Mindfulness, an essential life skill.
There are two main modes we live through, DOING and BEING, and each needs a different approach.
When we focus too much on doing and not enough on being, this can lead to stress, worry and a loss of effectiveness. We can use mindfulness to bring us into the present experience of being. This has a calming self-regulatory effect on our thoughts, moods and body. Which brings more resilience, a calmer more relaxed approach to life and a better capacity to getting things done and having more effective learning.
It is important to cultivate good life habits of being early on rather than trying last minute fixes. By working regularly in small doses over a prolonged period we can build our character and learn to manage our lives better.
This is best done when the adults around the children are modelling good practices as well as encouraging short simple being exercises into the daily life of the school and of the young person.
Some Course Content
What’s really going on?
What can we do about it?
1. Scale it down, and
3. Start with older students
4. Meet at least once a week
5. Hold 9-12 per class
6. Teach in the middle of the morning
7. Consider the advantages of outside and in-house teachers
8. Remember that you are planting seeds
When we focus too much on doing and not enough on being, this can lead to stress, worry and a loss of effectiveness. We can use mindfulness to bring us into the present experience of being. This has a calming self-regulatory effect on our thoughts, moods and body. Which brings more resilience, a calmer more relaxed approach to life and a better capacity to getting things done and having more effective learning.
It is important to cultivate good life habits of being early on rather than trying last minute fixes. By working regularly in small doses over a prolonged period we can build our character and learn to manage our lives better.
This is best done when the adults around the children are modelling good practices as well as encouraging short simple being exercises into the daily life of the school and of the young person.
Some Course Content
What’s really going on?
- Stress and pressure. Pressure is the challenge we face, stress arises from what we do with it.
- How our brain and physiology works.
- Getting to know how we think, the way this affect us and how to manage thoughts.
- Procrastination. When the childish part of us is in charge, until the panic sets in or we give up.
- How moods and feelings affect us.
- How our personal stories affect us.
- Which part of me is deciding what I do and how I am?
- Young people in challenging circumstances.
- Dysfunctional thinking.
- What does not work.
What can we do about it?
- Mindfulness. De-stressing and managing strong feelings through the act of consciously placing the attention in the present experience. Learning sustained focus.
- Circle time. A trouble shared is a trouble halved.
- Study / accountability buddies. Getting your support team in place.
- Solution focussed. By not dwelling on problems and by focussing on solutions in the present reality we don’t get stuck.
- Apps, web pages, videos, audios that can help.
- Time management.
- Self-regulation.
- Stopping to rejuvenate, recreation and deep relaxation.
- When our mood is down, we need positive action - resting makes us more tired!
- Self-regulation and self care. The basics for doing well.
- Short simple daily exercises. That can be used in day to day.
- Adults modelling helpful habits (or not). Parents, carers and home life influences.
1. Scale it down, and
- Go outside:
- Tell stories:
- Trust before exercises:
- Talk less, do more:
- Activities=engaged students:
- Make it relevant:
- Give special help to students with learning disabilities or anxieties:
- Focus on the interested students:
3. Start with older students
4. Meet at least once a week
5. Hold 9-12 per class
6. Teach in the middle of the morning
7. Consider the advantages of outside and in-house teachers
8. Remember that you are planting seeds