Creating a Mindful Classroom

Creating a mindful classrOOm A guide to mindfulness practices Created by Evan Stanley & Amy Seefeldt

COntentS

What is Mindfulness?

Why introduce Mindfulness practices in schools?

Two Practices for the Classroom

Silent Time STOP Three Short Guided Meditations Breath Sound Gratitude

Mindfulness and Kindness Kindness Circle Compliment Cards Mindfulness, Self-Care, Community Care Self-Care Worksheet Community Care Worksheet

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS? 1. Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of what we are feeling, when we are feeling it, without necessarily inhabiting or acting on it. For example, mindfulness could mean recognizing, “I’m feeling so impatient and irritable today,” as opposed to simply being carried away by our impatience and irritability.

Being able to name our emotional states doesn’t always mean being able to transcend or overcome them, and doesn’t mean that what we’re feeling isn’t valid. But when practiced regularly, mindfulness does give us the distance from our thoughts and feelings needed to work with them more skillfully.

Try it! Check in with yourself right now.

What are you feeling, physically and emotionally?

2. Mindfulness can also mean being mentally and physically present with our experience. Have you ever felt like you’ve missed out on something special simply because you weren’t paying attention? In our increasingly distracted culture, it’s so easy to miss out on the experiences of our life because we are too busy thinking about something else -playing back past events in our head, or getting lost thinking about what we have to do later on.

Mindfulness practices can train us to let go of our thoughts and preoccupations to come back to the present moment, and to the experience of our senses, so we don’t miss out on our lives!

Try it! Stop what you’re doing, take a breath, and just be present with your experience. What do you see, hear, feel around when you start paying attention?

3. In a social context, mindfulness can also mean responding to the situations of our lives and relationships more intentionally. No matter what we do, there will always be difficult situations in our lives.

Practicing mindfulness won’t make these go away, but it can help us to respond more skillfully and intentionally to them.

Responding from a place of kindness and consideration, as opposed to just reacting, can help us to take better care of ourselves, our relationships, our community and the world.

Try it! Take a moment to think of a recent situation where you wish you had responded differently. If you could do it again, what intention would you set for yourself?

WHY BRING MINDFULNESS PRACTICES INTO THE CLASSROOM? Broadly, mindfulness practices help students and teachers to manage their stress, contributing to a more calm, connected and engaged learning environment. The integration of mindfulness in classrooms has been shown to help students calm down, pay attention, manage their emotions, and access compassion, both for themselves and others. So mindfulness practices, in addition to contributing to a more engaged classroom, also help us to take care of ourselves and one another.

Teachers who practice mindfulness report reduced stress and burnout, greater efficacy doing their jobs, and more emotionally supportive classrooms. Students who practice mindfulness show improved cognitive outcomes, social-emotional skills, and well-being.

By counteracting and reducing the long-term effects of toxic stress, mindfulness can also contribute to better physical and emotional health over time, as well as generally improved well-being and better decision making.

Adapted from www.mindfulschools.org.

FURTHER READING & RESOURCES: Mindful Schools: https://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/mindfulness-in-education/ 5 Mindfulness Practices to Bring to Your Classroom: https://leftbrainbuddha.com/5-mindfulness-practices-bring-classroom/ Mindfulness in the Classroom: A How-To Guide: https://www.edweek. org/tm/articles/2015/11/10/mindfulness-in-the-classroom-a-how-toguide.html Mindfulness as a Superpower (video): https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=w6T02g5hnT4 How Mindfulness Empowers Us (video): https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vzKryaN44ss Meditation 101: A Beginner’s Guide (video): https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=o-kMJBWk9E0 Mindfulness and Concentration Practice Tips (video): https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=9CtWwPgQpkU

TWO PRACTICES FOR THE CLASSROOM

SILENT TIME TO START CLASS Starting class with a few minutes of silent time gives students a chance to settle and calm, as well as transition from their last class or activity and focus on the subject at hand. Silent time can also go a long way towards establishing a peaceful, connected classroom environment.

1. Create a restful environment. If possible, try dimming the lights and consider playing soft music or ambient sound in the background.

2. Form a positive association with stillness. Let students know they have a few minutes to rest and relax before class starts, and that they can use this time however they like, as long as it’s silent and restful -- no chatting, no working, no headphones and no screens.

3. Introduce basic mindfulness cues. Suggest students take a moment to bring their attention to their breath, to the sounds in the room, or to some other aspect of their body or physical environment.

4. Close with intention-setting. At the end of silent time, ask students to set an intention for your time together. Who would they like to be? How would they like to act? Afterwards, you can ask a few students to volunteer to share their intentions, or to write them down somewhere where they can refer back to them later. At some point during the class, you can ask them to check back in with the intention they set.

