Why Choose A Mindfulness Program?
My school has an SEL program with a mindfulness component already…isn’t that enough?
With students’ mental health needs at an all-time high, many school districts have been quick to adopt social and emotional learning programs to address these challenges. This is a very good starting point, and shows that a school community values wellbeing. However, mindfulness provides the building blocks for such curriculum to take a more powerful effect. For example, think of an SEL program that gives students the language and visuals to identify emotions. Going beyond mindful breathing as a strategy to calm down, in-depth mindfulness training, however, allows students to pay attention to how an emotion feels in the body, like anger as a tightness in the stomach. Mindfulness normalizes that all emotions can be felt, and gives students the experience of being with their emotions as they develop a capacity of resiliency. Simply put, mindfulness is the practice, and not just the theory of how to act. It develops the awareness on an individual level for the concepts that are taught in character development programs. When mindfulness is taught experientially, relationally and invitationally, it allows all other learning to flourish.
Mindfulness teaches the foundational skills needed to access the behaviors taught in academic and social emotional curricula.
Self-Awareness
Mindfulness teaches direct attention training, internal exploration, how to work with thoughts and recognize emotional states.
Self-Management
Mindfulness enhances the ability to notice positive states, regulate emotions, create space before reactions, and to get closer to achieving goals.
Social Awareness
Mindfulness supports listening to others with empathy, understanding of multiple perspectives, and disrupting biases.
Relationship Skills
Mindfulness creates a safe space to practice communicating with presence, purpose and non-reactivity that is crucial for building healthy relationships.
Responsible Decision-Making
Mindfulness establishes the power of the pause as a strategy to navigate challenges with clarity and curiosity.
Based on CASEL’s 5 Core Competencies: https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/