Teaching Youth Mindfulness: The Secret Weapon for Success in Life

Picture this, a class full of students, sitting quietly with their eyes closed, taking deep breaths and focusing on the present moment. Sounds like a scene from a yoga studio, right? Well, what if I told you that this is becoming a common occurrence in schools across the world? That’s right, teaching youth mindfulness is taking the education system by storm, and for good reason. Nonetheless, it is not as prominent in North America as in other parts of the world.

Before we dive into the benefits of mindfulness in schools, let’s first clarify what mindfulness is. In simple terms, mindfulness is the practice of being present and aware of one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment. It involves paying attention to the present moment, focusing on the breath, and observing thoughts and emotions as they arise.

You might have experimented with variations of these at some point in your life. Adults adhere to the notion of mindfulness with a variety of enthusiasm. However, individuals who have invested time to explore a personal practice of mindfulness can rarely go without it.

But what is it about Mindfulness that keeps people hooked? If it is good for adults shouldn’t it also be good for kids? In my opinion, the ability to re-center yourself and connect with your true intentions on a daily basis is of the utmost importance. As adults integrate this ritual into their daily routine it is normal that they want to share it with their children.

Why is Mindfulness Such a Game Changer?

There is a multitude of evidence that shows the benefits of practicing mindfulness and specifically meditation. You can see mindfulness as a form of relaxing massage for the nervous system.

Teaching Youth Meditation can Reduce Stress and Anxiety

First and foremost, mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in students. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, students who practice mindfulness techniques experience lower levels of stress and an improved ability to manage emotions. This is crucial for students who are facing increasing pressure to perform academically, socially, and personally.

Mindfulness Practice Improves focus and attention

In addition to reducing stress and anxiety, teaching youth mindfulness has been shown to improve focus and attention. With the rise of technology and social media, students are constantly bombarded with distractions.

By teaching mindfulness in schools, students can develop the skills to stay focused on the task at hand. They learn to resist the urge to check their phones every five minutes.

This is a skill that will serve them well in all areas of life, from studying for exams (damn exams) to succeeding in the workplace. The ability to choose where their attention goes by having an increased awareness helps reduce loss of time and distractions. It frees students from compulsive habits and increases their productivitiy.

Mindfulness can lead to Increased Self-Awareness and Empathy

But the benefits of mindfulness in schools don’t stop there. By practicing mindfulness, students also develop greater self-awareness and empathy. They learn to recognize their own emotions and the emotions of others, which leads to better communication and relationships.

They often can pinpoint where their emotions are coming from and express more empathy when they see others experiencing those emotions. This is a valuable skill that will help students in school and in their personal and professional lives. The ability to understand oneself and others helps to create less resistance in all human interactions.

How to Teach Youth Mindfulness

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking. “This all sounds great, but how do you get a bunch of teenagers to sit still and practice mindfulness?” Fair point. The good news is that mindfulness can be taught in a variety of ways, from breathing exercises to guided meditations to mindful movement.

In fact, many schools have found creative ways to incorporate mindfulness into their curriculum. For example, some schools have implemented “mindful moments” throughout the day. Times where students take a few minutes to practice mindfulness before moving on to the next class. Others have incorporated mindfulness into physical education classes, with exercises like yoga and tai chi. In other schools, the exposure to mindfulness is completely dependent on who the teacher is.

“I don’t understand how anyone is teaching without mindfulness”

When I was teaching full time all my classes practiced mindfulness. We practiced mindfulness for 2 main reasons, 1) Exposure for the kids and 2) a break for me.

Exposing the Kids

I think it is an important life tool to be aware of. It was important to give my students a head start at knowing themselves better. After being a freediver for 5 years and instructing adults I saw firsthand the impact that centering yourself can have on your ability to withstand stressful situations.

Ideally, the students would enjoy the exposure to mindfulness and use this tool regularly. However, I knew that even if they didn’t adhere to it during the classroom experimenting just being exposed to it without actually fully integrating it gave them a head start.

Every year I was surprised by how welcome these practices were in the classroom. Students quickly adhered to the model and kept asking for more.

As a teacher I needed it

If I am fully honest, the reasons why I thought teaching youth mindfulness was important were maybe a little selfish as well. The past few years have brought its share of difficulties to the teaching profession. The intensity with which the students interact with teachers and one another certainly changed.

