When I was training to be a yoga instructor, I was continually inspired to bring what I learned into the classroom. Right before a test, I would teach alternate nostril breathing. I often encouraged my students to approach their work mindfully without using that word—and definitely without teaching them HOW to do this. Why? Time, of course. I had “a curriculum to get through.” Daily forty-minute periods already did not feel like enough time, so why would I take even more time away from learning English?
The desire to really teach my students how to be more mindful found a cozy corner of my brain to hibernate in for a few years. It was not until I had the opportunity to participate in a district-sponsored workshop with mindfulness teacher Cory Muscara that it finally awoke, energized and fearless. Cory ended our four hours together by speaking about the single biggest obstacle to practicing mindfulness: time. “So start with one minute,” he said. “If you start with a minute, you might notice that it feels pretty good and you actually have time for another minute or two. Start with a minute and see where it takes you.”
And I said to myself, “I have a minute. I can give my students one minute of mindfulness. Every day.” And when I saw my students the next day, we jumped right in. I told them what we were going to be doing and why, and they were really excited about it. Even though I had not trained specifically in teaching mindfulness to high school students, I felt that my background in yoga and the fact that I had been consistently practicing mindfulness myself for about two years would be enough. And it basically was. We used meditation apps (more on that in another post). We did quite a bit of yoga. And we discovered together how teaching mindfulness in a regular classroom might work. After only a few months, my students had this to say:
- [The mindful minute] just gives us a moment to decompress. Each day feels so rushed and hectic and stressful, but taking the time to be mindful helps me deal with all of that.
- School really stresses me out, and I think that I can safely say the same for most others in the class. The whole day goes by really quickly, class then bell then next class then next bell. The mindful minute is a nice way to step back from all of that and just chill.
- When we first started doing the mindful minute, you asked us to think about the last time we ever took one minute to just breathe. My answer to that question is never. However, after we started doing these, I honestly think I am a better person and started to care and think about myself more, which I deserve. It also is an amazing break for so many classes back to back to be able to just take one minute to think about how I feel and it makes me feel important, even more than all my tests, projects and grades.
- I enjoy the stretching exercises. They tend to help alleviate the tension, so I think they really help. We also act kind of silly, and it’s nice to loosen up a bit.
- My day is often nonstop and my walk from my previous period is very long. I’m always rushing to get to class, so I like how I have a couple minutes to settle down so I’m more focused and ready to work.
We started with a minute, and we were hooked.
The following summer I took the Mindful Educator Essentials course from Mindful Schools (more on that later). I started the school year with their curriculum, and I continue teaching with it to this day. I have also taken Calm Classroom trainings and worked with other teachers in my building to implement that curriculum (more on that later, too).
Sometimes our mindfulness lessons take three, five, even ten minutes. I make time for it. Every. Single. Day. Because those minutes are the ones that make the remaining minutes valuable.
Ms. Hastings 