"MINDFULNESS - A TEACHER'S STORY" BY CHASMIN MOSES

Laurie Grossman interviewed Ms. Chasmin Moses, 4^th Grade Teacher at REACH Academy in Oakland, California

If you are a teacher, please practice mindfulness with your students every day. It will be life changing. It has been for me.

I learned about mindfulness at my school, Reach Academy five years ago. I’ve noticed major changes in my life ever since I started practicing mindfulness. For instance, my stress levels  should be really high but they aren’t thanks to my daily mindfulness practice.

I am a single mom, a 4^th grade teacher in a Title I school, received notice of a rent increase that necessitated my moving within the first month of school, and am an active member in a teacher policy fellowship program. With all of this, my levels of stress could be really high, however, with mindfulness I am able to be present with clarity to properly address the issues I’m facing. I am in tune with my thoughts and actions. When I blow up, like if I yell at my daughter, I understand why and realize that next time, I have to choose a different path. I have become much more reflective because of mindfulness.

If I didn’t have my mindfulness practice, I would be like so many other teachers that have left Reach prematurely. Even though I love the children I teach and Reach’s community, I wouldn’t have been able to make it this long at this particular school without mindfulness.

For all of us, life is unpredictable. Without mindfulness my level headedness would be unpredictable. I wouldn’t be able to control my reactions. The negative things in life are inevitable. Trials and tribulations will happen to all of us. How I respond to unpredictable events is what I’m in control over. I feel confident in that. Practicing mindfulness along with Inner Explorer every day teaches our students to cope with the inevitable. It is a really helpful lifelong tool we are embedding in the students and in ourselves. Inner Explorer walks children through helpful sittings such as ‘sending kind wishes’ and the ‘body scan’. IE has heightened my mindfulness practice with the wide range of guided lessons.

A small example of how I used mindfulness with my daughter occurred this morning. After taking a shower she became extremely upset that she didn’t have her favorite towel.  I asked her if she thought it was a good idea to get so upset over a towel when perhaps she should be grateful she had a clean towel. She was very, very upset. I encouraged her to take some deep breaths and to calm down. She walked around and took a few breaths and sat down and cooled down and said, “You’re right Mommy.” I told her she was like the glitter bottle.* By sitting down and taking a few breaths, she allowed the frustration in her mind to settle so that she could think clearly about how to respond to a situation she didn’t like. I told her that when something like that happens you can put the glitter bottle down by taking a few breaths and go back to your day and enjoy it. She agreed.

Mindfulness is amazing. I cannot encourage you enough to practice mindfulness along with IE every day with your students. Changes will quickly become apparent in your life both inside and outside of school.

BTW, mindfulness makes my students ready to learn and they do much better academically and socially as a result.

*The glitter bottle is an art project which replicates brain activity to demonstrate what happens in our brains when we are stressed.

Mindfulness for Homeschoolers

Being a mindful home-schooler is quite an undertaking. Homeschooling parents have many plates to juggle; educating their children, keeping up with housework, and oftentimes working outside the home as well. It's hard to stay mindful when life is so busy. Implementing mindfulness into everyday homeschooling life can be a challenge, but it can be done.

Many homeschooling parents are meticulous planners and often find themselves planning their next learning experience rather than actually experiencing the learning alongside their child. Sometimes you just have to throw the planner by the wayside and take advantage of the teachable moments that are happening right now. Your child is learning in every moment whether it's through a carefully crafted experiment that you have researched for hours or whether they are outside studying an anthill. Take time to enjoy this moment with them, because you will never have it back. These little moments of each day are a gift you will treasure for the rest of your life. Mindfulness helps us stay in the present moment and that is in fact where the learning is happening.

If you still find yourself rushing through life, here are a few tips to bring yourself back to the present moment:

•    When you find yourself frazzled, stop and take ten mindful breaths.
•     Use mundane everyday tasks to employ mindfulness; like washing the dishes, vacuuming, or preparing meals.
•     Go outside! Nothing brings you back to the present like immersing yourself in nature.
•    Stop and listen to your child. Really listen.

Once you have had a chance to slow down and experience life with your children you can pass on the mindfulness practice to them. Children are naturally mindful, but we can help them focus even more by implementing mindful activities with them each day. Inner Explorer has a wealth of resources that the homeschooling parent can implement each day to help their children learn and benefit from mindful activities.

Letting Go of Expectations About Mindfulness

So you're practicing mindfulness... that's great! It will make you a better parent, spouse, worker, and person in general, right? Self-judgment can be the hardest thing to overcome when working toward living a mindful life.

We often have many expectations when we begin our mindfulness journey, but it is important to let the expectations go. Letting go is one of the goals of mindfulness, as well as making time to just be, and reflecting without judgment.

One way to control the expectations in your life is to make a list of them. Try and make a list of 100 expectations that you have. You may be balking, thinking that you don't have 100 expectations, but we bet that you do! Sit down and think about it a bit. These expectations will make your journey into mindfulness doomed for failure. It can be a challenge to let go of your expectations, but once you do you will experience a sense of freedom.

Nothing in life is certain and when we attempt to control outcomes we are only met with uncertainty which can increase anxiety and unhappiness. Often our expectations in life are completely false. We feel that once we achieve something new we will finally experience happiness or peace, but in reality nothing could be farther from the truth. Having expectations can lead us to cling to a belief that is untrue, and it can be difficult to let go of these expectations.

Now, letting go of expectations does not mean that you should let go of hope. There is a difference between having hope and having expectations. When we hope or wish for something our desires are flexible. Expectations, on the other hand, are rigid and inflexible. Having hopes, wishes and desires about outcomes in our lives are perfectly acceptable.

Mindfulness will not change your life so that all your problems disappear and you become a better person, instead mindfulness is all about living in the moment and being able to flow with life. This flow allows us to be flexible and live life with hope. Mindfulness helps us to move forward in life without judgment. As soon as we try to use mindfulness solve a particular problem, we’ve already moved away from the present moment and are then focusing on future results. Instead of trying to achieve a set of outcomes through mindfulness, mindfulness training helps us understand and better our lives in each particular moment.

- Michele Mundy

What is Mindful Movement?

You move your body in various ways thousands of times a day. But how often do you move mindfully? What is mindful movement? You may practice mindful movement without even realizing it if you perform martial arts, dance, or yoga. When you perform these exercises you may be fully aware of the way your body moves while you are training, but what if you were to apply that awareness to every day motions? The idea of bringing awareness to the way you move is mindful movement.

Mindful movement is simply the act of moving your body in a mindful way. When you move mindfully you notice how your body responds to each shifting position. You concentrate on your body's motion which helps you stay focused and in the present moment. You can bring mindfulness to any activity that you do, from washing the dishes, to brushing your teeth, to typing on the computer. The idea is to simply notice your body's movement and be aware of how you are moving.

Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you're there? If you start practicing mindful movement this forgetfulness may lessen. Are you slouching at the computer? Did you stretch your leg too much? Are you fidgeting? You don't necessarily need to correct your movements… you just need to be aware of them. Moving mindfully helps you become more present and puts you in a mindful frame of mind. Research has shown that mindful movement can help increase focus, improve sleep quality, and it even helps improve coordination. Maybe by practicing mindful movement you won't stub your toe or bump into things so often! The more mindfulness you bring to your movements, the more awareness you can bring into your entire life.

- Michele Mundy

5 Summer Mindfulness Activities for Your Kids

We all know practicing mindfulness is good for us and our kids. Studies have shown that mindfulness can help children with concentration, stress reduction, and improved sleeping habits. Often the rush of summer activities make it hard to take time to slow down. Here are some quick, fun, and easy to implement activities that you can do with your kids to keep everyone in the family thinking mindfully!

1. Have a Breathing Buddy 

Give your child a stuffed animal or other small object. Have your child lay on the floor with a pillow under their head and place their stuffed animal on their belly. Have them breathe for one minute, noticing their breathing buddy as it moves up and down with their breath.

2. Scented Surprise 

Have your child sit down with their eyes closed and tell them to pay attention to what they smell. Pass a fragrant object, such as a sprig of rosemary, orange peel, or jasmine under your child's nose and instruct them to focus their complete attention on the scent. After focusing for thirty seconds or so, ask them if they can identify the object.