5. Ask students for their feedback. At the end of silent time, do a check in, to ask a few students to share what they’re feeling. Did having a few minutes of silent time help them to chill out, relax and focus? (Let them know it’s okay if they didn’t like it.)

APPLYING MINDFULNESS: STOP Another simple and fun way of applying mindfulness in the classroom is to regularly practice STOP with students.

Stop what you’re doing Take a breath Observe within and around you Proceed thoughtfully After going over what STOP stands for, throughout the day, ask students to STOP -- to pause what they’re doing, breathe, come back to their physical awareness, and to reflect on how they want to move forward. At the end of class, ask them to share how it felt to STOP -- did it help them to focus and regulate themselves emotionally?

You can make STOP fun by assigning one student each class to be in charge of leading one STOP during class. When they feel the time is right, they can yell STOP!, and the class can go through the steps together, before resuming what you’re doing.

THREE SHORT GUIDED MEDITATIONS Meditation is how we practice being both alert, and relaxed. We meditate by sitting comfortably, and focusing our attention on something such as our breath or the sounds around us. Leading students in a short guided meditation can be an effective way to establish calmness and presence in your class. Students can also record themselves (or their friends) reading these cues to create guided meditations they can use to practice on their own.

When using these short guided meditations, feel free to adjust the wording as needed to ensure that they sound natural, genuine, and relevant to your students.

As you read them to your class, also be sure to pay attention to how students are doing. For some students, the sensations associated with meditation may be triggering. Be sure that you’re present and ready to attend to students who need support.

MEDITATION ON THE BREATH Before we start, try to sit in a way that is relaxed, but upright. If you’re seated on a chair, place both feet flat on the floor, so that you’re well supported.

If you feel comfortable, close your eyes, or simply look down at the floor a few feet in front of you, and soften your gaze. Take a few deep breaths to help yourself settle. You don’t need to breathe in any special way. Just inhale and exhale in a way that feels most natural.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Find a place in your body where you can feel your breath. This could be your nostrils, your throat, your chest, or your abdomen. Bring your attention to that place as you inhale, then as you exhale. Just breathe normally, but be fully aware of your breathing.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

If you find yourself getting distracted by thoughts, simply practice letting them go and gently returning your awareness to that place in your body, and to your breath. Remember that meditation is not stopping thinking, but being able to observe our thoughts arising and letting them go, without being carried away by them.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

When you’re ready, open your eyes and come back into the room.

Discussion How did it feel to be present with your body for a few minutes? Were you able to focus your attention on your breath? If you got distracted, were you able to come back to the feeling of your breath in your body? How do you think bringing attention to your breath could help you manage stress and difficult emotions throughout your day?

MEDITATION ON SOUND Before we start, try to sit in a way that is relaxed, but upright. If you’re seated on a chair, place both feet flat on the floor, so that you’re well supported. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes, or simply look down at the floor a few feet in front of you, and soften your gaze. Take a few deep breaths to help yourself settle. You don’t need to breathe in any special way. Just inhale and exhale in a way that feels most natural.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Bring your awareness to the sounds all around us, in your body, in the room, and outside. Notice that no matter where we are, we are never in complete silence.

There is always sound.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Don’t go seeking out sounds. Imagine your ears are microphones, and just let the sounds come to you. Be aware of the ambient sounds all around you, without analyzing them. If you find yourself getting distracted by thoughts and stories, gently let go of them and come back to an awareness of the sounds all around you.

Be one with your environment.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

When you’re ready, open your eyes and come back into the room.

Discussion How did it feel to be present with your environment for a few minutes? Were you able to focus your attention on sound? If you got distracted, were you able to come back to an awareness of the sounds in and around the room? How do you think bringing attention back to your environment could help you manage stress and difficult emotions throughout your day?

MEDITATION ON GRATITUDE Gratitude can naturally arise when something positive happens in our lives. But we can also practice it proactively, by paying attention to things we’re thankful for. Practicing gratitude this way can be one of the best ways to offset stress and difficult emotions. Before we start, try to sit in a way that is relaxed, but upright. If you’re seated on a chair, place both feet flat on the floor, so that you’re well supported. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes, or simply look down at the floor a few feet in front of you, and soften your gaze. Now take a few deep breaths to help yourself settle.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Try to think of three things in your life that bring you joy. Some examples could be a friend, a family member, or a pet; something you love to eat; a place you love to visit; or something you love to do. It could be your favourite shirt, pair of shoes or jeans, or just anything that makes you feel good about yourself. If you can’t think of three things, try to just think of one.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Now choose one of those things, and focus your attention on it. Take a moment to appreciate the joy it brings to your life. Recognize that no matter how difficult things in your life become, there will still always be things that bring you joy.

