Reposted from the Skirball education staff blog.
What is mindfulness, anyway?
There are many different ways to define mindfulness. One of my favorite short definition comes from Mitra Manesh, mindfulness educator and founder of Rumi Rooms:
Mindfulness is nonreactive awareness and acceptance of the present moment.
Let’s break that down:
- nonreactive: Observing what is without emotional involvement or judgement.
- awareness: The ability to be conscious of thoughts, emotions, and sensations without labeling, interpreting, or judging those perceptions. The power of pure observation.
- acceptance: “Loving-kindness” or “unconditional friendliness” toward what is.
- present moment: “Being here now” rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.
Mindfulness is different from-but related to-Buddhist meditation. The secular practice of mindfulness is a research-based set of approaches for bringing attention to the present in order to lower stress, improve health, and increase self-awareness. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which he launched at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, was one of the first secular mindfulness practices to be adopted widely in the United States. Since then, thousands of studies have documented the positive impacts of mindfulness, and hundreds of programs have been launched in schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and even museums!
Let Jon Kabat-Zinn tell you more:
Mindfulness in formal education
The research has spoken: mindful awareness has a positive impact on students’ attention, executive function, emotional regulation, pro-social dispositions, social skills, and self-compassion. There is an increasing number of programs offering mindfulness instruction to students and school-aged children.
The Inner Kids program was first taught in LA schools throughout the 2000s, and continues to be used in schools and other educational spaces. Inner Kids uses games, activities, and direct instruction to teach the New ABCs: Attention, Balance, and Compassion. A randomized controlled study of the program led by UCLA found that this program can have positive impacts on students with executive function difficulties. Inner Kids co-founder Susan Kaiser Greenland teaches parents how to cultivate mindfulness with their children in her book The Mindful Child. Annaka Harris, an Inner Kids volunteer, posted a free set of guided meditations for children that focus on “friendly wishes,” mindful hearing, and mindful breathing.
The Hawn Foundation (as in Goldie) created a program called MindUP. MindUP “teaches social and emotional learning skills that link cognitive neuroscience, positive psychology and mindful awareness training utilizing a brain centric approach.” The 15 sequenced lessons are aligned with all state standards (including Common Core!!) and support academic performance and personal growth.
Mindful Schools is a national non-profit providing curriculum training and professional development to classroom teachers and educators. To see the Mindful Schools program in action, check out the short film Healthy Habits of Mind below.
Other school-based programs include Mindfulness in Schools, CARE for Teachers at the Garrison Institute, Modern Mindfulness, and Inward Bound Mindfulness Education. Some research centers studying mindfulness and youth include the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University, the Stanford Early Life Stress Research and Pediatric Anxiety Program, the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin, and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
# Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids: A Listicle Roundup
Here is a roundup of listicles offering some tips for teaching mindfulness to kids at home and out in the world. There are lots of variations on mindful breathing, mindful hearing, and mindful eating activities. There are some unique ones in there, too: I think my favorite is the Spiderman meditation!
- 3 ways for children to try meditation at home (NY Times)
- 5 strategies for teaching mindfulness to children (tips from a mother, based on Thich Nhat Hanh’s Planting Seeds)
- 8 ways to teach mindfulness to kids (same mom, more tips!)
- 7 fun ways to teach your kids mindfulness (different mom!)
- Tips for teaching mindfulness to kids (by Megan Cowan, co-founder of Mindful Schools)
- 6 ways to teach mindfulness to children (tips from Australia!)
- Teaching your tween mindfulness (tips from Canada!)
Example activity: Mind Jars
Mind jars are simple tools to illustrate basic concepts in mindfulness. The glitter in the jar represents your thoughts and emotions. When you shake the jar, you can watch your thoughts and feelings whirl around (like when you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or upset). As the glitter slowly settles down, you can feel yourself calm down!
Meagan Estep, Teacher Programs Coordinator at the Phillips Collection in DC, wrote this blog post about making mind jars to open a gallery experience with families.
There are loads of instructions for making your own mind jar out there on the interwebs.
But let the kiddos themselves tell you about mind jars…
Bibliographies
Books for kids:
- Kerry Lee MacLean, Moody Cow Meditates (and other books by MacLean)
- Lauren Alderfer and Kerry Lee MacLean, Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda
- Rana DiOrio and Eliza Wheeler, What Does it Mean to be Present?
- Gail Silver and Christiane Kromer, Steps and Stones
- Annaka Harris, I Wonder
Books for families and educators:
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Kids
- Susan Greenland, The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate
- Eline Snel, Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents)
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Wellbeing
Want to learn more?
The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center is a great resource for learning more. They teach a 6-week introductory practice class, host free meditation podcasts on their website, and guide free weekly drop-in meditations all over campus.
Direct your eye right inward, and you’ll find
A thousand regions in your mind
Yet undiscovered. Travel them, and be
Expert in home-cosmography.
-Henry David Thoreau
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For mature readers, a meditation lolz:
mindful museums 