3. Spiderman Sense

Superheroes are huge in our house, so this activity is a big hit. Spiderman has heightened senses that help him focus on the world around him. Have your child pretend he is Spiderman and use his special spidey senses to really concentrate on the moment. What can he see, hear, touch, taste, and smell? Have him use all his energy focusing on his senses.

4. A Jar of Mindfulness 

This is a fantastic activity for spirited children whose emotions often overwhelm them. Grab a clear jar and fill it most of the way with water. Add a large spoonful of glitter glue or regular glue and glitter. Screw on the top of the jar and shake to swirl the glitter around the jar. Explain to your child this lesson about emotions: The glitter is like your feelings when you get upset. See how the glitter twirls around and makes it hard to see through the jar? When you set the jar down and keep it still, the glitter settles the water becomes clear. This is just like your feelings when you get angry or upset. Sometimes we need to calm down and sit still for a minute to see things clearly and make good choices.

5. Blowing Bubbles 

Everyone loves bubbles! Blowing bubbles is a fantastic way to get children to focus on their breath. Have your child inhale a big, deep breath. When they slowly exhale into the bubble wand, have them watch how the bubble grows. If they exhale too quickly the bubble will pop. See how big they can grow their bubbles. Watch the bubble as it floats away, where does it go, does it pop on the ground, whose bubble goes the farthest?

Even if you're not using Inner Explorer over the summer, there are plenty of ways to implement mindfulness at home. These activities can be a fun way to help you maintain a regular mindfulness practice in your home and make your kids look forward to enjoying a healthy, mindful lifestyle.

- Michele Mundy

The Mindfulness Mansion by Tricia Zirit (aka Nurse Zirit)

Mindfulness creates space,

like tons and tons all over the place.

Not space like, “Hey, ride with me there’s space in my car.”

And not space like, “Hey, I just saw a shooting star.”

But a type of subtle, still, inner space, and this is how - 

because mindfulness brings us into right now.

Once we fully arrive into the present moment at hand, 

there is enough space for everything - it’s like we expand.

Not expand like “Oh no, these pants are too tight.”

And not expand like, “Hey look at my bubble gum blown just right.”

But a type of subtle, still, inner expansion -

that feels, on the inside, like a mindfulness mansion.

Not a mansion that’s fancy or expensive or showy,

but a mansion that’s accepting and open and glowy.

There’s enough room to be happy, sad, joyful and mad - 

there’s room to be frustrated and room to be glad.

There are no walls or boundaries or fences around, 

only wide open space and our two feet on the ground.

There are no butlers or maids who are constantly cleaning,

but a focus on breathing and what brings our lives meaning. 

So be present, breathe deeply, and shine your own light,

because in the mindfulness mansion we are always alright.

National Teachers' Day- Say Thanks

As an adult, and especially a parent, I've always been appreciative and respectful of the teaching profession.  I haven't always agreed with the people responsible for teaching my children at school. But I've been welcome to ask questions, share concerns, and when necessary courteously challenge them. There are multiple teachers, administrators and educational professionals in my extended family, so I know teaching is hard. Most are expected to be educators PLUS mentors, disciplinarians, counselors, health care providers, advocates, coaches and fans while balancing their responsibilities to parents, children and administrators. They are required to hold the attention of kids (for HOURS) that are used to constant entertainment from their electronic hand held devices. Teaching is not just a job, it's a calling, and it's national teacher day. So write a note, make a phone call, tweet, post or proclaim from your front steps and thank someone that taught you or your child.

And while you're feeling grateful, jump in and thank those even less appreciated volunteers in your local Parent Teacher Association/Organization. The National PTA has been fighting for children's rights, safety and healthcare for over 100 years. Your friends, neighbors and community members are spending their personal time fundraising to enhance student experiences. Your PTO is providing monies for supplies, events and activities that are not underwritten through the district school budgets.  These people work tirelessly – usually a select few for years – and they do it to benefit the teachers and students in your local school.  If you chose not to be a member of your local PTA, and you don't have time to volunteer for their events or support their fundraisers, take a few minutes, and tell them "Thank You." Those members have chosen to spend some of their (equally limited and precious) spare time improving the school environment for your children and their teachers. Be grateful to the wonderful community of teachers and volunteers that are helping you in your efforts to raise amazing new humans.