Inner Explorer

 I wanted to get this blog out sooner to help ready us all for the Mindfulness challenge....but, it's been a busy four days.

I have received some questions about using Inner Explorer verses a mindfulness on YouTube.

I want to start off by saying I too use YouTube mindfulness. There are some great things offered that students enjoy.

We use Inner Explorer for a few reasons. 

It is CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) approved. 

We can use scientific research based evidence on the effectiveness of the program. Inner Explorer offers a section of printable information. The information includes the science behind the program.

Inner Explorer offers apps for your phone that families can use for free. We can also connect families to our school account. 

Inner Explorer tracks trends of use. We can use this to monitor effectiveness and see how classes are thriving and growing. 

Inner Explorer reports regular use helps decrease teacher stress and increase student grades. This again is information that we can send home to families who would like to know more about the program.

The program has printable teacher guides, posters that follow the program such as Shark Fin breathing poster, The Exploring song poster, Do Not Disturb posters, and Spanish information available as well. 

There are three different types of practices: Daily, Transition, and Sound. Some are shorter and can be used to help students enter class, calm after a high energy times, and prepare for testing.

You can choose a variety of age levels. If you feel your students need a younger feel or if you feel your middle school students are ready to try the high school level.

I encourage you to give it a try for the next 21days. See if there is a difference. If you'd like me to come help introduce I am always happy to help.

Pebble Meditation

 This week I wanted to explore Pebble Mindful Meditation.

The practice of pebble meditation involves physically holding an object, visualization, and deep breathing. This is a very good way to engage multiple senses and engage students with mindfulness.

For this practice it is recommended to use four pebbles. You could use four other non-distracting objects, but pebbles work great.

Each of the four pebbles represents a different part of the visualization.

Ask students to have the four pebbles sitting in front of them. They are to pick up and hold one pebble at a time as you move through the visualization.

The four parts are: Flower, Mountain, Water, and Space.

As you begin the practice, ask students to pick up the first stone. Ask them to hold and feel the stone in their hands. Let them know his stone is their flower stone. (a good activity as you work on this practice could be to draw or paint these rocks). 

Ask the students to follow along

Flower

Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.

Breathing out, I feel fresh.

Flower, fresh ... (at this point ask them to take 3 deep breaths and repeat this statement).

Next, put down the flower stone and pick up the Mountain stone.

Mountain

Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.

Breathing out, I feel solid.

Mountain, solid (3 deep breaths)

Now, put down the mountain stone and pick up the water stone.

Water

Breathing in, I see myself as still water.

Breathing out, I reflect things as they truly are.

Water, Reflecting (3 breaths)

At this time place the water stone down and pick up the space stone.

Space

Breathing in, I see myself as space.

Breathing out, I feel free.

Space, Free (3 breaths)

I am including a great video which shows children engaging in this mediation. The more you practice this mindfulness the more engaged you can ask the students to become. In the video the students are asked to give input and even be the one to chime the singing bowl. Pebble Meditation Video

Try this mediation to help connect you as a class and help connect your students to the world around them. 

Mind-shift

 Disruptions happen. 

A disruption by definition is a disturbance or problem which interrupts an event or activity. 

Disruptions are not fun, we don't like when they happen, and we often struggle to get back on track/come back from a disruption.

In the fall we learned about restorative practices. This blog, morning announcements, and resources available at school help us with mindfulness. Both restorative practices and mindfulness are great ways to help us and our students during a disruption and in the aftermath. 

Like a tornado leaves a path of destruction, so too can a disruption. 

It is not always easy, emotionally, to welcome a student back into class after they have caused a disruption. It is not easy, but it is necessary for them, for the other students, and for you.

Mindfulness is about being present in the moment and accepting it without judgement. Have you tried to embrace the disruption? That thought alone may have sent you into a tailspin. 

It isn't about accepting the behavior but rather accepting that the behavior is occurring and you cannot control it. Instead of searching for control in chaos, utilize the Mindful Pause.

A mindful pause is as simple as it sounds. When disruptions occur, pause. Ask students to pause. Take a deep breath in silence. A pause can help you and your students change from using your head to evaluate and start using your heart.

Most students are causing a disruption due to an unmet need. We can think about what need they might have that is going unmet. 

Instead of being caught in an assumption that a student is "bad" use a mindful pause to mind-shift.

The more you utilize a mindful pause during a disruption the more your students will notice. Students will follow the lead of an adult. The disruptive student will start to wonder what is going on. Once they are calmed is the time to utilize some restorative practices. 

It may seem to you that a moment of restorative practice will take away time from learning. Again, utilize a mind-shift and see it as a way to reduce hard feelings, create a sense of welcome, and restart and return the class to a calm before the storm. 

Students who have had a disruptive moment need to know that they will not be judged on it for the rest of the day.  Other students need the lesson that others should not be excluded. We need to create that welcome and mindful environment. 

Mindfulness and restorative practices can strengthen and inform each other and create a mutualistic relationship. 

After a disruption, mind-shift to restoration. Use mindfulness to help you and your students build the environment which help students be welcomed back after a difficult time.

Groundhog's Day Emotions

 

In honor of Groundhog's Day on Wednesday I wanted to talk about rumination. 

We have previously talked about emotions and the chemical components in our bodies lasting about 90 seconds and then dissipating. After the 90 seconds what is left of the emotion is what is called rumination.  

One of the best things we can do for ourselves and our students is to allow a feeling to exist. Denying an emotion does not change that it exists, but rather creates the opportunity to ruminate.

When a child is upset, let them know that you understand they are feeling an unpleasant/difficult/challenging emotion. Then encourage them to sit with the emotion, breathe through the emotion, and ask the questions to understand the emotion. You may need to help them the first few times.

Our emotions are not right or wrong, good or bad; they are pleasant or unpleasant. Our emotions are real and for a reason. Telling someone to stop feeling something will not help them, or you. 

To help reduce the risk of a groundhog's day emotion, challenge yourself and your students to experience the emotion, understand the emotion, get help if needed, and move on.

Utilizing the Mood Meter is a great way to help yourself and your students with the task of feeling emotions and reducing rumination.

As we consider our emotions we will become better acquainted with the "where" and "why" of them. Where did they come from? Why did they occur?

Once we are able to answer the "where" and "why" of our emotions we can then move through them.

On last weeks Hidden Brain podcast the host spoke with William Irvine. Mr. Irvine is an author and practicing stoic. Mr. Irvine shared that stoics of the past would avoid the "negative" / difficult emotions in the pursuit of controlling their emotions and self. Mr. Irvine teaches that you can be a modern stoic and learn the emotional control without ignoring the difficult emotions. 

Mr. Irvine has a "stoic test" that he likes to utilizing when presented with a time of difficult emotions. His test is to ask what he is supposed to learn from the situation.

We too can be practicing modern stoics and teach our students to be as well. 

When a challenging emotion arises ask "what am I supposed to learn from this emotion/ this situation?"

Mindful Stoicism not Groundhog's Day Emotions. 

What can you learn to help you move on?