Unit 3: Different Types of Mindfulness Practices
Different Types of Mindfulness Practices
Return to: ETAP 623 Spring 2020 (Zhang) | Mindfulness in the Elementary Classroom | Unit 1: What is Mindfulness? | Unit 2: Combating Chronic Stress with mindfulness | Unit 4: How can you implement mindfulness into your classroom?
An Overview of this Unit
In this unit, we will explore a variety of different mindfulness exercises. As you work on this unit think about your students and what practices might work best for them. Ask yourself how can I make these exercises meaningful to my students so they will want to participate and be engaged?
By completing this unit you will meet the following objectives:
1: Learners will be able to identify different mindfulness practices.
2: Learners will be able to practices mindfulness.
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing or belly breathing can be one of the fastest and easiest ways to calm down or de-stress. A study conducted by Marc Krasnow found that there is a direct correlation between breathing and the activity level of the brain. Krasnow stated, " If we can slow breathing down, as we can do by deep breathing or slow controlled breaths, the idea would be that these neurons then don't signal the arousal center, and don't hyperactivity the brain. So you can calm your breathing and also calm your mind". When someone is feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed the arousal center in our brain is activated and causing us to have these feelings. However, if we can learn to be present and slow are breathing and take deep breaths we will be able to "calm our minds". Some children struggle to calm down and take slow breaths. Below you will watch two videos, "Beanie Baby Meditation" and "Rainbow Breath".These videos will show you two ways you could teach your students to practice deep breathing. [1]
Meditation
The word meditation means many things for different people. One way we can practice meditation is through a body scan. A body scan makes us aware of where we might be holding tension or stress without even realizing it. Are you clenching your jaw or your fists because you're feeling anxious? Are you hunched over and you don't know why? Performing a body scan makes us aware of your bodies and helps us relax them and be present. It can be done sitting at a desk, standing up, or laying down. This is an activity that can be done before a test or during transition time to calm students and make them present. Below you will click on the link and listen to the audio. It will guide you through a body scan. You could use this audio or the script in the link with your own class.
Click here for a 3-minute body scan with Diana Winston [2]
Yoga
For some children sitting still can be quite the challenge. Practicing yoga can help children calm there minds and bodies through thoughtful movement and breathing. You don't need to be a yoga expert to teach it to your students. Cosmic Kids yoga is a great youtube channel for guided yoga. They have fun themed yoga videos that keep children engaged and ready to relax. This is a great activity that can be done after recess to calm children down or as a brain break.
Click here to explore Cosmic Kids Yoga
More Mindfulness Practices
The list of mindfulness practices goes on. It's all about finding what you think will best meet the individual needs of your students. Read the short article, "Why Mindfulness?" and then explore some of the 50 plus mindfulness exercises they have linked with resources. After reading, I would like you to come up with a list of at least four mindfulness activities you could see yourself implementing into your classroom. Once you've done this share them to our collaboration nearpod.
Click here for "Why Mindfulness?" and 50+ Mindfulness Exercises
Click here to join our collaboration nearpod using the code UIFSZ
