Mindfulness
We are committed to highlighting the value of mindfulness through our advisory program this year, and with exams taking place this week, the Health & Wellness Council has also encouraged the community to consider different techniques of mindfulness and stress management.
Advisories have explored a couple of different activities that come from Dr. Daniel Siegel's book,
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, which he refers to as "mindsight tools". These have included a practice which Siegel calls "SIFTing the Brain" (SIFT being an acronym for senses, images, feelings and thoughts, with each component of the acronym serving as a venue through which the participant notices the mind's activity), as well as "Mindsight Illuminated" in which one shifts between practicing physical vs. perceptual seeing of the world around us (i.e. watching people walk down the street and observing them as objects in space vs. seeing them as humans and reading cues about their inner lives). We'll continue exploring Siegel's activities as the year progresses.
During this week's advisory, students and teachers explored an app called
Stop, Breathe & Think, which could be accessed on a computer, tablet or smartphone. This app provides a personalized experience, and can help users track their progress in several areas, as well as provide specific meditations based on a check-in survey.
The Health & Wellness Council has also encouraged community members to notice ways in which they might be practicing mindfulness this week (such as listening to music, doing mindful breathing, etc.), and to mark charts that are posted around the school. They also hosted mindful meditation sessions prior to each exam period, and will do so again for Tuesday's math exams.
