Mindfulness is paying attention with a kind and curious mind in a non-judgmental way. When you are being mindful, you are taking your time, not rushing or multitasking. Mindfulness is focusing in a relaxed and easy way to what’s happening right now. Mindfulness is also noticing what emotions you are feeling right now and noticing what thoughts are present in this moment.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is known as the “father” of mindfulness and his defines mindfulness meditation as “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally”. By focusing on the breath, the idea is to cultivate attention on the body and mind as it is moment to moment, and so help with pain, both physical and emotional.

“Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness.” Studies show that mindfulness improves both mental and physical health and well-being. The studies also have shown that practicing mindfulness benefits conditions like depression, chronic pain and anxiety.

I am trained in teaching mindfulness to students through an organization called Mindful Schools. I have found over the years that sharing mindfulness with students helps to encourage more skillful interactions and reactions, and supports learning readiness.

Studies find that learning mindfulness benefits students in terms of improved attention, emotion regulation, behavior in school, empathy and understanding of others, social skills, test anxiety, and stress. Mindfulness allows for a pause during which thoughtful responses can replace impulsive reactions.

Some examples of how we will use mindfulness in our class are noticing and naming our feelings during specific exercises, using mindfulness of breathing before test taking to calm anxiety and improve focus, or pausing when feeling frustrated or impatient.