In this article jen highlights an area that is new in CI instruction, one that has hardly been touched, one that may not resonate with everyone, but which I myself see as instrumental if we are to succeed in our CI practices, if not with our students, then at least by and for ourselves and our own mental health in the school buildings we work in:
I find myself drawn to…the merging (or perhaps more accurately) of CI and mindfulness practices. I don’t even want to use those terms, but I lack words.
There are a lot of reasons I would love to explore this more deeply and develop some ways to integrate these organically. It is a natural connection, and I also see that labeling (just like TPRS and CI, yoga and meditation) can throw up the walls. But the bottom line is that what we are doing is yoga. Not asana, per se, but yoga as described in the sutras… as in connection / union. What we are doing in our classrooms is so rigorous (the interpersonal piece) that I think it is a pretty close analogy to a personal meditation practice…the work is to come back again and again to the breath (or mantra or whatever you use). For us in our classrooms we are practicing much the same thing, the discipline of coming back over and over to listen with the intent to understand. I don’t see a huge difference in these two practices.
What we do in our classrooms relies on presence. Not that in other school subjects presence is not required, but we have a deeper reason for presence: we are engaged in a living process, not an accumulation of information. This process is language acquisition and much more. The “by products” are to see and be seen, to hear and be heard, to appreciate and be appreciated…for exactly who we are. This is excruciatingly rigorous!
There is so much neuroscience out there finally backing up what people have known for thousands of years. This is good for us. Data. It seems that “mindfulness” is becoming a big buzz word in education. It has always seemed to me that the CI classroom is a natural environment to plant some of these seeds because we can actually nurture them with our classroom practices. I am not suggesting that everyone suddenly throw in some asana and meditation, especially if these are not in your personal practice…and I am suggesting that if these practices are part of who you are, there are ways to bring them into the classroom in a “legit” way. For example, I sometimes did these mini guided imagery meditations basically to bring kids into their bodies in a way that they did not have to be “on stage.” Eyes closed, seated upright, heads down or even lying on the floor I simply did a body scan using the body parts they knew. Very basic. I used expressions like “attention” and “breathe” and “long breath” “balance.” It was something they craved. Many would fall asleep, which, while not the intention, just shows how depleted these kids are. In one group, I did this quite a bit and actually noticed (along with the “reset” that happens when you do this) kids’ comprehension increase. They began to place their hands instantly on the part of the body I suggested they bring their attention. At first I went in a certain order, but then mixed it up. I have also taught an actual yoga asana class in TL. It’s automatically a place where they must listen with intent to understand…and there is no expectation to respond verbally, which is a great bonus!
There is so much more to do …and yes I understand deeply that we cannot be mindful when we are hungry. I am very sensitive to the perception by some that “yoga” is a middle class soccer mom activity with the goal of wearing cute yoga pants. That is way off base in my view. I see these practices as effective tools to empower our students, especially those who are not going to go to a studio or get a gym membership. Anxiety and depression are rampant, and we have tools to help people find their way through instead of getting trapped in negative cycles. Bottom line is that we just want to belong, right? And our classes have the great potential to cultivate true belonging.
I am working with one of my yoga / reiki teachers on a curriculum for teens called “The Wilderness Within.” I would love to connect with anyone who might be interested in merging this / integrating it into CI classroom. Not like an add-on, but looking at the elements of what we do and maybe tweaking how we do it??? Just me brainstorming with myself. I hope this ramble doesn’t seem way off track. That is not my intention.