Begin forwarded message:
From: Tamsin Bradding <tbradding@tamahere.school.nz>
Date: 4 June 2019 at 8:15:56 PM NZST
To: tamsinbradding@gmail.com
Subject: Mindfulness PD
What: Today was the 'how to' of teaching mindfulness through the Pause Breathe Smile program. This was a much needed next step for me as I was a bit stuck in a frustrating state of 'doing mindfulness scripts' with barely engaged students who struggled to see why they should join in or how it would benefit them.
So What: I knew mindfulness was a good thing but this has given me a reason to really believe this with extensive research to support what is being implemented and precise objectives to better ensure that students get the most benefit and deepest level of understanding
Now What:I have the pleasure of been given a fully resourced program that explains how and why I can and should teach mindfulness to a class and now I just need to dive in and do it and hopefully see the benefits and help my students/ own children to reap the rewards.
Mindfulness with Tash Rix - 4th June 2019
Mindfulness involves:
Intentional focus on immediate experience
With curiosity, openness, acceptance and love (COAL)
Mindfulness means… Noticing what is happening now, with kindness and curiosity
Developing attention regulation
4 traditional steps
Knowing what our attention is
Knowing where it needs to be
Directing it where it needs to be
Being with the experience with openness and curiosity
All while being kind to ourselves.
Pilot study benefits that were identified:
Increased calmness
Improves focus and attention
Enhance self awareness
Improves conflict resolution skills
Develops positive relationships
Reduces teacher stress
Main outcomes of mindfulness:
Increased focus and attention
Increased caring
Increased understanding and experience of
- Wellbeing (what supports it and what doesn't
- Emotional literacy and resilience
- interconnectedness
The key to mindfulness - "it must be the child's raw feelings, there is no right or wrong", let them say an explain how things are or feel in their own words.
Steps for teaching and introducing programme:
Firstly introduce 'Te Whare Tapa Wha' - (A TOOL FOR REVIEW)
Create a classroom wall display (see handbook pg 12 for ideas)
See gold italicised boxes in handbook - this is a way of how to introduce the lessons or subject ideas. (be liberal with these ideas, don't let them be prescriptive, they allow for freedom and less prescribed delivery)
Talk briefly about the four walls (see pg 13)
Sometimes 'Taha wairua' can be a little tricky to teach. See paragraph 4 on page 11 for how to introduce this subject or wall.
Mindfulness Treaty - could be something you choose to introduce as a supplement treaty to your class treaty to enhance a common understanding for mindfulness sessions. See page 23
Eyes don't necessarily need to be closed.
You need a sound device to start and finish a mindfulness session.
Emotional Literacy - the ability to describe and elaborate on their accurate feelings. As opposed to "I'm fine"
To develop emotional literacy - print off emoji pics and allow students to pick them up or gain vocab from pics. Or introduce weather descriptive words.
Lessons are designed to be 1 hour sessions.
The ideal would be to be a totally uninterrupted session. (possibly whole school times)
Repeated maintenance for mindfulness - do straight back, soft belly or breathing circles every day 3-4 mins
Learning Journal
Password: meglearn
Lesson One: - Coming Home
all lessons are recorded to push play if you need to. In female or male versions.
Straight back: soft belly practice - (script for this lesson on page 71 in handbook)
Ask the students both pre and post lesson or breathing session to reflect on their feelings.
Key points
Posture - straight back, soft belly
Clear prompts - be responsive
Let the children relax in their own space
Follow script
Round room feedback - children always have the right to pass but encouragement to engage to develop emotional literacy skill. Giving all children the opportunity to describe pre and post feelings around mindfulness.
Key points
Wandering minds are ok
Feeling sleepy is ok
Honesty is paramount and should be encouraged
Awareness of our own feelings in response to children's feedback
The spotlight effect (and possible need for follow up)
Life is vulnerable by nature (it is important that we don't intentionally abnormalize suffering)
Promoting emotional literacy - give those who passed another chance to share
Mindful Movements:
Allowing children time to focus on breath through movements such as...
Elephant breaths
Giraffe Breaths
Lego Hands
Circle Breaths
Enable students to relax and focus and get the body in the here and now.
Activating older brain areas, tuning into oiur experiential sense of self.
The body is always 'here and now', always grounded and present (it is the mind that wanders)
When we feel calm in our body our mind settles too.
Mindful Eating:
One of the most popular activities to allow students to be present in their thinking.
See script on page 22
Key points
Noticing the texture of the uneaten food
Noticing colours and smells
Bodily sensations (especially in the mouth) in response to looking at and smelling the fruit
Taste
Swallowing
Training our ability to be present for what we are doing and with kindness and curiosity
What does it feel like when we are present with our eating.
By noticing and being present in eating we gain huge amounts of satisfaction.
Gaining response from students is not necessary post mindful eating.
Learning Journal: a reflective literacy tool to use when and where needed. It is a double sided A4 for each student accessible from the Pause Breathe Smile website. Password: MEGlearn
http://mindfulnesseducation.nz/my-account-2/member-resouces/
Flourishing - feeling good and functioning well
Meaning: Flourishing is a psychological state of well being characterised by feeling good and functioning well, most of the time.
