Copublished with Mindful Schools “Effectively sharing mindfulness with teenagers depends on distinct skill sets . . . done well, it is incredibly joyous.” Matthew Brensilver, JoAnna Hardy and Oren Jay Sofer provide a powerful guide to help teachers master the essential competencies needed to successfully share mindfulness practices with teens and adolescents. Incorporating anecdotes from actual teaching, they blend the latest scientific research with innovative, original techniques for making the practices accessible and interesting to this age group. This text is an indispensable handbook for mindfulness instruction in its own right, and a robust companion volume for teachers using The Mindful Schools Curriculum for Adolescents. Also available as a two-book set.
Teaching Mindfulness to Teens as a Path of Empowerment is a teacher-level perspective on mindfulness instruction that has systems-level implications. Mindfulness instruction is framed as an ally to social justice and antiracist practice; and as a path of empowerment, warriorship, self-healing, and collective transformation. In stand-alone essays that are rich with personal stories and student reflections, Meghan LeBorious lays the groundwork for a thriving mindfulness classroom that is highly engaging, rigorous, student-centered, and antiracist. She inspires readers to dig deep, imagine what is possible, and collaborate in making the world we want to live in, one in which every student is seen, supported, valued, and inspired; and is armed with the tools they need to step into their full power and potential.
Copublished with Mindful Schools A flexible set of lessons tailored to the developmental needs of adolescents, based on research in behavioral science. Arguably, no student population stands to gain more from mindfulness practice— with its power to enhance emotion regulation, attention stability, and self- awareness— than students between the ages of thirteen and twenty. In this comprehensive curriculum developed at Mindful Schools, Oren Jay Sofer and Matthew Brensilver provide twentyfive brief (twenty- to- thirty- minute) lessons that supply a framework for mindfulness instruction that can be expanded or condensed according to the needs of students. Each lesson includes a “science supplement” with research findings relevant to the practice, and handouts summarizing key aspects of the lesson that can be distributed to students. Users of the curriculum may also be interested in the instructional resource written from a similar perspective by these authors with JoAnna Hardy: Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents.
Drawing from mindfulness education and social justice teaching, this book explores an anti-oppressive pedagogy for university and college classrooms. Authentic classroom discussions about oppression and diversity can be difficult; a mindful approach allows students to explore their experiences with compassion and to engage in critical inquiry to confront their deeply held beliefs and value systems. This engaging book is full of practical tips for deepening learning, addressing challenging situations, and providing mindfulness practices in anti-oppression classrooms. Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy is for all higher education professionals interested in pedagogy that empowers and engages students in the complex unlearning of oppression.
Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents starts from the premise that mental health clinicians must have their own mindfulness practice before teaching the tenets and techniques of mindfulness to others, including young people. To that end, the book offers readers clear instructions on how to first practice mindfulness in their own lives and then extend their personal practice outward to others. Once this knowledge is internalized, the clinician can focus on mindfulness in terms of its application to specific clinical diagnoses, such as anxiety and depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and substance abuse. Because many mental health professionals work in multiple settings, such as in schools, in clinics, and online, the contributors, representing a wide range of creative and authoritative voices, explain how to skillfully tailor mindfulness interventions for effective application across diverse contexts. Drs. Carrion and Rettger, as Director of the Stanford Early Life Stress and Pediatric Anxiety Program (SELSPAP) and Director of SELSPAP's Mindfulness Program, respectively, have been engaged in ongoing community-based work delivering mindfulness and yoga programming to underserved youth and their helpers. This expertise is evident in their eloquent yet down-to-earth editing. The volume offers clinicians everything they need to begin their mindfulness journey, including the following: - Introductory knowledge on how to get started with a meditation practice. Specific mindfulness scripts are provided throughout the book to foster development of the reader's own practice. In addition, there are audio practices and clear written descriptions of practices to offer support for those learning to meditate, internalize mindfulness practices, and then adapt these skills for clinical practice. - A developmental and ecological approach to implementing mindfulness. The book offers insight into integrating mindfulness across many settings, platforms, and applications, and includes chapters on mindfulness online, at home, and in school, as well as chapters on incorporating nature into mindfulness practice and the relationship between mindfulness and creativity. - Material on specific clinical populations, including immigrant youth and incarcerated youth. A special chapter is devoted to trauma-informed yoga, which has been shown to be an effective therapeutic intervention for youth who have been incarcerated. - Comprehensive information on the current state of youth mindfulness research, which prepares readers to discuss these topics knowledgeably with colleagues and patients. Like ripples in water, the benefits of mindfulness spread outward, from clinicians to patients, families, schools, and communities. Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents is the first step toward stress reduction, peace, and compassion for a new generation.
