 |
| Thank you to this mystery artist who got very creative with the agenda! It looks beautiful. |
In late May I was contacted by Reyni Racklin, the Academic Support Coordinator for St. John Fisher, to see if I was interested in facilitating a mindfulness training for the teachers and staff at her school. At first it was going to be a training for around 30-40 teachers and staff members from one Southwest Portland Catholic school. I was interested in the opportunity; Reyni and I talked about the possibilities. A few weeks later, she said that two more schools were interested and it would be more like 75-100 teachers participating in the training. That is a lot of people to provide the intimacy required to truly experience mindfulness. In the end, when I agreed to organize the workshop, nine Portland metro area Catholic schools were participating, meaning there would be 170 teachers and staff members attending the inservice. I was told the workshop would take place in a church that seated 700 people. After I said I would do it, I thought, "What did I get myself into? How am I going to offer an authentic experience of mindfulness to 170 people?"
Well, I found out as the workshop took place on August 30th. I was fortunate to be supported by several amazing individuals at St. John Fisher who welcomed me and made sure everything went smoothly. First, Reyni was amazing to collaborate with and bounce ideas off of. Merrit, the principal at St. John Fisher, is extremely forward-thinking as she is the person who spearheaded a mindfulness initiative at her school; she is warm, personable, and quick to flash a beautiful smile. Jan, our tech guru, made sure everything was in working order. And Deacon Scott helped set up the space, procured a cordless microphone, and assisted with the tricky sound situation in the church. Many thanks to all of you for your help and assistance!!!
I began the workshop by telling the teachers that I was one of their kids all grown up! I attended Catholic schools from 4th grade through high school, and on through college. Simultaneously, I am one of them: a fellow teacher who has almost 20 years of experience as an art educator in K-8 schools. When I found out there would be 9 schools participating, I contacted each principal and asked about the goals and needs of their community in connection to mindfulness training. The email message I received from one principal in particular truly spoke to me and communicated beautifully our purpose for coming together to learn about and practice mindfulness. During the start of the workshop I read the thoughtful and compassionate response of this principal (who will remain anonymous!):
"My goal as principal is simply to enable all of my staff members-both faculty and support staff-to be introduced to the concept mindfulness and how it can help them on a personal level to be the best that they can be throughout this coming school year. My hope is that the philosophy, practices and strategies that you share will help all of us walk away from the session with new 'tools' in our educator's tool belt as to how to take good care of ourselves and to nourish our souls a bit-all with the ultimate goal of serving well the needs of the children in our care."
This lovely response communicates that the principals of these nine schools see their teachers as multi-dimensional human beings who deserve support and self-care. All teachers take on a career that is tremendously rewarding, but also emotionally, physically, and mentally draining. Educators are considered responsible for the academic success of the children in their care, along with facilitating the social and emotional relationships of the 25-30 students present in the room. They must challenge the highest achieving students in their classroom while meeting the needs of children who are struggling. Communication and relationships must be fostered between the teacher and all of the children's parents, along with collaboration between their colleagues. The principals recognize the daunting, never-ending nature of a job as a teacher. They see that mindfulness has the potential to replenish depleted resources.
I explained to the teachers that I wanted our time together to feel more like a retreat than a typical workshop. I know from experience that the beginning of the year is a stressful time. It seems impossible to get everything accomplished before the new students are standing in the doorway waiting to enter the classroom. Through mindfulness, I wanted to give teachers time to connect with themselves and with each other before the first day of school. My hope was that the mindfulness techniques and practices offered during the inservice would help teachers cope with stress, cultivate compassion for self and others, and bring more resilience into their lives.
I explained to the teachers that I wanted our time together to feel more like a retreat than a typical workshop. I know from experience that the beginning of the year is a stressful time. It seems impossible to get everything accomplished before the new students are standing in the doorway waiting to enter the classroom. Through mindfulness, I wanted to give teachers time to connect with themselves and with each other before the first day of school. My hope was that the mindfulness techniques and practices offered during the inservice would help teachers cope with stress, cultivate compassion for self and others, and bring more resilience into their lives.
After reviewing our agenda for the day, the first practice we started with was a Mindful Minute. We spent one minute together in silence settling into the space, getting in touch with our breath and our bodies, and giving ourselves permission to listen to our own experience in the present moment. The sound of the singing bowl acted as a container for the beginning and end of the practice. It was beautiful and powerful to watch the teachers in the space, eyes closed, breathing together. I also took the time to check in with myself and realized that I felt confident and excited to share mindfulness with so many individuals who touch the lives of children in our community.
After starting with that grounding practice, I went on to share one of the ways that mindfulness impacts my life in a positive way. As an educator and the mother of two young children, one of the most important ways my practice helps me is in allowing me to work with reactivity. Mindfulness helps me to more skillfully respond to the things happening in my life, both externally and internally. I used the words of Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor, to better convey this message:
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Then, we launched into a mindful movement practice as I lead everyone in Volcano Breath! Smiles spread across many faces as we stood up and spread out in the church, taking five nourishing breaths while pairing that with the movement of our arms. Everyone seemed happy for the chance to stand and stretch, an opportunity to connect with the body through movement. Such a good reminder that our students, who are still children, also gladly welcome the opportunity to move their bodies throughout the school day. A short movement break such as this can lead them to feel more prepared and willing to learn.