Two dimensions of flourishing
Lesson Two: Happiness Here and Now
See lesson plans (p26) re WALT's… display for all students to be aware of current focus.
Venn diagram to display two types of happiness - gaining things that make children happy and sorting them into a venn diagram…
Treat happiness (Happiness) Peace Happiness (inside happiness)
Gaming playing
Music pets
Drinks friends/family
Shopping sun
Toys mindfulness
Treats - always something new or better comes along and we want it!!
See sample script Page 29 in the handbook.
Gratitude Happiness
Getting in the habit of doing this quickly and often
Benefits:
noticing what is going well
increases positive emotions
When students share and discuss gratefulness - allow for sharing back of their peers gratefulness, this will then create shared gratification and interconnectedness between peers.
I am thankful for my hands and feet guided
Mindful Walking - page 36 &37 of handbook
You are leaving smiles as you walk (smiles on the bottom of your feet which you leave behind) :)
Key Points:
It takes time for children to settle into these practices
Be responsive to what is happening and adapt accordingly
'Deep' learning occurs throughout the nervous system when we bring attention to physical sensations
Variations to try:
Slow: lifting on the in breath, moving and placing on the out- breath
Medium: first step on the in breath, second step on the out-breath
Natural: walking at a normal pace, being aware of the body moving, breath flowing and sensations of feet on the floor.
You can't help smiling at others :)
High five/shake hands with the person nearest to you :)
Postures, breathing and mind-states - page 38 of handbook
What we do with our bodies affects us emotionally and mentally.
Your physical state is key.
Eg. a child who has head down...ask them to put your shoulders back and down.
Examples:
Morning of cross country
Just cleaned room - going to tell mum
Just came first in athletics
You're the mum who sees an unitdy bedroom
What does angry feel like? Tight fists, tight neck, slumped shoulders
What does happy feel like? Loose, free
Tools to develop positive mindset
Amy Cuddy - how to make yourself more confident like in the animal kingdom.
Power pose: sun worshipper, Wonder Woman, super hero, kauri tree
Small pose: mouse, acorn
I CAN DO THIS - finger touching...start softly and repeat 4 times...getting louder and faster as you go.'
'
Amy's TED Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are?language=en
Lesson 4: All things Rising and Falling
In breath and out breath pictures. Eyes closed drawing breaths on paper.
Discuss the literacy (language) around the peaks and falls.
Relate these peaks and falls to emotions or waves that they will come and go.
Accepting the emotion and then responding with mindfulness.
Knowing that emotions rise and fall and toss us about, like a boat on the sea.
The skill to help overcome this is to drop the anchor (takes time to learn) mid stream to gain grounding.
Discuss with students the self triggers - self talk speaking and discussing the negative.
Responding by dropping the anchor - choosing another path. Finding the positive.
"Brain Storm" book by Dan Siegal. Listen to him on this video talk
Teenagers brains 'shut for development' at times!!
Skills to cope when we are in the red zone - hyper or hypo
Noticing the feeling
Accepting the feeling (making space for it)
Responding with mindful breathing
Allowing the feeling to pass
"When I'm upset, I let myself feel sad and then I can feel happy again." 7 year old PBS participant.
Lesson 5: Neurons that Fire Together Wire together
Wonder, noticing and responding well to think
This is KEY! And can help people to not dwell on negative thinking.
86 billion neurons in your brain….WOW!!!!
You can build new neural pathways in your brain all the time.
But we can build neural pathways from our beliefs too...NOT always useful. Eg. I don't like veggies, I won't eat veggies...repeat!! I can't do maths...I'm never going to get it….repeat!!
I'm too busy, I don't have time...My week is full I can't cope...repeat!!
BUT….
We can change our thinking...neuroplasticity...brains are mouldable and can be sculpted by using mindfulness techniques. GREAT NEWS!!!!
Neuroplasticity is Mindfulness in action
Neuron Dance
Finger tips match finger tips touching and 'feeling and moving around'
For autistic children use hands palms facing but not touching.
Busy mind, quiet mind - using a mind jar
Jar with glitter and water in it.
Shake it up...very stormy...have you had days or moments like this?
What can I do to stop it?
Stop shaking it…
What else can I do to keep it still?
Put it on a flat surface...reliable, solid surface.
Settles down, clear, bright, calm, still
You forgot your homework!! Ahhh you're jar is off again shaking!!
Glitter is like the neurons in our brain….
Follow the helpful thoughts left after the shaking has settled down.
Lesson 6: Kind heart, Happy heart
Kindness and positive connections building healthy mind-states
To have a healthy heart we know that we need to exercise.
The Vagus nerve that connects from the brain to the heart and vice versa.
The positive feedback loop improves our health which in turn creates a more positive mindset.
See page 54 of handbook
Lesson 7: Everything is connected to everything else
Foster connection, contentment and wonder
The world in an apple - what does this apple need to get to us? Sun, nutrients, water, soil, ladder, farmer, shop, seeds, etc…
Nothing is made up on it's own...we are ALL CONNECTED to each other in our wellbeing.
What do you need?
Food, love, shelter, care, family...etc…
Lesson 8: Touching Base, Touching stillness
Reflection time
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