Slowness, stillness and Brain Reset

Mr James Hindle Director of Pastoral Care, Humanities Teacher

One of the blockbuster movies of last year was “Oppenheimer”, which dealt with another critical period in human evolution, when technology seemed to outstrip our humanity. In setting time aside to talk about our relationships, and resilience and respect, we enable young people to live more consciously and more ethically.

One critical element of our Wellbeing programmes is designed to give students experience at slowing down, being still and benefitting from silence. In Junior School, we run a Yoga programme with Paula Flugge and, in Senior School, we have expanded our Brain Reset sessions, so that students get to work with mindfulness expert Helen Heppingstone in Year 9 and 10 Wellbeing and Year 11 Cognitive Curriculum.

Brain Reset is a custom-designed physical and cognitive practice founded in neuroscience principals, employing techniques from the technology of Yoga, specifically Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra (which is a sleep state with awareness, known as the hypnogogic state). The sessions are set up so that they are completely accessible for everyone, providing an opportunity to experience a glimpse of the body, nervous system, and mind in a state of rest (quiet, still), something that is quite alien in our fast-paced world.

The benefits of Brain Reset are manifold: it supports the boys to get out of their busy minds for a moment, reconnect with their bodies, calm their nervous system for deep restorative rest and create some space between their thoughts. It also enhances working memory, attentional control, strengthens the ability to be aware of where attention may be, thereby strengthening the ‘muscle’ of bringing the mind back on task. It also aids in stress reduction and emotional regulation.

There is significant challenge for many boys and young men to slow down and be still, but investing our time and energy into such a practice helps us to function with greater purpose and effectiveness. As one of our regular attendees puts it:

“It is amazing and you feel great afterwards. It erases current thoughts, and puts you in a state of the present where there is nothing you are thinking about, you are just absorbed in a state of calm and peace… The main reason I do it now is to calm my mind from all the physical and academic strain I face on a daily basis, with a lot of early morning starts. It gives me a chance to stop, rest and reset for the second half of the week whilst decompressing from all of the events of the first half.”