Morning Class Meetings Set aside 5-10 minutes each morning for mindful time. Lovingkindness: Have the students write kind notes to each other, a staff member or family member; or set aside time to have them share a compliment with a peer. Gratitude: Create gratitude journals to write in each day (research shows the benefits of thinking of 3 things you are grateful for each day!). Create a class gratitude jar- this is a feel good for students and teachers alike. Sample how to : Mindful Movement: This is easy to incorporate during transitions. Mindful Eating: Using a raisin or some other small piece of food- an eye opening experience! Mindful Listening: This can be to sounds around the room or with each other. Mindful Action- Acts of Kindness: When given the opportunity, kids love to do kind things for one another. This is a practice of intentional kindness. Suggested Materials for Lessons: Hoberman Sphere for mindful breathing, edibles for mindful eating (e.g. raisins), bell/chime to start and end mindful practices Resources: Mindup Curriculum Books / Mindfulness and Yoga Skills STEP 3: Expand practices School-wide to build a Community of Mindful Learners

4 Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Aristotle Below are 10 suggested steps to integrating mindfulness school-wide (taken from Edutopia). It would be helpful to have a mindfulness committee at your school to lead the planning process. Plan 1. Be Patient and Have a Plan It will take a few years to develop a school-wide mindfulness program. Do not force it or rush it -- this can alienate faculty members and lead to quick endings. Have a roadmap that includes delivering programming to parents, students, and faculty, but be flexible and responsive once implementation begins. 2. Make a Real Commitment Finding time in your school day may be your biggest challenge. But if your school makes its commitment to mindfulness a priority, time will be made. When done well, mindfulness training can help your students learn more and "save time" through increased attention and emotional regulation. 3. Be Clear About Your Goals Are you trying to reduce stress? Are you trying to change school culture? Are you trying to address bullying or achieve social emotional learning goals? Being clear about your goals will help focus the program and measure results. Faculty 4. Start With the Faculty Nearly everyone I talk to agrees that it's best to start with the faculty. These are the people who set school culture. Give your faculty a chance to familiarize themselves with mindfulness and opt into the initial trainings, as opposed to forcing it upon them as another "thing to do." If you truly want mindfulness to be effective, it's helpful when school faculty and administration respect, understand, and practice it. 5. Find Your Champions and Saboteurs Find the mindfulness champions on campus. Start by thinking through who could be part of this group. You will likely want influential or respected faculty members. Identify the key players that could help mindfulness take root at the school. On the flip side, who are those most likely to sabotage or ignore it? Spend extra time trying to bring the potential cynics on board, and give them a chance to air their concerns. 6. Have Faculty Practice Together The faculty members that I've spoken to enjoy practicing mindfulness together. This includes both silent practice and relational activities -- moments of deep sharing that connect faculty to one another. An initial devoted cohort can serve as the political backbone for bringing mindfulness to the larger school community. 7. Monitor Results Assign a devoted group of faculty and/or administrators to track the program while it develops. Too often, a school program gets started with a lot of enthusiasm and then fades when no one keeps energy and attention on it. One way to combat this is by taking away responsibilities from teachers or administrators who are part of a mindfulness monitoring team so that they won't have an even heavier workload.

5 Parents 8. Communicate Well With Parents Before you start teaching your students mindfulness, make sure that you communicate effectively with their parents. This includes communicating the brain science, school research, program goals, and why your school is choosing to implement mindfulness. Parents around the country still have questions about the religious nature of mindfulness practice. Others have no idea what it is. It is better to have this conversation before starting to teach students. Student Programming 9. Practice What You Preach If you are a faculty member that is teaching mindfulness, the most essential step is to develop your own practice. MindUp, Mindful Schools, and the Mindfulness in Schools Project all offer well regarded teacher trainings. 10. Look for Avenues Outside the Classroom Mindfulness is a powerful tool in the classroom, but it can be even more powerful outside the classroom. Think creatively about effective outlets where this practice could influence school culture: coaches and sports teams, freshman and senior trips, peer advisory groups, service groups, and extracurricular clubs and teams. Often, students start buying into the practice after they have one powerful experience using it outside of school. Keep in Mind... Do not beat yourself up if it doesn't go perfectly. There are going to be learning opportunities along the way. If you truly believe that your school is ready for it and you are committed to it, mindfulness has the power to transform the lives of students, faculty, and the culture of your school. Whole Staff Activities: Short Breath Meditation to start or end (this could be guided by a person or audio led) Attend a Mindfulness District Training (ERO) and/or have an all staff training Watch an educational/inspirational video about mindfulness at a staff meeting Practice mindful listening and gratitude between staff members Collaborate with the School Wellness Coordinator, Teacher, Staff, School Nurse, School Counselor, or School Psychologist RESOURCES Online Trainings The Mindfulness Summit

6 Mindful Schools (Foundations and Curriculum Classes) SDUSD Discount Code: MSGRP30 Mindfulness 101 by Left Brain Buddha: Research/Books/Articles Pocket mindfulness Race, K. (2013) Mindful Parenting. New York, NY: St. Martin s Press Snel, E. (2013) Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids and Their Parents. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications Saltzman/ Burdick/ Wellness Applications Insight timer (guided meditations) Mindfulness Daily (Mindfulness/meditation) ZenView (Mindfulness (scenery/sounds) Calming circles Apple (Mindfulness) Zen Melodies Apple (Music) Stand Apple (helps remind us for stretch breaks) Sleep bug Android (White noise) Uplifter Apple (Gratitude)

Mindfulness in the Elementary Classroom. Puja Bhutani and Lindsay Klasing

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