Come Into the Room. When school staff are more relaxed, students are calmer and the overall climate at a school can be transformed. Why Mindfulness?

Transcription

1 2/1/16 The Mindful Teacher Jessica Nassie Come Into the Room Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment.... We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing. Jon Kabat-Zinn My Journey Teaching Elementary School for 16 Years Mindfulness Retreat for Teachers Resilient Mindful Learner Summer Institute for Educators MBSR with Beth Mulligan through UCI School of Medicine Cultivating Emotional Balance Teacher Training, Holy Isle, Scotland Why Mindfulness? Mirror Neurons: Our Behavior Matters Emotions are contagious You cannot give what you do not have We are no strangers to stress Agenda Stress Response Relaxation Response Mindfulness Self-Compassion Taking in the Good When school staff are more relaxed, students are calmer and the overall climate at a school can be transformed. Simon, Harnett, & Nagler,

2 Stress Response What Are Your Stressors? The perception of a threat to the physical or psychological wellb e i n g a n d t h e perception that the individual s responses are inadequate to cope with it. Stress has always been with us. It can keep us safe and alert to danger. -Benson Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine Wonderful Moment Breathing exercise for finding relief in difficult moments In-Out Deep-Slow Calm-Ease Smile-Release Present Moment-Wonderful Moment From Be Free Where You Are by Thich Nhat Hanh Key Players in the Brain s Stress Response: Amygdala Key player of limbic system Reacts to fear, danger, and threat Acts as brain s security guard Helps to regulate our emotional state Blocks higher-level thinking, reasoning, and judgment during negative emotional states (stress, fear, anxiety) In negative emotional statse, processes stimuli as an automatic reflexive response as fight, flight or freeze Bottle Illustration Key Players in the Brain s Stress Response: Prefrontal Cortex Information from the limbic system is fed into this region of the brain Highly evolved region Controls decision making Focuses attention Makes reading, writing, reflecting, analyzing, and comprehending possible Produces well-thought-out reactions 2

3 2/1/16 Key Players in the Brain s Stress Response: Hippocampus Key player in the limbic system Assists in managing our response to fear and threats Storage vault for memory and learning Critical for new learning, forming explicit memories of facts, details and important life events. Let s Stretch Cognitive, Emotional, & Physical Signs of Stress q Memory problems q Feeling overwhelmed q Inability to concentrate q Depression or general unhappiness q Seeing only the negative q Neck and shoulder pain q Loss of appetite or overeating q Frequent colds and flu q Fatigue q Frequent low grade q Heart palpitations q Constant worrying q Asthma attacks q Headaches q Infections q Irritable bowel syndrome q Insomnia Source: Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Boston, MA Mindful Awareness: Essential for Relaxation Mental attitude is nonjudging Paying close attention Repeat a simple mental or physical stimulus breathing, a word, phrase, image, or movement A state of focused awareness coupled with an attitude of interest. This mental attitude bypasses the inner dialogue of ordinary thought, thereby decreasing arousal of the stress response. Source: Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Boston, MA Stress vs. Relaxation Response Relaxing Breath Begin with exhale through your mouth noisily around your tongue, pursing your lips outward. Inhale through nose quietly to count of 4. Hold breath to count of 7. Exhale slowly to count of 8. Repeat. Stress CHANGES Response Relaxation Response Metabolism All Increase Heart Rate Blood Pressure All Decrease Breathing Rate Muscle Tension Important: exhale 2x longer than inhale. Source: Benson Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, Boston, MA 3

4 Stressful vs. Relaxing Breath Mindfulness Mindfulness practice is the intent to remain present in moment-to-moment experiences in a nonjudgmental way (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Such practice includes reflective activities or simply walking, eating, and listening with intent. Benefits of Mindfulness Thicker cortical regions in the brain that helps with attention and sensory processing (Lazar et al. 2005) Heightened empathetic awareness (Lutz et al., 2008) Improved brain activation of positive affect and immune response, more specifically antibody production (Davidson et al., 2003) Improved stress regulation by a faster reduction in the stress hormone, cortisol (Tang et al., 2007) Enhanced relationships by improving autonomy, closeness and acceptance of one another (Carson et al., 2004) Focused Awareness Sit in a comfortable position and make sure your shoulders are relaxed. Relax your jaw. Let your eyelids get heavy. Close your eyes if you wish. Social connectedness (Hutcherson et al., 2008) Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction MBSR How Does Mindfulness Work? 4

5 Automatic vs. Mindful How to Cultivate Mindfulness? Tangerine Exercise You slowly use all of your senses, one after another, to observe a Tangerine in great detail, from the way it feels in your hand to the way its taste bursts on your tongue. This exercise is intended to help you focus on the present moment, and can be tried with different foods. It s not really about... pretending you re a statue in a British museum. It s about living your life as if it really mattered, moment by moment by m o m e n t b y m o m e n t. -Jon Kabat-Zinn How to Cultivate Mindfulness? Pay close attention to your breathing, especially when you re feeling intense emotions. Notice really notice what you re sensing in a given moment, the sights, sounds, and smells that ordinarily slip by without reaching your conscious awareness. Recognize that your thoughts and emotions are fleeting and do not define you, an insight that can free you from negative thought patterns. Tune into your body s physical sensations, from the water hitting your skin when you wash your hands to the way your body rests in your office chair. Mindfulness of Breathing Systematic way of gradually getting in touch with the way your body feels to you in a given moment. Don t try to hard to relax. No instruction to relax parts of the body. Simply see what sensations, if any, are currently present and note them. Beth Mulligan MBSR Workbook 5

6 Self-Compassion Self-Compassion Kristin Neff, Ph.D., The author and pioneering University of Texas psychologist researches how awareness of your o w n t h o u g h t s a n d feelings can lead you to b e k i n d e r t o w a r d yourself and why this self-compassion brings a host of mental and physical health benefits. Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-Esteem Being aware in the present moment when we're struggling with feelings of inadequacy, despair, confusion, and other forms of stress (mindfulness) and responding with kindness and understanding (self-compassion). Self-compassion also means facing difficult emotions fear, anger, sadness, shame and selfdoubt and ourselves, without criticism or judgment, leading to greater ease and well-being in our daily lives. Mindfulselfcompassion.org Self-Compassion Care-Giving System Remain Standing If... Felt guilty for something you said Let someone down Was let down by someone Disappointed by something that didn t go as planned Felt the pressure of deadlines Overreacted to someone s behavior Common Confusions About Self-Compassion Compassion is weak Compassion can be a strong powerful force for change Self-indulgent Compassion helps us to be more available to others needs Making excuses blowing off responsibility Provides safety to admit mistakes Undermines motivation Self-compassion frees up energy to move forward 6

7 Rick Hanson Let s Practice Self-Compassion Break Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and New York Times best-selling author. Dr. Hanson has been invited to speak at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard His free newsletter-just One Thinghas over 100,000 subscribers Mindfulselfcompassion.org The Negativity Bias Taking in the Good Brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for the good Our ancestors needed to focus on the negative in order to survive Negative experiences get more attention Maintaining Positive Emotions Taking in the Good Taking in the Good Notice a fact and feel good about it. Mindfully enjoy the experience. Deepen the perception of the positive experience. Maintaining Positive Emotions RickHanson.net 7

8 Resources The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; I mean that if you are happy you will be good. Bertrand Russell UCI School of Medicine UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center Dr. Kristin Neff Dr. Rick Hanson 8