Mindfulness for educators
To provide educators with a firm grounding in mindfulness-based
strategies that can be incorporated into daily life and in the classroom.
The “Mindfulness for Educators Program” is NOW fully available online and
can be done via Zoom for all cohorts!
Get more details – Contact Stephanie Curran and Lisa Baylis at BaylisCurran@gmail.com
A commitment to daily home practice is required during the course in order to embody the concepts learned.
This highly participatory and supportive program will include:
– Guided instruction in mindfulness practices
– Teaching and discussion
– Daily assignments to enhance awareness in everyday life
– A personal practice workbook and guided audio practices online
PERSONAL PRACTICE: 8 Weekly Sessions and Day-Long Retreat
Weekly: to be arranged between district/school and facilitators
All-day class on Saturday from 9am-3pm (between the 5th & 6th class)custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
CLASSROOM SUPPORT: 5 Weekly Sessions to practice learning for schools and classroom
Personal Practice
Teaching mindfulness to youth is significantly enhanced and more effective when it stems from a base of personal practice. The first 8 weeks of this course will help participants develop a personal mindfulness practice to deepen self-awareness, lower stress and increase overall well-being by learning:
- foundations of mindfulness theory and practice
- awareness of patterns of thought, speech, and behaviour
- skills for meeting and navigating intense emotions
- practices that cultivate positive states of mind like gratitude, self-compassion, and kindness
- how mindfulness influences communication and relationships
Classroom support
After completing the “8-week personal practice course”, teachers will participate in 5 weekly classes to learn more about the research on mindfulness in education and discover tools and strategies that can be used to teach mindfulness in the classroom.
Each class will include a personal practice but will focus on developing tools, language, and ideas for bringing mindfulness and compassion into the K-12 classroom. Participation is essential to get the most out of this enriching and shared experience, as participants will be asked to answer prompting questions, ask their own questions, and share their experience in the classroom.
These classes will also touch on how mindfulness strengthens and enhances the aspects of social-emotional learning and well-being for both students and staff. this text in the module Advanced settings.
Stephanie Curran, a practitioner of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in Victoria, BC, is a long time practitioner of meditation. She has completed teacher training course work in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (with MBSR founder Jon Kabat-Zinn), Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting, Listening Mothers and Mindful Schools.
As a parent, Stephanie is deeply moved and inspired to share the benefits of mindfulness with children, families and her community. She facilitates mindfulness programming in schools, to the general public and leads postpartum mindfulness classes in Public Health Units. She enjoys offering presentations about mindfulness at educator conferences, ProD school events and for PAC groups, helping to bring mindfulness into schools and homes in our community.
Website: www.elementscentre.ca
Lisa Baylis is a Positive Educator and Counsellor in the Greater Victoria School District. She offers workshops to bring tools and strategies to educators in order to help them create wellness habits for themselves and the students in their classrooms. She has presented at conferences locally, provincially and internationally about positive education, mindfulness, and teacher wellbeing.
Lisa has completed the Mindful Schools curriculum and is a trained Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) teacher. You can find her here: www.lisabaylis.com
She is passionate about teaching mindfulness to educators. As a parent, whose children are in the public school system, she is a strong advocate for enhancing educator’s well-being and self-awareness.
“I feel very fortunate to be part of this program.
It has changed the way I look at my own life, how I value life and experiences, and how I can help my students feel connected to their true self and realize their own value”
“I see the benefits from my morning practice affecting me throughout my day. I am able to stay calmer. I spend more time engaging in problems instead of making snap decisions. I am happier. I am taking time to connect and really hear what the people around me have to communicate”
“I am calmer and more present than I ever was before. This has greatly impacted my teaching practices.
I now find it much easier to keep my stress levels low because I am able to take a breath and really look at a situation before doing anything…I am not letting old stressors trigger me because I am able to take a moment after the stimulus to think clearly before my response rather than just reacting”
“I now practice deep breathing, yoga and mindful listening as well as heartfulness (sending love to our beloveds) each day after recess and just before math. I was shocked the first time I tried it as I couldn’t believe that a simple ringing of a singing bowl and breathing three breaths could have such an affect.
My learners (half of whom are VERY high energy) were calm and alert for 10 minutes. I know that this method is effective as I am seeing it in action!”
“I thought intuitively it should transfer into my life but it takes work and practices and you can’t just assimilate it by reading about it you actually have to do the practice”
“The check-ins created a sense of community and a place to be honest and feel supported with the experience of incorporating this new lifestyle into our busy worlds”
“Every time I have an interaction with a kid I give them the opportunity to tell me what is happening – giving them silences so that they can give the answers instead of adults filling in the spaces all the time”
“I now practice deep breathing, yoga and mindful listening as well as heartfulness (sending love to our beloveds) each day after recess and just before math. I was shocked the first time I tried it as I couldn’t believe that a simple ringing of a singing bowl and breathing three breaths could have such an affect.
My learners (half of whom are VERY high energy) were calm and alert for 10 minutes. I know that this method is effective as I am seeing it in action!”
“I thought intuitively it should transfer into my life but it takes work and practices and you can’t just assimilate it by reading about it you actually have to do the practice”
“I really feel like the 8 weeks inserted into your life helps to establish a commitment to practice instead of a one off event. People would ask me when are you done and I would say, I’m not done. This is what I do now”
