REAPING THE REWARDS OF MINDFULNESS
IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM BY AMY SMITH O
ur students are living in a fast-paced world with infor- mation fl ashing before their eyes at a rate that would have been considered un-
imaginable just 10 years ago. How can we en- courage them to settle their minds, be pres- ent in the moment and learn to their utmost potential with the competing distractions of buzzing devices and glowing screens? That’s where mindfulness can come in.
Mindfulness is a therapeutic practice of med- itation that involves focusing on the present moment while quietly acknowledging any feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. In the classroom, this means asking students to be still, relax their muscles, close their eyes and breathe deeply for a few minutes while they get grounded and centered. After doing my initial research on mind- fulness and learning the wide range of ben- efi ts of this practice – including promoting wellness and reducing anxiety, depression, stress and even symptoms of ADHD – I de- cided I would jump in with both feet and not look back. And am I ever happy I did. After attending a workshop for educators
by Sarah Kinsley, an experienced educator, child and family therapist and a senior facili- tator at Mindfulness Without Borders, I got more and more excited about the possibilities of teaching guided meditation and breathing exercises to my students. I also familiarized myself with some short child-friendly re- cordings for meditation that I could share with both my students and colleagues. Setting the tone for the students in my
classroom was key. I saw the process through even when at times it felt like I was the only one buying into the practice. The message I continued to reaffi rm with my students was that mindfulness is not a skill that comes naturally for most and that it will take both time and patience before we all start to fully reap the rewards. I used a personal compari- son to help drive the message home. Mind-
38 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2016
fulness is like physical exercise in that when I don’t exercise for a while, I feel the stiffness of my muscles and joints. Once I get into the groove again, it becomes less challenging and more exhilarating. Now my students and I are four months
into our daily fi ve-minute mindfulness prac- tice and have evolved so much as a group. We started off listening to recordings of guided meditations and learning how to focus on our breath, our body and our thoughts. We progressed to listening to relaxing music and being the creators of our own mindfulness experiences. As a class, we have had many follow-up discussions about what we liked from our experiences, what we found chal- lenging and what we wanted to work on. The one thing we all agreed on was how much our focus and sense of wellness improved. Complete silence and stillness is not always
something that comes easily to us, but we have come a long way from where we began. Where will we go from here? My students
have asked that we take our mindfulness ex- ercises outdoors once the weather warms up. That way we can appreciate the sounds of the world around us and get in touch with nature. I’d love to take a mindfulness walk and pair breathing and physical fi tness to promote mental health. Now that I have had this experience with my students and see the positive changes in their behaviour and atti- tude, I will never go back to a teaching prac- tice without time for mindfulness again! Follow these helpful links if you’d like to
learn more about introducing mindfulness to your students:
mindfuleducation.org and
mindfuled.org. n
Amy Smith is a member of the York Region Teacher Local.
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