The lack of resources further increases the chaotic load that teachers need to deal with at any given moment. I was finding it hard to let go of the stresses of a previous class while welcoming a new one.

Likewise, sometimes the stress from the previous class would seep into my classroom through the students. The introduction to mindfulness gave everyone a chance to collect themselves and have a fresh start in a new environment. It didn’t resolve all the issues but it certainly alleviated a lot of them.

The Method Evolved Over Time.

Over a few years, I changed the way I introduced mindfulness to my students. At first, it was part of experiential learning in a unit of religion. But gradually I changed meditation to mindfulness. Eventually, I started calling it relaxation to stay away from religious connotations and offending various groups.

I introduced relaxation in small bite-size pieces as part of a unit about knowing yourself. I taught the students to take note of the quantity, and quality of their thoughts. We did perception exercises so that they could realize that although we all sat together in the same classroom our experience of that classroom was not the same.

Then I showed them various ways to understand the neuroscience of why their brains were behaving in a certain way. I explained how our brains are overly stimulated these days and that sometimes we feel like things are bigger than they are because we just need a little break. I showed them that mindfulness could be a simple way to give them a break.

Eventually, I started them on very short mindfulness and breathing practices. By 3 months my three classes of grade 7 students were doing 20 minutes of mindfulness at the start of each class.

“My students felt robbed when they couldn’t practice Mindfulness.”

They loved it and would complain if a replacement cut it short or dismissed it. They came to realize how beneficial this downtime was. Surprisingly, although we took 20mins out of our 80 min class periods to do relaxation, I found that they were more disciplined and productive afterward which easily made up for the time mindfulness took out of our lesson.

More importantly, they were practicing a real-life skill that I knew would serve them outside of my classroom every day. They were learning to work as a team. If one person was struggling to stay focused the whole group’s concentration was disrupted. They learned compassion for the person who couldn’t focus but who tried. It made them a more coherent group, made our classroom a safer place, and helped them learn self-control.

As a teacher, it was one of my biggest accomplishments; Knowing that I shared a skill that they could use every day to relieve some of their anxiety.

When Youth Embrace Mindfulness the Impact is Multiplied

A lot of the kids started practicing mindfulness outside of my classroom. They shared these strategies with their parents. Some would come in at lunchtime to find a quiet place to gather themself for an exam in another class. When I resigned from my position as a teacher, I was overwhelmed with messages from students and parents thanking me for exposing them to this practice. We can learn so much from our youth if we give them a chance.

The saddest part of this account is that none of the other teachers at the school I worked at wanted to try this with their classes. Even the other grade 7 teachers who taught the students I had already trained didn’t want to “waste their time.” I realized that most adults have never been exposed to this practice.

In addition, even though the benefits are well known many do not have a regular practice or understanding of the benefits of mindfulness themself. Teaching something you don’t master is one of the greatest fears of teachers.

The way I broke down teaching youth mindfulness allows teachers and students to explore this practice together. I always felt that I could help my students more if I was also learning alongside them.

After years of success teaching mindfulness, I started to understand that I could teach my three classes (90 students) or I could teach the adults and have more impact. Eventually, I realized that I needed to shift my focus from the kids to the teachers.

It Starts With Educating the Adults

If we want youth to learn mindfulness at school, I realized the first step would be to teach the adults in the building. I resigned before I had a chance to try but I am currently working on a project that will hopefully help us reach more youth than those limited to my classroom. Unfortunately, when I resigned from my position my initiative died with me and the kids have written that the many replacements they have had no longer allow them to do this practice.

I really wish I had been able to pass it on to at least one other teacher while I was there. I saw firsthand the impact it had on those exposed to it for only a few months. But perhaps the most compelling reason to teach mindfulness in schools is the impact it has on the school culture and how students interact with each other.

By teaching youth mindfulness, we give them the opportunity to develop habits that will serve them for the rest of their lives. Mindfulness allows them to better manage their stress, feel more compassion for others, and concentrate more. Moreover, it reduces the amount of tension that resides in the daily interactions of the members of the school. Isn’t the real purpose of school to prepare our kids to live a successful life? This is one way we can set them on the right path.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on facebook if you would like some more tips and tricks to teach your children mindfulness. It will be my pleasure to exchange with you!