The Mindful Classroom

By Janelle Cox   Elementary Education Expert 

The mindful classroom is more than just a place where students live in the moment. It's a place where students are able to control their thoughts, communicate their feelings to their peers, and cultivate a peaceful learning environment. Mindfulness is not something new, ancient Buddhists have been practicing this technique for decades. Then yogis started to use it, and now scientists have backed up the facts and benefits of it so the public has really taken notice to it.

Here we will take a look at what's it's all about, the amazing benefits for your students (and yourself) and how you can introduce it to your classroom.

What are the Benefits of Mindfulness?
You may have read about mindfulness or heard it the news and thought, this is something for people that meditate. While it can be used in meditation, it's much more than that. Doctors use it in their practice, and dietitians recommend it to their clients who need to be mindful when they are trying to loose weight. Now, teachers are using it their classrooms to help students focus. Here are a some of the amazing benefits that research has found:

• Reduces stress hormones
• Improves attention span
• Boosts memory
• Enhances self-insight
• Improved academic performance

Just by focusing your attention and being in the moment, this calming tool can be so helpful. By calming the mind, students will be able to control their negative thoughts and learn to focus.

How Can a Teacher Introduce Mindfulness to their Students?
Now that you know a little bit about mindfulness, here are a few tips on how to introduce it to your students.

1. Breathe. Encourage students to use their breath throughout the day, or take about 10-15 minutes of class time to have students do a few deep breathing techniques. Start by having students sit comfortably, either on top of their desks or on the floor. Then have them close their eyes and focus on their breath. Have them focus on their inhales and their exhales, trying to lengthen them each time they breathe. If they feel like they are unfocused and their mind is wondering (which will happen) have them count up to ten each inhale and exhale. Once they get the hang of it, this is something that they can do by themselves throughout the day.

2. Mood Journal. An effective way to get your students to understand their moods and feelings is to have them keep a mood journal. This is a great resource to help them learn to recognize their feelings and why they are having them. Once they look back at what they wrote they can be mindful of how they feel. This will help them learn how to cope with their feelings and find a way to deal with them.

3. Chimes. Chimes are a very calming sound that when heard can help remind students to focus their thoughts on what they are doing in that moment. When students here the sound of the chimes in class they will stop what they are thinking and doing, and just know to direct and focus their thoughts. It's also a great way to get and keep your students attention.

4. Experiment. Not all students will be able to be mindful of their breathing. While with some students, breathing may be all it takes to calm their mind, others may need more. So you can experiment with a few different mindful techniques. Try having students talk a walk and listen to the sounds that they hear. Or, have them count the sounds that they hear as they walk. You can even have students listen to a song or a poem. As long as they are being mindful with what they are doing, their are using mindfulness.
The human brain is very powerful, by teaching your students mindfulness, you are giving them a tool that they can take with them, and use whenever they feel the need to reduce their stress.