healthykids


MINDFUL KIDS W


Inner Awareness Brings Calm and Well-Being by Daniel Rechtschaffen


hen I walk outside, students run to me from the school playground, but they don’t


yell out my last name as they circle around and grab onto my legs, as it can be a bit much to remember and pro- nounce correctly. Instead, I usually hear “Hey, Mr. Mindfulness,” or even, “The Mindfulness Dude!”


“You feel... more connected to


everything. It felt


My job is to help to bring the art and science of mindfulness to students and teachers in schools, juvenile deten- tion centers and sports teams, as well as to clients in my private psychotherapy practice. Happily, research is beginning to show that apply- ing mindfulness can decrease stress, attention deficit issues, depression, anxiety and hostility in children, while benefit- ing their health, well-being, social relations and academic performance. Children can easily learn the techniques, and when learned young, they become lifelong tools.


sort of like flying.” Excerpt from a fourth-grader’s Mindfulness Journal


in the forms of medical and psycho- logical modalities such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindful- ness Based Cognitive Therapy, is gain- ing attention as research suggests that it can improve mood, decrease stress and boost immune function. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., and others have been studying the medical effects of mindfulness for 30 years with impres- sive results.


Brought into schools, it can be a powerful antidote to many struggles facing our youth. In the East Bay


Mindful Benefits Mindfulness means intentionally and compassionately open- ing our awareness to what is here and now. Mindfulness,


14 East Bay Area | www.NAEastBay.com


Area, for example, the Mindful Schools program has used mindfulness to teach concentration, attention, conflict resolution and empathy to 10,000 children in 38 schools; 66 percent of these schools serve low-income children. In- side Oakland’s juvenile detention centers, the Mind Body Awareness Project offers daylong, silent retreats for teens; although they presently live behind bars, they are learning to access greater inner freedom.


In sports, a season invested in training the Alameda High School’s boys’ basketball team in mindfulness tech-


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