I personally had a lot of trouble finding articles specifically related to "brain breaks." When I decided to narrow my focus to Yoga specifically, my search was much more successful. While reading through a few articles, I noticed a couple references to a pilot program in Milwaukee, WI using yoga in an elementary school. In trying to find out more about the program, I found the website of Growing Minds, the organization that ran the pilot program. I have had some contact with the Founder and President, who has introduced me to the idea of "mindfulness."
"Mindfulness means to pay attention to the present moment, with intention, in a non-judgmental way. It is a practice of awareness and observation." - Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer of Mindfulness in the US and the teacher who brought Mindfulness into the field of medicine and health
Thirty years of empirical research shows that a regular mindfulness practice increases attention, executive functioning (processing information and learning), emotional regulation, stress reduction, empathy, and a variety of other positive effects.
- http://mindsincorporated.org/mindfulness/
I have already ordered a couple of books on this topic and look forward to learning more about mindfulness, so that I may consider using this when teaching brain breaks to my classroom. I'll be practicing on my own children as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment