How do you practise mindfulness?
There are two main ways
The first is ‘formal’ practice, otherwise known as mindfulness meditation. This means sitting in a chair doing nothing other than paying attention in a mindful way, whether that’s for 40 minutes or doing a mini meditation for one minute.
The second way to practise mindfulness is ‘informal’ practice. This means being mindful in our day-to-day life while we’re doing things, for example, paying attention when in class, while driving or washing the dishes.
Meditation is a traditional pathway
Mindful meditation can be practised in a variety of ways such as moving attention through various parts of the body (body scan) or concentrating on your breathing. When doing a body scan or concentrating on your breathing, you may observe thoughts and feelings that come up. If you feel able, you may choose to notice these with a sense of curiosity and non-judgement. If your attention wanders, you may like to bring your attention back to your body or breathing. It’s important to note that this practice may not suit everyone, and if you don’t feel comfortable, you may choose to stop or try another activity.
Here’s how to give breath meditation a try:
- let yourself be free of any expectations about how the meditation should go
- adopt a relaxed but upright sitting posture with the eyes closed
- when settled, using the sense of touch, focus the awareness on the breath
- observe and acknowledge what’s being experienced in that moment, without trying to change thoughts or feelings or to solve any problems that arise
- focus as you breathe at the point where the air enters and leaves the body
- if thoughts or feelings arise that distract you, you may wish to gentle refocus on your breath. If you feel distressed or wish to stop, do so, and reach out to a trusted person if you need additional support
- after the time you gave to practise, gently open your eyes, reconnect with the environment, and then gently move onto whatever needs your attention.
You may want to start with 5 or 10 minutes of meditation once or twice a day and then build it up as you become more comfortable with the practice.
When your mind wanders
You’ll find your thoughts wandering and that’s completely normal. There’s no need to berate yourself when the mind wanders – just gently bring it back to the breathing each time. It’s the very practice of repeatedly bringing your attention back to your breath, and learning to be accepting and self-compassionate, that creates a mindful state.
You can practise mindfulness in nearly everything you do
You can take a mindful approach to everyday activities, no matter how mundane or simple they might be. The so-called informal practice of mindfulness is easy to build into your day. Next time you have a snack, take your time and focus on the feel, smell, taste and sensation of chewing. You can bring your full awareness to the task of brushing your teeth or washing the dishes.
The beauty of mindfulness is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, with no special equipment required.
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Mindfulness practice in the classroom
Suggestions for mindfulness activities in the classroom
Not all children or young people will be interested or engaged with mindfulness, and that’s OK. Offer it as an optional classroom activity and invite children to participate in their own time. You can share some mindfulness activities for children and young people, which they may choose to try:
- giving them the opportunity to learn mindfulness meditation techniques
- sharing how mindfulness increases self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and better decision-making
- encouraging them to identify situations when they feel mindfulness would be helpful
- provide some suggested resources or links for children and young people (and your colleagues) to explore, if they are interested in learning more about mindfulness
- using mindfulness to focus on a particular skill (for example, self-awareness).
When ending mindfulness practice in a classroom environment, take time to observe children and young people to identify if any have experienced strong feelings during the session. Consider checking in with them to provide help-seeking information and support.
Consider providing information for families, so they can choose if they would like to take part in mindfulness at home
Involving families in understanding what mindfulness is means that they can discuss it with their child, and understand how it may benefit their child’s learning, if they choose to do mindfulness activities.
You may like to invite families to sit in on a classroom mindfulness session. For example, Smiling Mind has resources to develop your skills in facilitating mindfulness meditation. Or you may like to talk to your leadership team about teaching mindfulness as part of your social and emotional curriculum.
Be You wellbeing tools
Learn more about specific tools for mindfulness in Educator wellbeing tools and Wellbeing Tools for Students.
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References
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