Lead the Mindful Way

 "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they they have never failed to imitate them."-James Baldwin

Our students mindfulness practice must start with us. As the educators in their lives we are responsible for leading by example and educating through action. 

In the link below you will find a wonderful article which articulates the case for mindful educators and mindfulness in education. 

Mindfulness in Education

At the beginning of the article the idea of a class mindful leader is introduced. I love this idea. Begin with showing them mindfulness through your actions, then teach them how to be mindful, and as they grow encourage them to take responsibility for mindfulness. Empower them to teach others how to be mindful. This is an idea that I plan to try in my classroom mindfulness lessons.

Finding your own mindfulness practice will help reduce your stress and help you find a calm. This is not always easy when there is chaos.

Over the long weekend my family went camping. We stayed up late, as you do when camping. This meant our four-year-old was WAY OFF her sleeping routine. If you have ever had or known a tired four-year-old then you know you are dealing with meltdowns and BIG emotions. I understand that when her emotions are too big for her to understand and I need to be her calm in the chaos of emotions...daddy on the other hand does not. I found myself over the weekend talking about being the calm, showing the calm, and that joining in the big emotions, by yelling to stop melting down, will only create another meltdown. 

In your class, in the halls, at lunch, in specials, and at recess, you will see big and small emotions. You don't have to yell to grab attention. Use mindfulness to calm your own emotions. Equip yourself with mindful emotion check ins and then help your students learn to do mindful emotion check ins too.

Be the Calm in Their Chaos. 

Be the mindful example they need to see and you want them to imitate.

This week let's practice taking deep breaths to calm our minds and bodies. Try the 7/11 Breathing. Breath in, through your nose for 7. Breath out through your mouth for 11.

When we take mindful breaths it's a good thing to remember that the out breath should always be longer than the in breath. This will trigger the parasympathetic nervous system ( the system of the body that calms you and helps you feel relaxed and safe).

Start your mindfulness practice this week as you begin sharing the mindfulness journey with your students.