Mindfulness Practice For Enhancing Educational Outcomes

This source discusses the basis of mindfulness and the general aspects of mindfulness itself. This source will be used extensively throughout the paper to provide any necessary information regarding mindfullness. This book is the basis for mindfulness and will be used as so.

Based on the evidence, mindfulness could be expanded to be included in teaching individuals not only intrapersonal skills but also the

To understand the effects of mindfulness meditation we first must understand how it is practiced and what the purpose of this practice is. Throughout my research I have found many definitions of mindfulness meditation. Three of which I found to be helpful when understanding the research conducted on the psychological effects of mindfulness meditation. One article described it as “Generally defined to include focusing one’s attention in a nonjudgmental or accepting way on the experience occurring in the present moment”. (BELLIN, ZVI J 221) Another article described the practice as “A process that leads to a mental state characterized

Effective mindfulness meditation requires training and practice and it has distinct measurable effects on our subjective experiences, our behavior, and our brain

Mindfulness should be taught in schools because it has been found to have a positive impact on the students ' mental well-being as mentioned above, as well as having positive impacts on a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, on learning and cognition, and on emotional and social skills and wellbeing among adults, according to Katherin (2012). Very little research has been done about mindfulness among the young people as compared to among the adults, with studies carried out so far having some methodological limitations such as limited use of control groups or randomization and small numbers, which result in tentative conclusions. Nevertheless, work is growing rapidly and the results are promising which suggests that mindfulness in schools is well worth doing.

Mindfulness is an incredible skill, it is a practice that is taking the world by storm and helping more and more people live in their present.

In “You’re Distracted. This Professor Can Help.” By Marc Parry the premise is simple. We are so distracted by our technology, that we don’t notice what it does to our attention span. Practicing mindfulness will help bring our attention back to where it needs to be and make us better students in the

According to the article, meditation can ease depression, anxiety and other psychological stressors, all issues that can negatively impact a child’s academic performance. With that said, since a majority of the students at Robert W. Coleman come from high-stress environments, meditation has done wonders. Therefore, the Mindful Meditation Room creates an environment where students are able of decompressing while also enhancing their ability to learn.

Recent research into schools’ efforts suggests that meditation might significantly improve children’s performance in school, closing the so-called “achievement gap” that exists between inner-city students and their suburban equivalents.

These results are in line with previous research, which indirectly measured that competence [33, 35, 38, 39]. Mindfulness focuses on the acceptance of one’s own experience in the present moment, whether labeled positive or negative, without judgment and with an attitude of openness[16, 40, 41]. Instead of trying to avoid or distract from their so-called negative emotions, participants here were invited to welcome and pay attention to whatever thoughts and emotions arised in their field of consciousness from moment to moment. It is essential that professional caregivers learn how to accept their emotions instead of avoiding or suppressing them. Research has shown that that acceptance was linked to lower psychiatric conditions, anxiety and

Many studies have found that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) meditations enhance well-being by building a mindful awareness. Shaprio et al. (2007), found that MBSR programs taught over the course of a semester help decrease rumination, perceived stress, negative affect, and state and trait anxiety. It was also found to help increase positive affect and self-compassion. These findings are based off the concept that self-awareness (achieved through MBSR) is the basis of self-care, as it is an unbiased observation of inner behaviors and

Meditation means to concentrate and connect with ones’ own mind, to explore identity and emotions in order to be aware of conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious thoughts. Meditation originates and has been has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years for different reasons such as increasing concentration abilities, religious purposes and also to train the mind. This essay will focus on how meditation affects brain plasticity (ability to change), emotionally and intellectually, leading to better performance and coping abilities in stressful situations. Things like attention span, memory functions and complexity of emotions will be further explored and may interest the reader since meditation can answer many questions on improving mental health that affects almost everyone. I will make the claim that meditation practice needs to be introduced early into educational institutions such as schools. Because evidence suggests that that meditation increases the volume of the cortex in the brain, leading to a higher and more powerful emotional intellect and cognition that improves things like memory, attention and emotional control. It is logical to assume that in order to alter thickness of cortex, mental thought functions and emotional strength, meditation should be introduced to children early in school for greater performance.

Mindfulness meditation consists of skills and methods to unplug from the busy world around you and from the busy 'monkey brain ' so often experienced in today 's life and particularly in ADHD, anxiety and depression. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness meditation trains and reinforces the ability to pay attention to the present moment, on purpose which helps to increase concentration, decrease anxiety, improve sleep, improve mood, decrease the stress response, and improve physical and emotional health. The studies are compelling about the health benefits of mindfulness meditation. In fact, studies show that mindfulness meditation actually changes the brain in positive ways. The cortex of the brain is thicker in certain areas of the brain in those who practice mindfulness meditation. And brainwave patterns are changed in healthy ways as well.

The program is commonly used for addressing a variety of health problems (Grossman et al., 2004). For test anxiety specifically, the course has been carried out with the aim of assisting academic evaluation anxiety (Hjeltnes et al., 2015; Barbosa et al., 2013). The notable limitations are that the program requires considerable expense, a trained facilitator and usually takes eight weeks to complete. Additionally, it is not only long-term meditation or lengthy training which has shown to enhance psychological wellbeing. Researchers have found that those who carry out short-term mindfulness meditation can also experience anxiety-relieving and various other benefits (Tang et al., 2007; Menezez and Bizarro, 2015; Lancaster, Klein and Knightly, 2016; Zeidan et al., 2010a; Zeidan et al., 2010b; Zeidan et al., 2010c). Furthermore, the beneficial effects of short-term meditation are not only limited to self-reports. Shearer et al. (2015) incorporated physiological measures into short-term meditation and found improvements in heart rate variability, indicating a more ‘adaptive response to stress’. In terms of test anxiety specifically, research conducted by Paterniti (2008) found that mindfulness meditation groups significantly decreased their overall test anxiety, worry and emotionality. Due to the strong literature backing, and similar ease and accessibility, a mindfulness meditation activity will also be utilized as one of the brief interventions for the present

In this paper, I will describe my initial thoughts about the practice of mindfulness and my development regarding practicing it. Furthermore, I will explore the idea of being a mindful therapist and how I am hoping to apply this with patients in the future.