Breathe along with this GIF to calm a stressed out mind. Focus on the sensation of your breath in and out.

WHAT IS
MINDFULNESS

" Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindfulness is a quality that every human being already possesses, it’s not something you have to conjure up, you just have to learn how to access it.

TYPES OF MINDFULNESS​
PRACTICES

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques. Here are some examples:

1. Seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (it’s also possible lying down but often leads to sleep);
2. Short pauses we insert into everyday life;
3. Merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

MINDFULNESS IN​
EDUCATION

The tack you’ll want to take with older students (those in junior high and high school) — rather than focusing on being silly and having fun for younger students, they may appreciate a simple break from the grind
​and some good information on how mindfulness can help them.

Beginning Class

Start with a quick exercise that’s simple yet effective, like beginning class with a mindful moment.

Here are the instructions from Sarah Beach at Left Brain Buddha:
​

• For middle and high school students, the school day is pretty busy! Science to math to history to PE to English to Spanish, punctuated by the crazy state-fair midway chaos known as “passing time.” Even in elementary school, kids spend a lot of their day taking in information, responding to the environment, interacting with others, and otherwise just being “ON.” We rarely give them a moment to pause, settle their nervous system, and refocus their attention and energy on a new task.
  
  
• At the beginning of class, or after a transition, you can take a mindful moment: invite kids to close their eyes (if they’re comfortable doing so), and take a few deep breaths. They can pay attention to breathing — what does it feel like when they breathe in and out? Or they can notice their thoughts — is their mind really busy or quiet right now?

Check in with your Attention

In this exercise, you (the teacher) will keep control of the schedule and you can introduce it when you see fit. You can have students practice this exercise at any point in the class, even during the middle of a lesson if you think students really need it.
To implement it, all you need to do is stop whatever the class is doing and tell the students to hit pause and check in with their attention. Ask them:

• Is your attention here, in class?
• Was your mind wandering?
• If so, where did your attention go?

At this point, you should be sure to tell them that a little mind-wandering is totally normal and healthy, but emphasize that they ultimately have control over their mind; they can catch their wandering brain in the act and gently guide it back to the present if they so desire!
Encourage them to take a moment to notice what their mind is doing and remind them that they have a choice about where to direct their attention.

Ending with a Mindful Moment

To bookend your mindfulness lesson (or your class in general), try this exercise. It’s a good way to give “closure” to the lesson in a way that is likely more mindful, calm, and peaceful way than usual!

​Here’s what you do:

1. At the end of class, give students around 3 to 5 minutes to focus on their breathing. Instruct them to close their eyes if that feels comfortable, and simply focus on their breath—coming in, and going out.
2. Tell the students to think about what they have learned and accomplished in class today.
   
3. Give them a few quiet minutes to settle and bring themselves back into balance.
   
4. End with a positive statement; this can be about how much you care about them, how much you believe in them, or how hard they worked today.