Month of Mindfulness: Part 4

Last week’s practice encouraged mindful thinking, and this week’s post is a continuation of thinking with positive intention.

October 20-27th

In order to be more connected to others at work, school, or even at home, try these exercises:

1. Consider your emotional wake.  How do others feel during and after interacting with you?  How do you want them to feel?  Just like a boat on a lake, our actions leave ripples that stretch beyond what we see.  Be mindful of the words you choose to use throughout your conversations.
2. Find a quiet place.  Close or soften your eyes and take a deep breath.
3. Think about someone you see everyday for whom you care about (friend, family, teacher, student, pet).  See if you can imagine them doing things that bring them joy and make them smile—actually—imagine them doing things that make them grin or laugh out loud.  Keep this image in your mind.
4. Repeat the following wishes to yourself and “send” the wishes to whoever you’re thinking about:I wish for you to be healthy.

   I wish for you to be happy.

   I wish for you to be peaceful.

   I wish for you to have joy in your life.

5. Keep your eyes soften or closed, and imagine them receiving these wishes.  Imagine if they just got a text from you with these happy words.  How would that make them feel? Now notice your own heart and how you are feeling.
6. Think specifically about a colleague or student that could use kind words this week. Challenge yourself to actually send them via email, text, phone call, or a face to face visit.

 

 

Month of Mindfulness: Part 3

Last week’s practices focused on mindful listening.  This week, the focus shifts to MINDFUL THINKING.  

OCTOBER 15th-21st

In order to be more present at work, school, or even at home or in daily conversations, try these exercises:

1. When your mind begins to wander–which is totally natural and okay–try to label your thoughts past, present, or future.  A lot of times we allow ourselves to stress over things that are completely out of our control, and more often than not these stressors have either already happened or haven’t even happened yet.  For instance, while sitting in a meeting after work, you might begin thinking about an email you received earlier in the day that just got under your skin.  Maybe it was the subject or the tone, but whatever it is, you feel bothered by it.  Instead of being “present” at the meeting, your mind starts to wander to this email and maybe you begin to recall what you wrote back.  These thoughts would be considered past thoughts.  You can’t do anything to change the fact that you received the email, and there’s not much you can do about the response you sent (if you did send one) because each occurred in the past.  On the same note, if you didn’t send a response yet, thinking about the email you plan to send after you get out of the meeting is considered a future thought.  Again, there is nothing you can do about an email you haven’t even written yet, and letting your mind wander and worry about the future takes you away from the present moment.
2. When you find yourself focusing on a thought labeled past or present, ask yourself what you can do to draw attention to what needs to be done right now.  What are you able to do in the present moment that actually is in your control?  It may be as simple as taking a couple of deep breaths and drawing attention to how your body is feeling in the current moment.  If you find a past or future thought upsetting, it might cause your body heat to rise or your heart rate to increase.  Instead of allowing yourself to remain upset, focusing on your breath and drawing attention back to the present can actually help decrease your heart rate and lessen your body heat; mindful thinking can help change how our body reacts to negative stimulus.

Obviously, just labeling your thoughts past, present, or future will not magically make you feel less stressed.  However, labeling your thoughts in this way can create the space to allow you to choose how you will respond when you do find yourself reacting to something from the past or the future.  Are you going to get upset and annoyed?  Or will you remember to focus only on your present self?

Month of Mindfulness: Part 2

Last week I posted a few strategies about noticing your body’s reaction to difficult emotions like anger, frustration, guilt, etc.

This week, the mindfulness strategy to practice is MINDFUL LISTENING.

October 8-14th:

Remember that mindfulness helps to create more awareness in the present moment. There are so many different ways to listen mindfully, but I am sharing two specific practices you can attempt throughout your week:

1.  Take a walk outside or sit in your classroom (or bedroom, office, etc.).  Focus only on what you hear.  It might be the sound of your breath, cars passing by, people talking, or any number of things.  As you focus on sound only, try being mindful of how your body reacts. Do you feel your breath slowing down or speeding up? Do you feel relaxed or anxious?  If your thoughts start to wander, what sound(s) can you focus on instead to be more present?  Sometimes in order to feel present, we need to focus on only one thing at a time.  Mindful listening helps to focus our attention.
2. When speaking with others throughout your week, practice not interrupting.  Be mindful of allowing the other person to completely finish talking before you respond.  Notice how it feels to focus only on the other person’s voice and what they are saying.  Do you notice any reactions in your own body?  Is what they are telling you easy or difficult to hear?  Do you feel your lungs constrict or your heartbeat start to quicken?  Or maybe your thoughts begin to wander?  Try to focus only on the sound of the other person’s voice and what they are telling you.  Pause before responding and be mindful of what you say.  Be aware that there is a significant difference between giving attention and giving advice.   Mindful listening involves giving attention. 

**Remember that mindfulness creates the space to allow you to think about how you will respond instead of impulsively reacting so that you can be more present and experience more peace.

**One literature resource to check out:  Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott.

October: A Month of Mindfulness

A few months ago I began taking online mindfulness courses offered by Mindful Schools. These courses have positively influenced how I interact with others and how I manage my classroom. I feel noticeably less stressed and am better equipped to handle  challenges that normally would have ruined my day in the past. I feel more peace in my relationships with my partner, my colleagues, and my students. I really wish I knew about these courses years ago when I first began my teaching career!!

I was given the opportunity to lead a professional development session about mindfulness to about half of our teaching staff when school began in August. I received a lot of supportive feedback and have since received a lot of questions from colleagues asking for tips or tricks to better incorporate mindfulness in their classrooms.  So, to honor my own desire to be a more consistent blogger and to honor my colleagues’ requests for assistance, I am going to post one mindfulness strategy per week for the month of October.  October can be an especially difficult month for teachers because it is usually the longest month of the fall semester and not every school gets “Columbus Day” of “Fall Fair Day” off.

I hope these strategies prove to be beneficial, and I welcome any feedback you might have.

OCTOBER 1-7th:

Mindfulness helps to create more awareness to the present moment. In order to be more aware this week, practice the following strategies:

1. Take a deep breath. Pay attention to where you draw your breath from and where you feel it the most. Is it your stomach? Your chest? Your nose? Your mouth? Wherever it is strongest for you, consider this place the anchor of your breath.
2. As you go through your week, take time to just notice how your body physiologically reacts to difficult feelings like anger, frustration, sadness, guilt, and so on. Does your face get hot? Does your heart rate increase? Do your shoulders tense? Do your eyes start to water or begin to scowl? Do you have the urge to immediately lash out? Do you immediately begin to raise your voice? Consider writing how your body reacts down on a notepad or in a journal.
3. As the week continues, when you notice these difficult feelings and reactions taking place, pause and focus on the anchor for your breath. Breathe. Then decide how you will respond to the difficult feeling instead of reacting to it. In your classroom, your response might look like deciding not to yell at a class that still hasn’t followed your instructions. Maybe you calmly talk to them and tell them what you are feeling (anger, frustration, impatience), and ask for them to try again. Outside of class, your response might look like deciding not to honk at every unskilled driver that cuts you off in traffic. Maybe you notice your body starting to tighten so you return to your breath, breathe, and just continue driving.                          **Please know mindfulness does not excuse inappropriate behavior or disrespectful actions. It simply creates the space to allow you to think about how you will respond instead of impulsively reacting (or overreacting) to difficult situations, so that you can be more present and experience more peace.