A training in your school that unpacks how mindfulness “works”, explains the different techniques, and how to share them with others; in the work place, classroom or one to one.

Many well-intended attempts to bring mindfulness to the classroom fall short from the lack of practical strategies and clear guidelines on how to implement it across the school. Another hurdle is the situation where there is no common understanding of what mindfulness is and the purpose of it and its place in education.

To get a the staff onboard and on the same page is a crucial step in the process of bringing mindfulness to the school’s curriculum.

In this half-day training Rita, a mindfulness trainer and former teacher with more than 25 years experience, unpacks how mindfulness “works”, explains the different techniques, and how to share them with others; in the work place, classroom or one to one. She also provide a plan with ideas and strategies on how to make mindfulness part of the school work.

The course is based on the successful programme Mindful NZ Schools has been running the past seven years as well as latest research and techniques on teaching mindfulness designed by the original MBSR members who trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn.
This training has been delivered in many schools and colleges around New Zealand and has been received with great response and feedback.

We will cover background, basic neuroscience, physiology of breathing, the brain house (language of emotions) plus activities, practices and enquiry.

Evidence–based research confirms that regular practice of these simple, self-managing techniques lead to;

• decreased stress and anxiety
• improved attention and focus
• increased emotional resilience
• responding instead of react
• improved relationships with self and others
• improved sleep quality

Ongoing research points to the need for all students to receive some form of mental training to fulfil their educational and personal potential.

The ability to control attention is one of the key markers of a successful life. Regular mindfulness practices is a proven method to help increase focus and awareness, make it possible to self-regulate and shift attention when caught up in negative thinking and worrying. Mindfulness exercises are designed to train our awareness and the ability to stay calm under stress and turbulence as well as having better sleep and increasing resilience.

Established in 2012, this highly -evaluated attention training programme, designed by a registered teacher, complies with the objectives of the Curriculum for personal development, including a focus on social and emotional development, personal self-regulation and building resilience- qualities recognised as benchmarks for success in life.

The training covers:

• What is Mindfulness?
• Why Teach Mindfulness in Schools
• Evidence- based reseach and background
• Mindfulness Exercises and Activities to assist internalising the process
• Training Session – How to share with others

How can Mindfulness Help?

In our fast paced world, where the increasing demands of living, places enormous stress on all of us, children, teenagers and adults, the purposeful, daily cultivation of connection to self, others and the world around us has been proven to assist mental, emotional and physical balance.

With the added distraction from mobile devices, texting and social media, the challenge of keeping students attention in the classroom has become a whole new ball game.

Mindfulness is not just some trend, but a proven method to help increase focus and awareness, make it possible to self-regulate and shift attention when caught up in negative thinking and worrying. Mindfulness exercises are designed to train our awareness and the ability to stay calm under stress and turbulence as well as having better sleep and increasing resilience.

Harvard, Oxford and Stanford Universities offer Mindfulness courses. So do many successful companies such as Google and Intel.

Developing a culture of kindness in the school

Studies have shown that social behaviour and academic achievement increase significantly among students who have received Mindfulness instruction. Mindfulness has been proven to help children make sense of their emotions and the world around them.

Online Training

• A 60 page Mindfulness Training Manual covering eight week lessons in downloadable PDF format
• Guided Mindfulness audios for each weeks exercises that you can listen to on any device.
• Videos Recommended videos and talks to watch as a complement to the course

Many teachers are reporting new school entrants starting school unable to speak in full sentences or make eye contact and research shows many of these children are missing vital developmental stages of their psychological growth due to parents’ over-use of devices and failing to speak enough with their children, especially about what they see on their ipads and computers that are more and more used as baby-sitters. Many of these children have less vocabulary available or understanding of themselves and the world and their place in it.

Attention and relationships are two of the key markers for success in life. Mindfulness strengthens the ‘mind muscle’ not unlike an athlete training for sports who build resilience through a regular practice. The same applies to mindfulness practice, which is why it is so important to implement into the curriculum as a daily attention training.

Understanding how the brain works goes a long way to empowering people to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness ‘teaches’ us how thoughts and feelings affect our state of being.

As educators, we recognise an anxious child cannot learn effectively and the disruptive behavior of anxious children has an effect on all; teachers and students. Classroom teachers, who employ mindfulness practice as a regular part of their school day, consistently report a decrease in unsettled behavior, more kindness and caring amongst the students and greater self-control and improved attention and engagement with learning.