Mindful

ELSPAP Mindfulness

Fall 2018: Back to School

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For those working in schools, or with youth, this can be an exciting and anxious time of year as many are or have already returned back to school. Back to School can bring with it an amazing sense of new beginnings, and there can also be worry about reconnecting with peers, academics, extracurriculars, sports, and all of the other stressors of school. I think we can all remember what is was like for us when we were younger! Maybe it is even like that for us now, but with our work-life balance! The reinitiation of all of these activities can be ungrounding for youth and their caregivers. The heightened stress will definitely show up in our helping relationships with them.

Therefore, there is an inherent need to ground ourselves, to practice mindfulness with an intention of staying centered. By learning how to settle into the present moment, with equanimity, and heartfulness (which is another word for “mindfulness”), we can offer this loving presence of ourselves to youth or to anyone else in our life.

The great meditation teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, says “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

I don’t know how that quotes touches you, but for me I think that it is a most sacred wish for those I love and care about- for them to “bloom like flowers.”

It turns out that it does not have to take too much time to get grounded. I also know that many of you likely spend quite a bit of time at work either at the desk or sitting in a chair. Therefore, this month we will be transforming the desk chair into our yoga mat with a simple chair yoga practice. I put together a video to support you in your practice. 

Check out the video! Enjoy!

Please read our site Disclaimer below before participating in any experientials on this site.

Practice adapted from:
Le Page, J. & Le Page, L. (2005). Yoga Teachers’ Toolbox

Posture List:

OPENING BREATHING
SEATED CAT / COW
EAR TO SHOULDER / EAR AWAY FROM SHOULDER
SHOULDERS UP AND DOWN
SCAPULA RELEASE
LATERAL BEND, SEATED SIDE STRETCH
FRONTAL PLANE HEAD CIRCLES
SHOULDER ROTATING FORWARD, LOOK PAST FORWARD SHOULDER
SEATED BACKBEND
SEATED TWIST
SEATED FORWARD FOLD
CLOSING REST

Disclaimer and Liability Waiver

Please review the following User Agreement carefully before using the exercises on this (YouTube video host for ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu.com) site.

ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu.com (and where indicated John Rettger, PhD) strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.

You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercises.

The information and services provided on ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu.com is NOT designed to be used as “treatment” information, assessment, interventions, or advice. None of the information on this website represents medical treatment for physical or mental disorders. Dr. Rettger does NOT provide yoga services that are “therapy”. These statements override any other information you may read elsewhere on this website that suggests otherwise.

If you are seeking information about medical or mental health treatment, please contact your physician for appropriate referrals.

You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu.com and all contributors to ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of ELSPAP Mindfulness and/or mindful.stanford.edu’s content.

If you DO NOT agree to these terms, then DO NOT participate in any of the exercises hosted on this or other affiliated websites.

Five Senses Practice

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This handout can be used to guide your practice of attending to the five senses. Ideally this practice is done somewhere in nature. At Stanford, we take this worksheet to our beautiful cactus garden

near the psychiatry building. The directions are simple, use the corresponding bubbles to jot down what you notice regarding your sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. At the cactus garden, it is hard to notice taste, so you may use the “flavor” of the air as the cue for this sense. A fun activity following the completion of the worksheet is to try to turn your observations into a poem about the experience.

A thumbnail of the practice is visible to the right.

You can download the worksheet with the link below:

5_S_A_P

Enjoy the practice!

The Mindful Pause

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This week our practice focus is simplicity. There is so much joy that can be connected to by simply taking a moment out of the day and pausing, breathing, sensing this wakeful presence that is right here, right now and allowing all of this moment in. So please take a few moments right now to do that while you gave upon this beautiful image below:

autumn-1751115

Five Senses of Fall

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Hello Mindful Readers! This week’s focus is the Five Senses of Fall. Last week was the Fall Equinox- the first sign that days won’t be quite as long as summer time, and that the season has changed.

This week’s practice will be a reflection on Fall, and what that means to you using our Five Senses.

1. Sight- What do you see that lets you know it is Fall?
2. Sound- What kinds of sounds might you hear during Fall?
3. Taste- What kinds of tastes make you think of Fall?
4. Smell- What kinds of smells remind you of Fall?
5. Touch- What might you touch, or stomp on in the Fall?

Student tip: If you’re feeling creative, make a collage with magazine pictures, or photos you print off the computer (with your parent or guardian’s permission). A drawing is also a great idea. You can even ask if it’s okay to take your own photos of what reminds you of fall for each sense and make a collage with those photos. The sky is the limit. Use your awesome creative skills!

Teacher’s tip: Engage the students to perhaps imagine they are actually working through each experience with their five senses. Ex. Tell me what you see outside that reminds you of Fall. Tell me what a pumpkin pie is like that reminds you of Fall flavors. For more creative students, you might support them in making a collage, or figuring out what to take photos of that best represents their Five Senses of Fall.

Mindful Time Tracking: Putting it all Together

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Welcome back Mindful Time Trackers. These last weeks have been an adventure of testing out new ways of going about your week or even your day, and also of noticing how these make you feel. What a journey it has been.

If you’ve been following along, you have done a lot of hard work. Give yourself a huge pat on the back and acknowledge, or see, that you accomplished something big. It takes a lot of dedication to make any kind of change in your day to day life.

This week is about noticing how awesome you’ve done, and about noticing how organizing your time differently (or at all) may have made you feel. Take a few moments to just sit and think about this, or make a drawing, poem, anything that you think expresses that.

Now take a moment to notice how it was to make Mindfulness part of your schedule, or something that you have planned in as a regular part of your life. Was it easier to practice that way? Was it harder? How did you feel after you practiced? If you didn’t practice, think of what would have made you want to practice more.

With all of the reflection and Mindful Time Tracking you’ve practiced, you are ready to keep Time Tracking on your own! If you feel like you need a refresher, just start back at the first Mindful Time Tracking Practice, or the one that was most difficult for you until you feel ready to take the next step.

Student Tip: The ongoing challenge is to schedule one Mindfulness practice in your planner, calendar, or phone reminders every week! You can write it all out at once if you’d like, or test your planning skills to add it each week when you plan out your schedule.

Teacher’s Tip: It might be helpful to demonstrate adding an ongoing event to a calendar, planner, or phone reminder system so the kids have a visual understanding.

Remember we become Mindful experts by practicing. Good luck Mindful Time Trackers! You’re going to do great.

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