Find your voice, speak your truth, listen deeply—a guide to having more meaningful and mindful conversations through nonviolent communication We spend so much of our lives talking to each other, but how much are we simply running on automatic—relying on old habits and hoping for the best? Are we able to truly hear others and speak our mind in a clear and kind way, without needing to get defensive or go on the attack? In this groundbreaking synthesis of mindfulness, somatics, and Nonviolent Communication, Oren Jay Sofer offers simple yet powerful practices to develop healthy, effective, and satisfying ways of communicating. The techniques in Say What You Mean will help you to: • Feel confident during conversation • Stay focused on what really matters in an interaction • Listen for the authentic concerns behind what others say • Reduce anxiety before and during difficult conversations • Find nourishment in day-to-day interactions “Unconscious patterns of communication create separation not only in our personal lives, they also perpetuate patterns of misunderstanding and violence that pervade our world. With clarity and great insight, Oren Jay Sofer offers teachings and practices that train us to speak and listen with presence, courage, and an open heart.” —Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
Wouldn’t it be great if your child could exercise, have fun, and build concentration skills all at the same time? In 2006, the Little Flower Yoga program was developed by teacher and certified yoga instructor Jennifer Cohen Harper, when her successful use of yoga in her kindergarten classroom led to requests by other students, teachers, and administrators for yoga programs of their own. Harper slowly began to teach more and more yoga classes, and eventually recruited other yoga teachers with education backgrounds to continue growing what had become a flourishing program. Little Flower Yoga for Kidsoffers this fun and unique program combining yoga and mindfulness in an easy-to-read format. Written specifically for parents and kids, the book aims at teaching children to pay attention, increase focus, and balance their emotions—all while building physical strength and flexibility. Based on a growing body of evidence that yoga and mindfulness practices can help children develop focus and concentration, the simple yoga exercises in this book can easily be integrated into their child’s daily routine, ultimately improving health, behavior, and even school achievement. The book details the five main components of the program: connect, breath, move, focus, and relax. Drawing on these components, Harper shares practical activities that parents can use with their children both on a daily basis and as applied to particularly challenging issues. And while this book is targeted to parents, teachers may also find it extremely useful in helping students achieve better attention and focus. For more information about this innovative program, visit www.littlefloweryoga.com.
Mindfulness for Young Adults: Tools to Thrive in School and Life is an interactive experience designed to enhance mindful awareness and to aid in teaching and learning the principles and practice of mindfulness. Blending theory, research, and practice to offer a comprehensive program for young adults to build well-being tools, each of the book’s five modules includes engaging information, strategies, meditations, and activities designed to deepen understanding and application of mindfulness. It includes practical techniques to cope with emotions, work with thoughts, navigate stress, build resilience, make aligned choices, and be more present in life and relationships. In addition to the reflection and meditation activities found at the end of each module, the text also features a "resources" section complete with a mock exam, tips for course design, and resources for further study. Designed for both students and instructors, this workbook can be used independently or in the classroom as either a textbook to an introductory mindfulness course or as a supplement for teaching well-being practices in any discipline.
Written by a teacher for teachers, Teaching Resilience and Mental Health Across the Curriculum is an integrative approach to pedagogy for educators at the high school and college level to survive, thrive, and sustain in the profession. Blending theory, research, and practice for a comprehensive program for teachers to incorporate well-being tools into the classroom, each of the book’s five foundations includes engaging information, strategies, real-world examples, interactive reflection questions, and activities that can be directly applied to teaching and life. Practical guidance in designing real-world curriculum is offered alongside accessible strategies for engagement, investment, and active learning in student-centered classrooms. An essential guide for teachers, it includes techniques for incorporating well-being that are grounded in culturally responsive teaching, trauma-informed instruction, mental health, resilience, and emotional literacy. Teachers will also gain insight on how to make the career sustainable through practices for self-compassion and authentic self-care so they can not only survive, but flourish in and out of school. For all the challenges that students and teachers face, this book defines what it means, and what it takes, to teach in today’s classrooms.
Skilful communication and warm connection are needed today more than ever before. This book explores the potential of mindfulness skills, and how they can be applied to communication in a range of settings. Experienced mindfulness teachers and trainers Frits Koster, Jetty Heynekamp and Victoria Norton provide an outline of the mechanisms underlying mindful communication while a selection of experts presents a concise overview of six communication programs that are becoming well-known in the mindfulness world. They describe the background and structure of each course and offer tasters in the form of short exercises and online audio downloads. Each chapter is followed up by further resources, reading lists and web addresses. Mindful Communication will be of interest to professionals in mental health, social care, education and to anyone who wishes to listen and speak with more wisdom and compassion.