During our three hours together many ideas were introduced, and mindfulness techniques were sprinkled in throughout the course of the day. We touched on the history and research associated with secular mindfulness, briefly looked at interpersonal neurobiology, analyzed the ever-evolving definition of "mindfulness", addressed some common misconceptions around the practice, worked with interpersonal mindfulness, and ended with sharing practical ways of making mindfulness a part of everyday life. It was a lot of information to cover in three hours. In continuing with this article, I will expand on three of the most powerful parts of our day together.
During one part of the training I discussed toxic stress. The organization Mindful Schools defines toxic stress as feeling that "...life's demands consistently outpace our ability to cope with those demands". In order for the teachers to identify where stress manifests in their own bodies, I asked them to close their eyes and think of a stressful situation they were currently working with. While allowing the mind to focus on that stressful occurrence, I asked them to concentrate on what they were feeling in their bodies. In my own body, stress causes my shoulders to tighten, and sometimes I experience a knot in my stomach. Recognizing where stress impacts our bodies allows us to know when it is creeping into our lives. That way we can see it coming and more effectively work with it, possibly using mindfulness as a tool to counteract that stress.
After asking the teachers to bring stress into the space and into their bodies, we spent some time in movement to decompress and get rid of it. I invited everyone to stand up, stretch, and shake out the parts of their bodies that experienced stress. Then I lead everyone in a body scan, starting with the crown of the head and moving progressively down to the feet. The body scan was one of the many mindfulness tools I shared with the teachers to work with stress in a positive way.
During another part of the workshop I showed a Ted Talk by the group Holistic Life Foundation. This organization works with children in inner-city Baltimore. The teachers were able to see first-had how mindfulness and yoga have the power to positively transform not only the school where the practices were introduced, but the entire neighborhood and community. Here is a link to the video if you want to take a look yourself.
Another powerful part of the workshop centered around interpersonal mindfulness, which is bringing mindfulness into the way we relate and connect to others around us. Before having the opportunity to share and interact with another person in the room, I asked the teachers to explore their ideas around three questions through writing in their journals. Here are the questions:
1. What are the qualities of a good listener
2. Recall the last time you felt truly listened to by another person.
3. How does it feel to be authentically listened to?
After reflecting on these questions individually, they had the opportunity to share with another person, but we did this in a very specific way.
First, I introduced the idea of compassionate listening. As a compassionate listener, your only job is to be fully present with the person in front of you, focusing on every word the other person is saying. The listener is not supposed to interrupt, interject, or ask questions while their partner is talking, giving their partner the gift of undivided attention. After a few minutes, the roles change and the listener becomes the one sharing.
We also found partners in a specific way. Earlier in the day I introduced the practice of mindful walking. We used this practice to slowly and intentionally wander through the church space to find a partner. After spending a few minutes mindfully walking through the space, I rang the singing bowl. Upon hearing that sound, all participants were asked to partner with the person standing closest to them. Each individual would stand back-to-back with their partner as I reminded everyone in the group of their common humanity. "Your partner was once an infant, completely dependent on the care of others" I said; "Your partner was once the same age as the children you currently teach," I reminded them. My hope was that compassion would develop for the person with whom they were about to experience interpersonal mindfulness, thinking of the individual not only as a fellow teacher but seeing them as a human who has experienced an entire life up until this moment. After standing back to back for a few minutes, I rang the singing bowl again and the participants turned to face their partners and began to share their thoughts about the three questions I asked them to reflect on earlier in their journals. Each person had the opportunity to be both the compassionate listener and the person being listened to.
In closing, I shared some practical ways that the teachers could bring mindfulness into their everyday lives. It can be difficult to carve out large amounts of time to practice, but finding two to five minutes several times throughout the day seems more manageable. For children, practicing mindfulness many times throughout the day for short one to five minute intervals is more effective than spending one long chunk of time on the practice. It brings them back to this focused place in several small bursts rather than for one long, extended period of time. I invited the teachers to try this in their own lives.
In the end, the workshop went better than I could have imagined. There was an intimacy contained in the space and in the time we shared together, though the group was large. I am thankful for the experience of bringing mindfulness to 170 teachers and would love to offer this training again to another group. Fortunately, I will have the opportunity to offer a follow-up mindfulness workshop to the same teachers in February.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss developing a mindfulness workshop for your organization or school. My email is julie@mindmovemake.com.
