This primary school has started each day for the past two years with one of my Mindful Moments. The students and staff all gather in the gym when they arrive, breathe together, and then start their day. You can feel the calm, positive energy when you walk in, and the wonderful teachers were enthusiastic participants in our shows along with the children.
In our session after school, the teachers and I talked about how not every Mindful Moment is appealing to all the students, and how some work better than others. How you don’t have to be still to be mindful, and in fact for some children mindful movement works a whole lot better.
I challenged the teachers to come up with mindful breaks of their own, as they know their audience much better than I do. They surprised themselves, I think, with the incredibly creative, fun mindfulness exercises they came up with, that they know will appeal to their classrooms.
You can do it too. You DON’T need any special training to practice simple mindfulness with children. Just remember to keep it short, kid-friendly, and consistent.
We were greeted before our three shows by this incredible work of art—the art teacher who created it incorporated themes from my songs as well as my book Breathe Like a Bear. It’s more stunning in person than in a photo. We were so grateful and touched.