Mindfulness: Not a Passing Fad

Mindfulness: Not A Passing Fad

Mindfulness programs and processes have been expanding throughout the United States and other countries as school districts and  teachers promote and adopt it for their classrooms. Students are being introduced to and are practicing mindful breathing, observation, awareness, and listening. The question is will mindfulness be laid aside at some point, or will the process survive? Veteran educators have seen the pendulum swing as one educational approach has  been adopted and then left on the wayside when something else comes along. There are several reasons mindfulness will survive.

First of all, mindfulness will will continue to be a part of the educational system as long as people in our society experience stress and anxiety. In today’s 24/7 society our senses are constantly bombarded and stressed by the world’s issues. Instantaneous access to the dramas played out in society can effect our well-being. Just as our bodies require food and sleep to restore our energy, our minds need rest time in order to be energized. Mindfulness practice is about learning how to rest the mind, how to  deal with stress.

Researchers have found that a stressed mind does not have the capacity to think as well as a rested mind. Educators have realized that for a teacher to effectively teach, learners need a rested mind, a mind that can think. Mindfulness practices are about self awareness and adjusting the way one thinks. they help a student change their focus  from a negative “I cannot do math” to the positive “I can’t do math, YET.”

Secondly,  scientists have discovered that mindfulness practices can rewire the brain so that one can make better choices. In order to make a good choice, one needs to think. There are two parts of the brain that affect one’s thinking: the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex mades choices after gathering information from the bodies senses. However, the amygdala, the part of the brain that protects one from threats, often hinders information from getting to the prefrontal cortex. This happens when one is anxious, stressed, angry, or sad. However, when one is calm, the amygdala allows information to flow. The more one is calm, the better the choices one makes and the easier it is to think and to remember.

A third reason mindfulness practices are important in  education is their energy building ability. Ellen Langer, who has studied the effects of mindfulness for several decades, explains it this way:

Mindfulness is the process of actively noticing new things. When you do that, it puts you in the present. It makes you more sensitive to context and perspective. It’s the essence of engagement. And it’s energy-begetting, not energy-consuming. Harvard Business Review (2014, March). Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity..

Finally, mindfulness practices make better teaching. Teachers with restful minds can think better. They make better choices and are able to stay calmer when disruptions occurs. And mostly importantly, a teacher’s energy level remains higher when practicing mindfulness. This leads to an overall well being, better health- both physically and mentally.