Here are a couple pictures from the workshop:
After starting with that grounding practice, I went on to share one of the ways that mindfulness impacts my life in a positive way. As an educator and the mother of two young children, one of the most important ways my practice helps me is in allowing me to work with reactivity. Mindfulness helps me to more skillfully respond to the things happening in my life, both externally and internally. I used the words of Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor, to better convey this message:
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Then, we launched into a mindful movement practice as I lead everyone in Volcano Breath! Smiles spread across many faces as we stood up and spread out in the church, taking five nourishing breaths while pairing that with the movement of our arms. Everyone seemed happy for the chance to stand and stretch, an opportunity to connect with the body through movement. Such a good reminder that our students, who are still children, also gladly welcome the opportunity to move their bodies throughout the school day. A short movement break such as this can lead them to feel more prepared and willing to learn.
During our three hours together many ideas were introduced, and mindfulness techniques were sprinkled in throughout the course of the day. We touched on the history and research associated with secular mindfulness, briefly looked at interpersonal neurobiology, analyzed the ever-evolving definition of "mindfulness", addressed some common misconceptions around the practice, worked with interpersonal mindfulness, and ended with sharing practical ways of making mindfulness a part of everyday life. It was a lot of information to cover in three hours. In continuing with this article, I will expand on three of the most powerful parts of our day together.
During one part of the training I discussed toxic stress. The organization Mindful Schools defines toxic stress as feeling that "...life's demands consistently outpace our ability to cope with those demands". In order for the teachers to identify where stress manifests in their own bodies, I asked them to close their eyes and think of a stressful situation they were currently working with. While allowing the mind to focus on that stressful occurrence, I asked them to concentrate on what they were feeling in their bodies. In my own body, stress causes my shoulders to tighten, and sometimes I experience a knot in my stomach. Recognizing where stress impacts our bodies allows us to know when it is creeping into our lives. That way we can see it coming and more effectively work with it, possibly using mindfulness as a tool to counteract that stress.
After asking the teachers to bring stress into the space and into their bodies, we spent some time in movement to decompress and get rid of it. I invited everyone to stand up, stretch, and shake out the parts of their bodies that experienced stress. Then I lead everyone in a body scan, starting with the crown of the head and moving progressively down to the feet. The body scan was one of the many mindfulness tools I shared with the teachers to work with stress in a positive way.
During another part of the workshop I showed a Ted Talk by the group Holistic Life Foundation. This organization works with children in inner-city Baltimore. The teachers were able to see first-had how mindfulness and yoga have the power to positively transform not only the school where the practices were introduced, but the entire neighborhood and community. Here is a link to the video if you want to take a look yourself.
Another powerful part of the workshop centered around interpersonal mindfulness, which is bringing mindfulness into the way we relate and connect to others around us. Before having the opportunity to share and interact with another person in the room, I asked the teachers to explore their ideas around three questions through writing in their journals. Here are the questions:
1. What are the qualities of a good listener
2. Recall the last time you felt truly listened to by another person.
3. How does it feel to be authentically listened to?
After reflecting on these questions individually, they had the opportunity to share with another person, but we did this in a very specific way.
First, I introduced the idea of compassionate listening. As a compassionate listener, your only job is to be fully present with the person in front of you, focusing on every word the other person is saying. The listener is not supposed to interrupt, interject, or ask questions while their partner is talking, giving their partner the gift of undivided attention. After a few minutes, the roles change and the listener becomes the one sharing.
We also found partners in a specific way. Earlier in the day I introduced the practice of mindful walking. We used this practice to slowly and intentionally wander through the church space to find a partner. After spending a few minutes mindfully walking through the space, I rang the singing bowl. Upon hearing that sound, all participants were asked to partner with the person standing closest to them. Each individual would stand back-to-back with their partner as I reminded everyone in the group of their common humanity. "Your partner was once an infant, completely dependent on the care of others" I said; "Your partner was once the same age as the children you currently teach," I reminded them. My hope was that compassion would develop for the person with whom they were about to experience interpersonal mindfulness, thinking of the individual not only as a fellow teacher but seeing them as a human who has experienced an entire life up until this moment. After standing back to back for a few minutes, I rang the singing bowl again and the participants turned to face their partners and began to share their thoughts about the three questions I asked them to reflect on earlier in their journals. Each person had the opportunity to be both the compassionate listener and the person being listened to.
In closing, I shared some practical ways that the teachers could bring mindfulness into their everyday lives. It can be difficult to carve out large amounts of time to practice, but finding two to five minutes several times throughout the day seems more manageable. For children, practicing mindfulness many times throughout the day for short one to five minute intervals is more effective than spending one long chunk of time on the practice. It brings them back to this focused place in several small bursts rather than for one long, extended period of time. I invited the teachers to try this in their own lives.
In the end, the workshop went better than I could have imagined. There was an intimacy contained in the space and in the time we shared together, though the group was large. I am thankful for the experience of bringing mindfulness to 170 teachers and would love to offer this training again to another group. Fortunately, I will have the opportunity to offer a follow-up mindfulness workshop to the same teachers in February.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss developing a mindfulness workshop for your organization or school. My email is julie@mindmovemake.com.
Here are a couple pictures from the workshop:
 |
| Teachers practicing Volcano Breath, one form of mindful movement that I introduced. |
 |
| Reyni, me, and Merrit together before the workshop |
