¡ Flexibility  is  all  about  being  open  minded…  

¡ Mind  Up  is  all  about…being  provided  with  some  tools  for  your  mind!  

Mind  Up  is  designed  to  help  young  people…  

 ¡  …sharpen  their  focus  and  attention,  

¡  …heighten  their  awareness  of  their  environment  and  themselves  by  paying  attention  to  what  they  sense  and  feel…  

 

Mind  Up  is  not  a  meditation  program  or  tied  to  any  religion  or  religious  tradition…  

Causes  of  Stress  in  the  Classroom  

ü Fear  of  being  wrong  

ü Embarrassed  to  read  aloud  or  participate  

ü Test-­‐taking  anxiety    ü Physical  and  language  differences  ü Cliques  and  bullying  ü Frustration  with  difficult  material    

ü Boredom  from  lack  of  stimulation  

FREEZE  Withdrawn  from  class  

FIGHT  Disruptive  in  class  

FLIGHT  Distracted  during  

class  

•  Helps  kids  learn    how  the  brain  works…  

•  Helps  kids  learn  how  to  become  ‘self  aware’  

•  Uses  that  self-­‐awareness  to  be  more  in  touch  with  our  thoughts  and  emotions  and  to  better  regulate  our  behaviors  

 

Prefrontal  Cortex  (executive  function,  planning  complex  cognitive  behavior,  

personality  expression,  decision-­‐making  and  moderating  correct  social  behavior)    

 

Amygdala  (encodes  emotional  messages  for  long-­‐term  storage  in  the  

brain)    

 

Hippocampus  (compares  new  learning  to  past  

learning  and  encodes  information  from  

working  memory  to  long-­‐term  storage)    

Learning  how  the  brain  works…  

•  Learning  how  to  become  ‘self  aware’  through  breath…  

•  Using  Core  Practice  

Get  comfortable  Close  your  eyes  or  lower  your  head  

Listen  for  the  sound  Focus  on  your  breath  Reduce  your  stress  

Taking  a  “Brain  Break”  

Breathing  and  the  Brain  DEEP,  DELIBERATE,  STEADY  BREATHS  

what  happens  

Focused  Attention  

Being  Present  

Awareness  of  Emotions  

Calm  and  Relaxed  

Studies  show  that  when  students  involve  themselves  in  Core  Practice,  they  find  it  easier  to  focus,  they  learn  better,  are  more  positive,  more  

empathetic,  more  optimistic  and  less  anxious.  

What  is  Mindfulness?  •  Core  Practice    is  all  about  

Mindfulness  (“being  mindful”)    

•  Mindfulness  is  a  state  of  being  aware  of  your  own  mind,  at  any  given  moment  

•  It  means  to  pay  attention  on  purpose,  being  present  in  the  moment  Mindfulness-­‐Based  Stress  Reduction)