Cultivating Happiness, Resilience and Wellbeing Through Meditation, Mindfulness and Movement

In chaotic times, a deep breath can bring calm to your classroom.

As the pandemic recedes and the world gradually returns to “normal,” it’s more important than ever to make your classroom a place that supports mental health and improves overall wellness. In this book, you’ll discover the why and the how of using techniques to reduce stress, improve executive function, and set the stage for increased memory and attention, better self-regulation, and improved cognition and academic learning.

With this practical, research-based guide, you’ll incorporate age- and grade-appropriate meditation, breathing, mindfulness, and secular yoga activities into your teaching, in ways that work for in-person as well as virtual and hybrid settings. Features include

• Adaptations for special populations, including those who have experienced trauma
• Recommendations for family involvement in social-emotional learning
• Guidance on self-care for teachers and school staff
• Data from successfully implemented programs
• Dozens of illustrations, QR codes, and reflective questions

Mindfulness isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a time-tested, teacher-tested technique for reducing anxiety and improving your students’ outcomes. Incorporate it into your classroom and see for yourself how much good a deep breath can do.

The book is organized into three major sections: the Introduction, the Five Cs, and Leadership.

The Introduction (Chapters 1–4) includes a few basic recommendations to get you started, information on teacher stress and teacher practice, and strategies to organize space, materials, and instruction.

In the introduction to the Five Cs (Chapter 5) and each of the Five Cs chapters (Chapters 6–10)—focused on consciousness, compassion, confidence, courage, and community—we describe yoga, meditation, and mindfulness activities that support the individual components.

In the Leadership chapters (Chapters 11 and 12), we bring you ideas for leadership, mindfulness coaching, and collaboration, whether you are leading from within a school or a district or through regional, national, or international involvement. 

Each chapter refers to related activities for academic learning for the Five Cs and Heart Centered Learning, with references to in-classroom, virtual, and hybrid learning. High-quality photos and graphics are included throughout the book, and/or readers are provided online access to these. 

Co-Publishing: Corwin and Kundalini Research Institute
Authors: Christine Mason, Jeffrey Donald, Krishna Kaur Khalsa, Michele M. Rivers Murphy, and Valerie Brown
Foreword: Ruschelle S. Reuben 
Paperback: 312 pages
ISBN: 9781071852811
Release date: January 30th