Stop. Bring your awareness to your breath. Hello breath. Smile. Just notice your breath. Now follow the whole of your breath: "I breathe in I follow my in breath...I breathe out I follow my out breath...in...out." Do that three times. All done.
Several years ago I sat in my office at school...discouraged. I began working as a school social worker (SSW) six years ago...prior to that I was a PE/health teacher that turned health teacher. I loved teaching the social and emotional aspects of the health class. I went back to school to learn more after spending three years at a school in southern California where the students taught me...sharing situations and experiences that I had only read about or watched on TV.
The crisis work as a SSW came easy for some reason. However, when the crisis cleared and the student was in my office I felt limited. I didn't know how to help. I knew that no matter how long a meeting lasted and how wonderful the 'plan' looked, or if we transported the student to the hospital for safety concerns, or if a phone call home was made and parents picked their student up...I couldn't stop the nagging feeling within me that asked: 'what changed?...what will be different?...what did I teach that student that will help him/her manage their situation more effectively?'
Frustrated and determined I recall googling something about 'teaching skills to at risk youth'. I recall finding a short list that I wrote down and taped inside my front desk drawer: anxiety reduction skills, mindfulness, recognizing emotions. I felt a bit more in control having a narrowed list of specific skills that I would develop with the students I spent time with...I didn't know what mindfulness was...but the other two I knew I could work on and that was a place to start.
If you know me or have read any of my previous blogs you will know where I am headed in this post. Mindfulness. Attention to breath. Notice. I breathe in...I breathe out. The complexity of the frustration I had felt was answered in such a simple way - return to breath. Reset your central nervous system. Create space within to allow one's alignment with nature to reveal itself. I read something yesterday that said: 'A good therapist (you could arguably insert teacher or parent) coaches nature.' I think that is beautiful.
I have become passionate about practicing mindfulness (I actually discovered it on my own path to inner peace). I have become passionate about teaching the skills of mindfulness and applied thinking to the young people I have the opportunity to work with. I have developed a passion for teachers...and self care. The expectations for teachers exceed what is realistic...yet there seems to be an unrealistic idea (or toxic mental tendency) to strive to 'get it all done.' In schools the phrase 'what's best for kids' is often heard. Let's take a moment to draw our awareness to breath (see first paragraph) and visualize what that looks like. What is truly best for kids? Is functioning on six hours of sleep truly best for kids? What is best for you is best for those you interact with...best for the greater good of all living beings. 'We cannot give from an empty vessel or drink from an empty well...'
"Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMr4kLsUux8
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