Planting a mindful seed
- Cate Taylor
- Oct 11, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 24, 2022
Yesterday was World Mental Health Day so it seems like a good time to talk about why I spent three days of my summer holiday in London training with the Mindfulness in Schools Project. It was an inspirational three days spent alongside aspiring mindfulness teachers from, among others, the fields of education and medicine, most UK based but also from as far afield as Italy, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.
I am now trained to teach the Paws .b course which is a classroom-based mindfulness curriculum for 7-11 year olds.
Why?
We know that most mental health problems start during adolescence; 75% before the age of 24 and 50% before the age of 15. The most frequent age of onset of depression is 13-15 years old. In 1967, the average age of onset for major depression was 49-51 years of age.
Mindfulness training has shown to be effective in adults in preventing depression and recurrence of depression. Giving children the opportunity to learn about mindfulness help those at high risk of mental illness, and also thriving children who are arguably still susceptible to the stress and anxieties of modern life. There is a growing body of rigorous research evidence regarding the potential benefits of mindfulness for young people and there are many research projects underway.
What is mindfulness
Mindfulness is the self-regulation of attention with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance. Or as Jon Kabat-Zinn says, “Paying attention on purpose, like your life depended on it.”
Mindfulness is the act of returning to the present moment and becoming aware of sensations, feelings, thoughts that may be in that moment. Mindfulness is not necessarily staying in the present moment; your mind will wander, because that’s what minds do, and it is your practice of mindfulness which allows you to notice this and to gently escort it back to the present. There's that word "practice" again! Mindfulness is taught and learnt in a highly practical way through direct experiences of practices.
Mindfulness can allow us to return to a sense of the body and mind being as one which is a comforting and familiar feeling for most people. One that we have all had as children, and that some of us, most of us, have moved away from as we’ve grown up.
Paradoxically, mindfulness is not yoga (although there are mindful movement practices); it is not breathing exercises (although practices also include focusing upon the breath); it is not relaxation (although it might lead to an ability to relax); and it is not necessarily about religion or spirituality (although it can be for some). Mindfulness does not remove stress but it can help us change how we relate to stress.
Paws .b ... Pause Be
During the course children learn about many things, including:
Specific areas of the brain and how these affect our ability to focus, make good choices, and recognise when we need to steady ourselves.
Ways that mindfulness can support them in many day-to-day activities, including concentration and memory, behavioural self- management, and in relationships with family and friends.
Ways to respond rather than react – make better choices and take best care of themselves and others.
The "paws" element relates to the notion of training our mind in the same way we might train a puppy.
According to the article Mindfulness in schools - seeing the impact, the fundamental aims of the project are:
For all students to know about mindfulness
For most to enjoy it
For many to use it now and again
For some to practise daily
For as many as possible to remember it.
If you can touch just one pupil, make a difference to just one life, it has all been worthwhile.
I couldn't agree more. If I can plant the seed of the benefits of a mindfulness practice in the minds of the children I teach, hopefully it will continue to germinate and they can harvest the fruits as and when they need it throughout their lives.
What do children think of it?
I am currently in the middle of teaching the Paws .b course to a group of Year 5 children (age 9-10) and the feedback from them about what they are learning is overwhelmingly positive. To end, it seems fitting to allow children the last word; the children in this video have followed the Paws b or .b MiSP programmes.
If you enjoyed this, you may like: