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The School of Mindful Arts

MaitriMind Blog

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1/11/2021

Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness as a Family
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​            Mindfulness is increasingly common in classrooms as an intervention strategy, part of the rhythm of the day, or even as a teaching pedagogy, but even long before children start school, they can benefit from mindfulness. In fact, the whole family can improve physical, mental, and emotional health by practicing together. Additionally, the family unit gains compassion, increased communication skills, and a shared vocabulary for conflict resolution when a solid foundation of mindfulness is present. Perhaps the most joyous benefit of practicing mindfulness as a family is the happy memories made together when everyone is fully present and in tune with each other.

            Parents often ask when the best time is to start mindfulness with their children. Ideally, it would be before they are even born, yet it is never too late to start! According to Greater Good Magazine, participants in Nurse-midwife Nancy Bardacke’s Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) classes reported improvements in pregnancy anxiety and stress levels and more frequent positive feelings—such as enjoyment, gratitude, and hope—after the program. The breathing exercises that are the foundation of Lamaze birthing and pain-management strategies are identical to some of those used in mindfulness. I can personally verify that having an established meditation practice made patience and flexibility much easier in my parenting.  On the other hand, whether your child is in pre-school, elementary, middle, or high school, there are mindfulness practices and curricula for their age group that facilitate developmental milestones and ease the specific challenges for each age-group.

            No matter what age is your entry point to mindfulness practices (even adulthood), to effectively achieve the physical, mental, and emotional benefits, it is important to understand that mindfulness is skills-oriented, not goal-oriented.  For example, a reasonable physical intention would be to meditate for 5-10 minutes per day for at least six weeks. That is the length of time necessary to begin to activate neuroplasticity and rewire your brain to respond instead of react to situations. Just like any health plan, focusing on strategies instead of results is more realistic. It is also more fair to focus on skills instead of goals with the mental and emotional aspects of mindfulness with children of any age.  The following table shows the subtle differences in motivation and integrity of mindfulness teaching when this principal is remembered.







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​   A wonderful part of practicing mindfulness as a family is the social-emotional bonding and shared strategies for communication that each member of the group gains. While having a goal of no bickering in the family is not realistic, it can be lessened when each person has the same problem-solving toolkit. Even the youngest children can remember to pause and take deep breaths, go gather their thoughts in a Peace Place, or do some physical activity when big feelings are threatening to take over. It is a beautiful thing to see children support each other and the adults in their lives by suggesting mindful strategies to a family member in distress! Classes in engaged mindfulness from The School of Mindful Arts also cover such conflict resolution strategies as justice circles, using “I” statements, deep listening, Native American inspired talking sticks, and a game called Grok cards.  (https://www.groktheworld.com/kids-grok)

            In my parenting journey, the thing I have most appreciated about weaving mindfulness into the fabric of our family life has been the shared memories we have made.  The definition of mindfulness is “being aware, in the present moment, without harmful negative judgements”.  This quality of being fully present to my family and each individual moment we are sharing extends beyond the dedicated mindfulness practice sessions to an appreciation of all our times together.  While some of my favorite memories with my children have been taking mindful walks/nature hikes, doing contemplative arts and crafts together, and engaging in more formal meditation practices, the quality of mindful presence has enabled me to appreciate and treasure the more mundane elements of family life- even doing chores together. Embracing the value of non-judgement can even make each family member more likely to try new activities that they may not initially feel drawn to.

            Being gentle with yourself and your family without unrealistic expectations is the basis for both living mindfully and starting to implement formal mindfulness practices into the rhythm of your days.  Mindfulness is a process and way of being as much as a set of exercises and practices. Both formal and informal mindfulness have important places in family life, no matter the age of your children. So, you can decide to implement sitting together with an auditory focus of nature sounds for five minutes before bed every night AND slow down and walk in silence listening to the birds in an impromptu way when hiking. You can do yoga together regularly AND use tree pose as a strategy for grounding when upset.  There are many tools and resources available to support parents in raising a mindful family. The most important part is to find your own entry point, no matter the age of your children or your previous level of experience and give mindfulness a try!



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11/16/2020

​The Symbiotic Relationship
​Between Mindfulness and Environmental Education

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​     Environmental studies, ecology, and conservation as we know them today were disciplines which gained momentum in the 1960s. They were largely inspired Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, but philosophers and scientists including Rousseau, Darwin, Thoreau, and Aristotle all laid the groundwork for these fields hundreds of years before. Similarly, Jon Kabat-Zinn coined the term “mindfulness” in 1979, but every religion for thousands of years prior had contemplative practices. Combining education in these two fields has become increasingly common in the past ten years, but from the start of the nature education movement in the 19th century the spiritual and ethical aspects of humans in their environment was emphasized.  Recent research has shown that people who combine mindfulness and environmental studies reap benefits for their individual physical, emotional and cognitive health. These same cognitive gains also support social and global changes and implementation of sustainability initiatives, so using the terminology of biology, they are mutually beneficial, symbiotic disciplines.

     On an individual level, there are many potential health benefits from practicing mindfulness in nature. Because movement is usually involved in outdoor contemplative activities, yoga and tai chi for example, practitioners get the physical benefits of exercise in addition to the mental/emotional supports of the mindfulness process. Choosing to practice mindfulness outdoors also gives one the ability to try specific mindfulness practices which are only done in nature, such as forest bathing and walking meditation.  The clinical mindfulness benefits of reduced blood pressure, increased immunity, deeper sleep, etc. are improved when combined with gentle exercise. Provided you are in an area with good air quality, the healthy outcomes of breathing exercises and increased oxygen in the body are boosted by practicing outdoors in the fresh air.

     Children and adults alike also benefit physically from mindfulness due to neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to continually reorganize itself and grow. Contemplative practices build the neural connections between the amygdala, the primal part of the brain, and the prefrontal cortex, the seat of higher reasoning.  Positive neuroplasticity promotes emotional regulation which supports many of the 
goals of environmental education.  Mindfulness gives people an increased sense of well-being which helps them to feel more optimistic about environmental problems. The awareness of interdependence gained from contemplative practices builds feelings of connection to the natural world, thus increasing individuals’ desire to care for the planet.  Likewise, heightened compassion increases concern for equity and justice for others, encouraging a sustainability mind-set.  Emotional resilience is one of the most important outcomes from mindfulness practices, and this quality promotes the confidence to act instead of feeling overwhelmed about climate change and other environmental concerns.

     Combining mindfulness practices with environmental education builds cognitive as well as emotional skills which contribute to a deeper understanding of sustainability and an improved ability to be a change-maker.  Learning how to pause and take a breath and knowing how to respond instead of react to situations enables more skillful and peaceful advocacy. Cultivation of the core values which are part of ethical mindfulness education activates a sense of responsibility for others, communities, and the planet.  The increased density of the pre-frontal cortex which comes from sustained mindfulness practice promotes better problem-solving skills and leads to increased innovation in mitigation strategies for environmental threats and disasters.

     A more recent sub-discipline of secular mindfulness is engaged mindfulness which is usually begun after an individual has a solidly established personal practice. This practice is more in keeping with the original term of Right Mindfulness from Buddhist philosophy. Engaged mindfulness seeks to integrate social and scientific knowledge with empathy and values to inspire involvement and action. I explain engaged mindfulness to children with the metaphor of helping others as well as oneself being as crucial as breathing out as well as breathing in. Since our first mindfulness lessons are establishing awareness of the breath, focusing on exhaling along with inhaling is an image that they are prepared to understand as their practice matures. Engaged mindfulness promotes environmental activism by imparting a feeling of belonging to one human family sharing one planet.  One of the most beautiful ways engaged mindfulness practice prepares children to be citizens of the world, especially when combined with environmental education, is by developing an appreciation of indigenous wisdom and relationship native peoples have with nature.

     In my upper level lessons for teens and adults, I make a distinction between engaged mindfulness and applied mindfulness, with the latter having an even broader scope and the goal of addressing systemic changes beyond just the call for individual activism.  The new neural connections built over time with even short sessions of meditation repeated often facilitate a growth-mindset and empower practitioners with the ability to devise new structures and frameworks. The group altruism developed by being a part of a mindful community fosters a desire for social, economic, and political equity. Any initiatives to promote true social sustainability also have positive effects on the environment 
by reducing consumption and waste.  Part of being trained as an engaged mindfulness educator includes learning about trauma and restorative practices, as meditation and other contemplative practices are often used as supports in mental health interventions. This understanding of trauma and healing is also often applied to using mindfulness strategies to victims of natural disasters.  Being a part of a mindful community promotes a commitment to contribute towards deep, lasting comprehensive changes.
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     From individual health, emotional, and cognitive benefits to improvements in the well-being of communities and the planet, practicing mindfulness and environmental education together offers improved outcomes in many areas. The fields support each other, and together support individuals with the worldview and skills to make true change. Mindfulness teaches the resilience to be with personal, environmental, and social problems and the confidence to find and implement solutions. The mindfulness lessons in communication and conflict resolution empower students with the tools to be peaceful, skillful advocates. Mindfulness practices often have enhanced benefits for people when done outside.  Environmental advocates who have mindfulness trainings gain coping strategies for being with the anxieties of climate change, and therapeutic tools to help victims of natural disasters. The practices of both engaged and applied mindfulness specifically encourage individuals to feel connected to others and the natural world and thus contribute to caring for the well-being of communities and the planet. Mindfulness and contemplative studies, sustainability and environmental studies are inherently symbiotic and people of all ages benefit greatly from being taught both disciplines together.

Contemplative Art and Mindfulness For all Learning Styles

3/26/2021

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​       ​In the same pivotal year, 1979, when Jon Kabat-Zinn started the Mindfulness movement by founding his Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Walter Burke Barbe et al pioneered the theory of differentiated learning styles. They identified three learning modalities: Visual, Aural and Kinesthetic, known by the acronym VAK. In 1987, Neil Flemming added Reading/Writing as a fourth style, which Howard Gardner more appropriately broke in to Linguistic and Logical styles in his definitions of multiple intelligences.

      Although the idea of students having different learning modalities was a popular educational theory for almost thirty years, it has recently fallen out of favor because, in direct contrast to the mounting evidence to support Kabat-Zinn’s ideas, there has been very little neuroscience to support the Styles of Learners hypotheses. Instead of separating and labeling students by learning styles, it is more appropriate and effective to integrate all of the types of experiences in the classroom. This newer theory of integrated experiential instruction based on the five learning styles (the original VAK plus Linguistic and Logical) is naturally suited to teaching both Contemplative Art and Mindfulness.

      Any creative activity which affords the participant the opportunity to be fully present with their feelings, intent, the material and the product is Contemplative Art. The argument can be made that until the Renaissance and the rise of portrait and landscape painting, all art forms were religious and inherently contemplative. Cave paintings, music, calligraphy, sculpture, stained glass, ikebana, literature, the tea ceremony, medieval mystery plays- from primitive times to the rise of humanism all creativity celebrated the idea and image of the Devine as understood in the creators’ cultural context.  Most great artists in any field would still say that the element of immersion in their process and the investment of their feelings and personal attachment is critical whether their subject is religious, secular or even abstract. 

      This meditative aspect of creation is what defines Contemplative Art as a Mindfulness Practice and is not only the domain of the genius. Any person of any age can use mindful creativity as a form of meditation. Children do it intuitively and the popularity of adult coloring books reflects how many people want to reconnect with that part of  themselves. In Waldorf schools, watercolor painting and modeling with beeswax are taught as contemplative practices from preschool. In Montessori classrooms there is always an art area where the focus is on the process not the product because the actual product is the development of the child’s inner life. Since the mid-1940s when psychologist Margaret Naumburg began referring to her work as Art Therapy, the field has spread to hospitals, clinics and schools all across the country. Because the goal of developing awareness through the immersion in a certain type of consciousness is the same with Contemplative Art and meditation they can be woven together seamlessly in any Mindfulness Practice.

      Many art forms from ancient eastern Tantra to modern performance art focus on the experiential, the  process and somatic awareness. Somatic awareness is the information we receive thru our felt senses and goes way beyond the tactile sense of touch to include the whole neurological system, our awareness of our bodies moving thru space and those intangible feelings we often label “gut reactions”. Somatic experiences rely on input that is kinesthetic, visual, auditory and beyond. Incense can add another sensory layer to meditation as can a finger labyrinth or even a “worry stone”. Mindful Eating even engages the taste sense.  Savasana from yoga or a “body-scan” in secular mindfulness practices both bring awareness to the subtleties of somatic awareness. 

       Probably the most recognizable and easily duplicated example of somatic experiential art is the work of Jackson Pollock. Children as young as toddlers can feel the connection between their inner and outer life when provided with a large piece of paper on the floor, some paint and jazz music. This activity is just one simple example of a Contemplative Art and Mindfulness exercise which integrates different styles of learning- the Visual, Aural and Kinesthetic.  To involve older students who are beginning to add Linguistic and Logical thinking, mindful projects of journaling or researching more about the artist could be added.  For a longer-term group project, the time-honored tradition of a class producing a musical, however small scale, artfully combines all five learning styles plus the extremely important Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills of collaboration, organization and usually some degree of diplomacy.

      Although it can be very freeing to focus on process instead of product when creating, not all Contemplative Art has to be temporary or disposable. There are almost unlimited sources of inspiration for projects that produce work which can be used in future Mindfulness Practices. Stringing mala beads is meditative in the process but also results in a bracelet that the maker can use to count breaths or mantras (and is an excellent exercise in small motor skills). Calligraphy, sculpting, drawing, painting, even candle-making can yield items which can be used as visual focus objects in future meditation. Baking bread can be a peaceful process of awareness (as well as a means to think about measurement and numbers for the Logical Thinking) and afterwards a vehicle for a practice of mindful eating.

      Just as Contemplative Art can be practiced in different learning modalities, so can Mindfulness. It‘s a common misconception that meditation is always a static practice usually performed in a sitting posture.  Although many people do meditate while sitting, either on the floor or in a chair, there are Mindfulness practices for every one of the five learning styles. There are traditions of walking, standing (which is particularly good for grounding) and even laying down meditations.  Mindfulness of a focus object/picture/statue/ flame is  an exercise in Visual Learning as well as concentration.  Being present with a bell or other neutral sound like waves, drumming, chanting is an Aural Learning experience.  Mantras &  anchor words are particularly good for Linguistic Learning in meditation but can also be helpful for those with a preference for Auditory Learning. Journaling and writing poetry are good creative contemplative practices for Linguistic thinking. Zen koans, esoteric symbolism and “magical” numbers would be things to ponder to mindfully exercise the Logical parts of the brain. Walking meditations, labyrinths, & yoga are particularly suited to Kinesthetic Learning as are tai chi, dance and eurhythmy. 

      In Gardner’s model, he lists seven types of intelligences, the five already mentioned plus Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. It is probably more appropriate to additionally assess the personal preference of Solitary vs. Social Learning for each student than to label these two as additional Learning Styles. Since Mindfulness is Awareness, no matter which is a persons more natural temperament - Solitary or Social- it is important to be able to experience both types of  being present, being with yourself and being with others for basic SEL. This is especially important in a classroom setting and a mindful teacher can skillfully guide the daily dance of balancing each child’s need for independence/solitude with their need for socialization. While the general perception of meditation is that it is a very solitary practice, and any of the above types of practice can be done alone, many also lend themselves to group settings as well. Sitting, walking, chanting, and yoga are all particularly good  Social Mindfulness Practices. Outside of a classroom setting, volunteer work, retreats and seasonal celebrations or festivals all are occasions for people to be mindful but not solitary. 

      Likewise, most Contemplative Art practices can be done in a Solitary or Social setting.  Music, dance, mural painting, poetry slams, group writing projects and theater are all mindful creative activities that can be very Social and collaborative. These should be balanced with more inward turning Contemplative Art practices such as watercolor painting, journaling, calligraphy, dance or musical solos and independent writing projects.
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     Of course, none of these practices are actually mindful if there isn’t awareness on the part of the participants and the especially the facilitator.  This intangible quality of being fully present and creatively weaving multi-sensory experiences together to present lessons in differing learning styles for all students makes teaching itself an ultimate exercise in Contemplative Art and Mindfulness.

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