Room to Breathe Taking Mindfulness into the
Classroom Presented by Dianne Lemieux, Ph.D.
Introduc8on to Mindfulness
Defini7ons of Mindfulness Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to what is happening inside and around us in the present moment.
Thict Nhat Hahn
Defini8ons of Mindfulness
“Mindfulness is paying aEen8on on purpose non-‐judgmentally in the present moment.” Kabat-‐Zinn, J. (1994) “Mindfulness medita8on is a consciousness discipline revolving around a par8cular way of paying aEen8on in one’s life. It can be most simply described as the inten8onal cul8va8on of nonjudgmental moment-‐to-‐moment awareness.” Kabat-‐Zinn, J. (1996)
Defini8ons of Mindfulness
Innerkids, a program designed to teach young children to learn basic mindfulness skills defines mindfulness as “Being aware of what is happening as it’s happening”
Kaiser-‐Greenland, S. (2006)
Components of Mindfulness
• Inten8onality • Present Centered Awareness • Acceptance/Nonjudgment
Forms of Medita8on Prac8ce
• Concentra8on Prac8ces use one-‐pointed focus on a single object (breath, sound, mantra, word, image) to calm and stabilize the mind. “Aim and sustain.”
• Mindfulness or awareness prac8ces cul8vate an open awareness on what is happening as it is happening without judgment. Also some8mes referred to as insight medita8on.
Mindfulness Prac8ce is Not • Trying to have a blank mind • Trying to achieve a special state of mind or trance state
• Avoiding difficul8es • Escaping physical pain • Pushing away thoughts or emo8ons • Bypassing our personality problems • Withdrawing from other people • A relaxa8on technique • A religion
Formal
Informal
Types of Prac8ce
Formal Prac8ce
Examples of Formal Prac8ce • Sibng medita8on • Standing medita8on • Body Scan • Walking Medita8on • Loving-‐Kindness/Compassion Prac8ces • Contempla8ve Prayer • Yoga • Taiji • Qigong
Informal Prac8ce
Examples of Informal Prac8ce • Washing your hair • Brushing your teeth • Shaving • Taking a shower • Ea8ng • Walking from your house to the car • Driving • Pebng the dog • Washing the dishes (any chore)
Applica8ons for Mindfulness
• Health/Mental Health • Business • Educa8on • Military • Poli8cs • Prison System • Sports
Mindfulness and Educa8on
Plan7ng the Seeds
Cherry Hamrick—Welby Elementary School in South Jordan, Utah in the early 1990’s following MBSR training at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City Susan Kaiser-‐Greenland—aEorney turned mindfulness educator following a family health crisis -‐-‐ introducing mindfulness to children in the late 90’s in California
Indirect vs. Direct Approaches for Integra8ng Mindfulness in K-‐12
Educa8on
Indirect Approaches for Integra8ng Mindfulness in K-‐12 Educa8on
We ask an awful lot of teachers these days…Beyond just conveying the course material, teachers are supposed to provide a nurturing learning environment, be responsive to students, parents and colleagues, juggle the demands of standardized tes8ng, coach students through conflicts with peers, be exemplars of emo8on regula8on, handle disrup8ve behavior and generally be great role models;…the problem is we rarely give teachers training or resources for any of them. (p. 1) Jennings (2009)
Mindfulness Based Training Programs for Teachers
• Mindfulness Based Wellness Educa8on (MBWE)—Ontario Ins8tute for Studies in Educa8on of the University of Toronto—Developed by Poulin et al. in 2005 to address increasing rates of teacher stress and burnout.
• Cul8va8ng Awareness and Resilience in Educa8on (CARE)—offered by the Garrison Ins8tute in New York
• Stress Management and Relaxa8on Techniques (SMART) in Educa8on—Developed by Cullen through the sponsorship of the IMPACY Founda8on and currently being piloted in Vancouver and Colorado.
