Today was the our last Middle School Mindfulness Workshop for this school year. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy these classes.
Spending time with my friends, faculty, students, and all the Brookline teachers at the Lawrence School, Heath School, Loring School, Milton Academy, and the Brown Middle School in Newton this season, we’ve seen the general atmosphere in the classrooms become more balanced and some classes even seemed to slow down. I wish I recorded the first meditation we did in January vs. the one we did yesterday – total relaxation!
I’ve seen students use the breath to slow down when they’re overexcited, or become frustrated when they don’t know the outcome of the activity that we were doing. One of the phrases that we come back to every season is, “catch yourself“. Everyone can be impulsive, but if you can catch yourself before you act on that impulse, I consider that self awareness to be the magic moment in mindfulness – and a huge success.
It’s pretty cool to see the kids do this first hand. More students are now able to bring that reflective quality to their attention and actions. Once they learn to stabilize their attention, they can start to shift their awareness to BEING and then noticing how they feel – through meditation. 
It was amazing to have had such wonderful support this season. It’s deeply gratifying, particularly when I get to review all their feedback=).
Teaching students HOW to pay attention, through self awareness and meditation, is still fairly new, but I’m certain that it has the potential to make a positive impact in our community. Have a great summer!