Learn How to Teach Mindfulness to Children and Students
[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″]“We ask students to ‘pay attention’ dozens of times a day, yet we never teach them how”.
3 hrs Training in Paddington, Sydney 25th September
As the benefits from Mindfulness are becoming more widely recognised and acknowledged, there is now a real opportunity for teachers and parents who see the value of it to be part of bringing Mindfulness to more students in Australia.
Studies in schools in USA have shown that emotional regulation, social behaviour and academic achievement have increased as much as 600% among students who have received Mindfulness instructions.
In this half day workshop (3hrs) you will not only be introduced to the powerful Mindfulness techniques that are helping individuals from all walks of life to have more balance, harmony and focus in their lives, you will also get the tools and initial training in how to teach these techniques to students and children in a way that makes it interesting, non intrusive and accessible for children of all ages.
The Workshop 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 – Teaching Mindfulness
The Workshop will be in 2 parts. Part one will give the background to what Mindfulness is and why it is gaining such recognition as a resource to improve students and children’s ability to deal with stress, pressure and anxiety. We will look at the well-documented benefits and especially the increased executive function in children who have done 8 week programmes and continue to practice Mindfulness on a regular basis. Studies shows how ongoing practise of Mindfulness for students can improve calmness and focus in the classroom. Rita will give examples from her own experience of running Mindfulness programmes in Auckland Schools.
Part two consist of practical exercises and training in delivering Mindfulness lessons to students and children inclusive how to establish your own mindfulness practise.
The workshop includes printed lesson plans, practises and scripts to assist teachers on all levels to introduce Mindfulness into the classroom.
WHAT BENEFITS CAN YOU EXPECT FROM PRACTISING MINDFULNESS?
- Decreased stress and anxiety
- Better sleep
- Better self-management
- Less reactivity
- Improved mental resilience
- Decreased stress and anxiety
- Increased self-awareness
- Better memory
- Increased attention and focus
Why are we not offering Mindfulness training in schools already?
One of the biggest causes of dropping out of school is behavioural problems-not learning to manage emotions is dangerous and the problem often escalates when left unchecked leading to under-achieving, poverty etc.
This is all very real. The third biggest reason for death amongst teenagers is suicide. Depression, drug abuse, self-harming behaviours are all the result of not being able to manage emotions.
It has been widely forecast depression will affect 20% of the population by 2020. We know people, including children and students are suffering. We know Mindfulness works
Research constantly reports Mindfulness leads to increased happiness and improved self-management and impulse control.
Mindfulness practices are exercise designed to make us become more Mindful human beings; ones who can focus, pay attention in the midst of distraction, have empathy with others, ones who fully feel emotions without reacting- learning to reflect and respond.
Mindfulness should be available to everyone, everywhere- to alleviate personal suffering and promote self-regulation and develop compassion and empathy for others. Mindfulness has been proven to enrich lives and to help children make sense of their emotions. We need to teach Mindfulness to children and everyone.
If you feel inspired to make Mindfulness available to more children and students in Australia this workshop is for you
The written material and training you get from this half day workshop will give you the tools and confidence to teach Mindfulness to students and children.
Register Below
Only 10 SEATS LEFT.
What we do and learn in this workshop:
Workshop in Sydney 24th September 2015
TIME & PLACE
Location: Paddington Uniting Church – Eastside Arts
395 Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney
DATE: Friday 24 September 2015, 1.00-4.00pm
Cost: $120 / person (including printed material and afternoon tea)
’Mindfulness is the capacity to be with and in a constant flow of awareness.’
(McCown, Riebel and Micozzi).
The Teacher
The workshop is held by Rita Riccola who is an experienced Mindfulness trainer and Registered Teacher. Rita has been a Vipassana practitioner for 25 years and completed a Mindfulness Certificate Course with Mindful Schools (USA) based on MBSR. She has been teaching in schools and community centres since 2013.
Register below
Why Mindfulness?
Have you ever driven to work and realised you don’t remember driving there? Have you eaten dinner and afterwards realised you hardly tasted the food? That happens to all of us at some time. Many of us live on auto-pilot. We go through routine motions, we worry about the future or we spend time going over an argument we had in the past. That’s the problem many of us have, we don’t live in the present. We don’t pay attention to what is happening in our lives right now, at this very moment.
Young children are usually more present than adults but as they grow older they lose touch with the immediacy of themselves and their environment. They are told to hurry up all the time and have an increasing number of demands to juggle. Children soon begin to lose touch with the present and start to live on the same auto-pilot adults.
Mindfulness is about keeping our thoughts clear so we can focus on what’s happening now without being distracted. It helps us pay attention to the present moment, something as simple as really experiencing the rich aroma of coffee, the sound of birds singing, rain on our faces or the feeling of anger or joy in our bodies. Mindfulness is about purposefully taking time to connect with all the life experiences we have every day, without judging them, just being fully present every moment in our own lives. If we can be aware of our thoughts, it’s easier to accept they are just thoughts and let them
go knowing they don’t have to affect us.
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What Students Say
“Mindfulness makes me get more sleep and helps me to get fall asleep”
Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland
“This [Mindfulness] make me feel Happy!!! Strong, Loving, Intelligent, Different”
Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland
“When I am trying to get to sleep I use the body scan. It really works!”
Student, James Cook High, Auckland
‘The body scan felt relaxing and calm which took all the anger away”.
Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland
Ask a Question
about this workshop
Let’s make Mindfulness part of the OZ curriculum
“Harvard, Oxford and Stanford Universities offer Mindfulness courses.
Mindfulness is not just a trend, but a proven method for success.”.
How Long Does it Take?
It has been proven that a mindfulness practice where you connect with the present moment even for just as little as 10 minutes a day can help to make a radical shift so that in situations where you used to be a ‘victim of the circumstances’, it is now possible to purposefully eliminate unnecessary stress and worry on the spot, just by using the ability to be present and that way disconnect from the thinking-patterns that used to keep you trapped.
Learning these simple techniques, depending on your determination, will lead to a calmer, happier state with increased self-confidence, improved memory, impulse control and better sleep in the night and mental clarity in the day.
“Teaching Mindfulness to school children is fast growing momentum as the benefits become evident. Mindfulness has great potential as a key strategy for a positively impacting on the learning and wellbeing of children and young people in education settings.”New Zealand Mental Health Foundation[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″]
[/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″]“Suspensions at our school dropped from 14 last year to 6 this year. We attribute this to the mindfulness programme.”
“I had dreaded this would be my last year teaching until the Mindfulness programme began at my school. Now I am Re-dedicated to my profession.”
Quotes from Educators
“One of the primary ironies of modern education is that we ask students to “Pay attention” dozens of times a day, yet we never teach them how. The practice of mindfulness teaches students how to pay attention, and this enhances both academic and social emotional learning” (Saltzman, 2011)Quotes from Educators[/vc_column][/vc_row]