Shifting the Educational Focus – Mindfully

 

Over the last few weeks I have spent some time in London attending the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MISP) conference followed by their four day training course to become a qualified .b teacher trained to teach Mindfulness to 11-18 year olds.

The .b training not only equips you with tools, techniques and lesson plans to assist you in teaching a fun and engaging ten session mindfulness course for young people, it also provides space, time and tranquillity for teachers to work on their own wellbeing.

I have personally been practising Mindfulness over the last four years and have experienced first hand the benefits it can bring to everyday life.

I am looking forward to introducing the .b content into the schools where I currently coach and mentor young people. The potential benefits of introducing mindfulness to students are:

  • An increased feeling of calm and positivity
  • Helps cope with stress and anxiety
  • Improves concentration and focus
  • Builds self-awareness and awareness of others
  • Improves psychological health and wellbeing

Studies of school mindfulness programmes provide evidence  that they have the potential to improve some pupils’ behaviour, executive functioning, psychological health and regulating attention and behaviour.

Mindfulness is something that I offer to all my coaching students in their toolkit of coping strategies for life. The students that have decided to investigate further have said that it helps to clear their head, not feel as overwhelmed and allows them to take things one step at a time.

Mindfulness is not a panacea although if implemented slowly and steadily it can start a transformative and beneficial process for students, teachers and parents involved in the educational environment.

If you are interested in finding out about a more mindful approach in your educational environment from a qualified MISP .b teacher then please contact me.