Direct Approaches for Integra8ng Mindfulness in K-‐12 Educa8on
• Inner Kids Program—www.susankaisergreenland.com
• Inner Resilience Program—www.innerresilience-‐8descenter.org
• Learning to Breathe—hEp://learning2breathe .org
• Mindfulness in Schools Project—www.mindfulnessinschools.org-‐-‐England
• Mindful Schools—www.mindfulschools.org
• MindUP –www.thehawnfounda8on.org
• Sfat Hakeshev (The Mindful Language)-‐-‐Israel
• S8ll Quiet Place—www.s8llquietplace.com/
• Stressed Teens—www.stressedteens.com • Wake Up Schools: Cul8va8ng Mindfulness in Educa8on (Elli Weisbaum) — [email protected]
• Wellness Works in Schools –www.wellnessworksin schools.com
Programs for Models of Mindful Educa8onal Community Building
• South Burlington Vermont School System (manual in press at this 8me)
• Wake Up Schools -‐-‐ an ini8a8ve to provide mindfulness training to teachers, administrators, students, and parents in order to “create sustainable and las8ng programs in schools that (promote) social emo8onal learning, moral/ethical educa8on, experien8al learning, stress reduc8on, and inner resilience… In doing this the classroom and school become a family, enabling par8cipants to lead happy, healthy, and meaningful lives.”
Research in Educa8on
Some of the Beneficial Affects of Mindfulness Training on Adults
• Reduces stress, anxiety and depression • Enhances neuroendocrine and immune func8on • Improves adherence to medical treatments • Alters percep8on of pain • Increases mo8va8on to make posi8ve lifestyle changes
• Fosters social connec8on, communica8on and compassion for self and others
Middle Prefrontal Cortex Func8ons Enhanced by Secure AEachment and
Mindfulness Prac8ce A<achment
• Regula8on of the Body • AEuned Communica8on • Emo8onal Balance • Response Flexibility • Insight • Empathy • Fear Regula8on
Mindfulness • Regula8on of the Body • AEuned Communica8on • Emo8onal Balance • Response Flexibility • Insight • Empathy • Fear Regula8on • Intui8on • Morality
Siegel, D. (2008)
Summary of Some of the Ways Medita8on Changes the Brain
• Thickens some of the prefrontal cor8cal areas that help control
aEen8on. • Thickens the insula which is involved with interocep8on, self
awareness and empathy • Less cor8cal thinning of the prefrontal cortex and insula with aging • Increases grey maEer density in the hippocampus which assists in
providing a context for memory (explicit memory) and inhibits the amygdala
• Increases ac8va8on in the les prefrontal cortex which liss mood • Increases gamma-‐range brain wave ac8vity and integra8on of
neural networks • Increases overall brain connec8vity
Hanson, R. (2011)
Benefits for Teachers
Indirect Training Approaches Preliminary Findings
• Increase teachers’ sense of well-‐being • Increase teachers’ sense of self-‐efficacy • Increase the ability of teachers to manage classroom behavior
• Increase teachers’ ability to maintain suppor8ve rela8onships with students
Benefits for Students
Direct Training Approaches-‐-‐Research Findings for Elementary and High School Students (14 studies)
• Improvements in working memory, aEen8on, academic skills, social skills, emo8onal regula8on and self-‐esteem
• Self-‐reported improvements in mood • Decreases in anxiety, stress, and fa8gue
Room to Breathe
Discussion/Ques8ons
“You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good teacher touches the seed, allowing it to wake up, to sprout, and to grow.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
Resources
• References • Programs/Training • Training Manuals/CDs • Addi8onal Websites
References • Greenland, S. K. (2010). The mindful child: How to help your kid
manage stress and become happier, kinder, and more compassionate. New York: Free Press.
• Hawn, G., Holden, W. (2011). Ten mindful minutes. New York: Perigee.
• (2011). A. Johnson & M. Neagley (Eds.), EducaCng from the heart: TheoreCcal and pracCcal approaches to transforming educaCon. Lanham: Rowman and LiElefield Educa8on.
• Lan8eri, L. (2008). Building emoConal intelligence: Techniques to culCvate inner strength in children. Boulder: Sounds True, Inc.
References • Meiklejohn, J., Phillips, C., Freedman, M. L., Griffin, M. L., Biegel, G.,
Roach, A., Frank, J. & Burke, C. (2012, March 14). Integra8ng mindfulness training into K-‐12 educa8on: Fostering the resilience of teachers and students. Mindfulness, 2(4).
• Shoeberlein, D., Sheth, S. (2009). Mindful teaching and teaching mindfulness: A guide for anyone who teaches anything. Boston: Wisdom Publica8ons.
• Willard, C. (2010). Child’s Mind: Mindfulness pracCces to help our children be more focused, calms, and relaxed. Berkley: Parallax Press.
Programs/Training
Direct • Inner Kids Program—www.susankaisergreenland.com
• Inner Resilience Program—www.innerresilience-‐8descenter.org
• Learning to Breathe—hEp://learning2breathe .org
• Mindfulness in Schools Project—www.mindfulnessinschools.org-‐-‐England
• Mindful Schools—www.mindfulschools.org
• MindUP –www.thehawnfounda8on.org
• Sfat Hakeshev (The Mindful Language)-‐-‐Israel
• S8ll Quiet Place—www.s8llquietplace.com/
• Stressed Teens—www.stressedteens.com
• Wellness Works in Schools –www.wellnessworksin schools.com
Indirect • Mindfulness-‐Based Wellness
Educa8on (MBWE)-‐ Unpublished doctoral disserta8on. University of Toronto.
• Cul8va8ng Awareness and Resilience in Educa8on (CARE)-‐ hEp://www.garrisonins8tute.org/index.php?op8on=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=108&Itemid=1138&limitstart=40
• Stress Management and Relaxa8on Techniques (SMART) in Educa8on– hEp://smart-‐in.org
Training Manuals • Broderick, P.C. (2011). Learning to breathe: Gaining the
inner edge. • The Hawn Founda8on. (2011). The MindUp curriculum:
Grades preK-‐2: Brain-‐focused strategies for learning-‐ and living. Scholas8c.
• The Hawn Founda8on. (2011). The MindUp curriculum: Grades 3-‐5: Brain-‐focused strategies for learning-‐ and living. Scholas8c.
• The Hawn Founda8on. (2011). The MindUp curriculum: Grades 6-‐8: Brain-‐focused strategies for learning-‐ and living. Scholas8c.
Guided Medita8ons for Adults
• Ferris Urbanowski Buck: www.ferrisurb.org • Jon Kabat-‐Zinn: www.mindfulness tapes.com • Elana Rosenbaum: www.mindfulliving.com • Sharon Salzburg: www.sharonsalzberg.com • Saki Santorelli: Guest –House Tapes, P.O. Box 1050 Belchertown,
MA 01007 • Bob Stahl: hEp://www.mindfulnessprograms.com/mindful-‐
healing-‐series.html • Mark Williams: Mindfulness: An Eight Week Program for Finding
Peace in a FranCc World (contains a website to down load all medita8ons)
• Susan Woods: www.slwoods.com
Guided Medita8ons for Children SCll Quiet Place: Mindfulness for Teens Saltzman, Amy M.D.; Audio CD
SCll Quiet Place: Mindfulness for Young Children Saltzman, Amy M.D.; Audio CD
Books for Children Moody Cow Meditates MacLean, Kerry Lee; Hardcover
Peaceful Piggy MeditaCon (Albert Whitman Prairie Books) Maclean, Kerry Lee; Paperback Peaceful Piggy Yoga Maclean, Kerry Lee: Paperback An Orange for You: A Child's Book of Awareness McGinnis, Mark W.; Paperback A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles Nhat Hanh, Thich; Spiral-‐bound PlanCng Seeds: PracCcing Mindfulness with Children Thich Nhat Hanh; Paperback
Addi8onal Websites • Associa8on for Mindfulness in Educa8on:
www.mindfuleducaCon.org
• The Aware Teacher: Bringing Reflec8on and Mindfulness to Our Schools: h\p://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/schools.aspx
• CASEL: Collabora8ve for Academic Social and Emo8onal Learning (Linda Lan8eri, MA): www.casel.org
• The Center for Contempla8ve Mind in Society (Arthur G. Zajonc, Ph.D.): www.contemplaCvemind.org/programs/academic
Addi8onal Websites
• Contempla8ve Studies Ini8a8ve (Hal Roth, Ph.D.): www.brown.edu/Faculty/ContemplaCve/_Studies_IniCaCve
• Cul8va8ng Awareness and Resilience in Educa8on (Patricia Jennings, Med, Ph.D.): www.garrisoninsCtute.org/index.php?opCon=com_content&view=arCcle&id=77&itemid=79
• Mindfulness and Emo8onal Intelligence (Daniel Goleman, Ph.D.): www.danielgoleman.info
• Social and Emo8onal Learning: www.edutopia.org