When you’re feeling stressed out or overwhelmed, you can always come back to these things, and feel appreciation and comfort.

Pause for the space of a few breaths.

Now let the object of your gratitude go, and come back into the room.

Discussion How did it feel to spend this time focusing on things that you’re grateful for?

What are some things that we collectively have to be thankful for? (Examples: Access to clean water, fresh and healthy food, roofs over our heads and comfortable beds to sleep in.) Take a moment to consider all the people in the world who don’t have these things, and what we can do to extend the privileges and opportunities we’ve had to others.How do you think practicing gratitude could change the way you treat yourself, and interact with others, and the world?

MINDFULNESS AND KINDNESS The practice of mindfulness doesn’t end with greater awareness. Once we tap in to stillness and presence, we find that we naturally want to be more kind, caring, patient, and generous with those around us. When we give ourselves the chance to settle and be present, a renewed sense of lovingness and responsibility naturally arises.

Part of teaching mindfulness is making the connection between being kind and feeling good. Sometimes showing one another kindness feels unnatural, and takes work. But when we practice showing others kindness, and spend time reflecting on how that feels not only for them, but also for us, we learn that kindness is its own reward.

KINDNESS CIRCLE A compliment circle allows us to show kindness to another person, as well as receive kindness ourselves, then reflect on how it felt to show and receive kindness.

First, have everyone sit in a circle. Then, have everyone look at the person to their left and the person to their right, and think of one thing they really appreciate about each person.

Then, go around the circle clockwise, with each student telling the person to their left what they appreciate about them. Once everyone has gone, take a moment to reflect on how it felt to have something say something kind about us.

Then, go around the circle again, counter-clockwise this time, telling the person to our right what we appreciate about them. Afterwards, take a moment to share how it felt to show someone kindness, and to see the effect of your kindness on them.

To close, take the opportunity to make a commitment, to say one genuinely kind thing to someone each, every day (and don’t forget to follow up in future classes to ask how it’s going!).

COMPLIMENT CARDS Give each student a piece of paper (preferably heavier cardstock), and have them write their name in large letters at the top. Have everyone sit in a circle.

Have everyone take a minute to look around at one another, and try to think of something they really love about each person in the circle.

Have everyone pass their card clockwise, to the person to their left. Each person will have 30 seconds to write down something they appreciate about that person on their card.

Some examples: I love your smile. You have great style. You’re always full of energy. You’re a good listener. You’re a great dancer. You always say thoughtful things. You’re hilarious.

After 20-30 seconds, rotate again, with each person writing something kind about the person whose card they are holding.

You’ll know you’ve gone all the way around once your own card comes back to you. Every person now has a card full of compliments about themselves, written by their peers.

Tell students to take a minute to read over what’s written on their card, and then ask them how they feel. Ask how it felt to spend time thinking of things they really love about each other, and then to see all the things others love about them.

Tell students they can keep their cards somewhere safe, to look at when they’re having a hard day, or just want to feel uplifted and appreciated.

MINDFULNESS, SELF-CARE, COMMUNITY CARE

What does it mean to take care of yourself? On some level, we all know what we need to do to take care of ourselves. But putting self-care into practice can be a challenge. We all have so many other things we need to do that often we neglect to care for ourselves and our lives in the way that we need. Conversations about self-care can help highlight the importance of healthy habits with students, as well as differentiate between healthy and unhealthy forms of coping.

Discussion What is self-care?

Is there a difference between pleasure, relaxation and self-care?

If so, what is it?

After a stressful or difficult day, what do you to help yourself calm and settle?

What’s something you do when you’re stressed out that feels good?

What’s something you do when you’re stressed out, angry or sad that you sometimes regret afterwards?

When you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, how does it feel to do something kind for someone else?

MINDFULNESS CONVERSATION STARTERS “In an age of movement, nothing is more critical than stillness.”

Pico Iyer

“““”The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

“Be kind whenever possible.

It is always possible.”

Dalai Lama “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”

Brené Brown

SELF-CARE WORKSHEET The different parts of ourselves require different kinds of care. Below, fill in each section (mind, body, emotions, spirit) with up to three activities that help you to settle and strengthen.

Things I can do to take care of myself mentally:

Things I can do to take care of myself physically:

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

Things I can do to take care of myself emotionally:

Things I can do to take care of myself spiritually:

1.

1.

2.

2.

3.

3.

COMMUNITY CARE WORKSHEET In addition to taking care of ourselves, we also need to take care of one another. Below, try to think of something nice you could do for a friend, a stranger, for your community, and for the world that would benefit others while also making you feel good.

Something I can do to help a Friend

Something I can do to help a Stranger

Something I can do to help the Community

Something I can do to help the World

Text by Evan Stanley Layout & design by Amy Seefeldt