There is a significant body of research about the power of Mindfulness and other contemplative practices that supports positive brain changes. Paying attention is a trainable skill, and can be incorporated into daily life. Regular mindfulness practice builds the neural pathways in the brain to build attention skills (affecting the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of attention) and to quiet the amygdala (the ancient part of the brain responsible for fight or flight action). Mindfulness practice helps children develop self awareness in an effort to manage and understand their behaviors so that they are empowered to be more in control of their emotional lives.

Our response to fear and/or stress shuts down our thinking brain, or the prefrontal cortex, resulting in anxiety. If we don’t feel safe, our adrenalin and cortisol levels go up and this puts our parasympathetic nervous system into a heightened state of alarm. A memory of something stressful is culled from the hippocampus and sets off stress hormones that can shut down our prefrontal cortex, or the thinking ‘manager’ part of our brain. This is not necessary, but many of us live in this slightly heightened state of alarm much of the time, with undue levels of hormones in our bodies. In this state, we tend to react instead of thoughtfully respond, which is never a full choice. We want to give our children access to full choices in their lives and let them see the world and their life from a higher branch.

“The development of the pre-frontal cortex appears to be profoundly influenced by interpersonal experiences. This is why our early relationships have such a significant impact on our lives.” -Daniel J. Siegel MD

If we can relax and feel safe, then we can access more parts of our brain. We do better. We are not limited or inhibited. Regular Mindfulness practice actually helps us observe ourselves and develop metacognition, or an awareness and understanding of our thought process. Mindfulness, when practiced regularly, helps us feel comfortable putting space between what is happening and how we are feeling so that we can thoughtfully pause before we respond to a situation or deal with an emotion. Mindfulness practice can help quell reactivity, perhaps caused by past stress or trauma, and leads to the development of a muscle with increasingly mature social-emotional intelligence.

Learning to pause before we make a judgment or react to a conflict helps us to emotionally detach instead of being stuck right in the middle, where we cannot see clearly. It’s like painting a picture up close and then stepping back and observing it from afar. The latter helps us see the whole picture, not just the immediate details near us. Educators and students begin to attune to their inner states with awareness, and increasingly bring that awareness into their daily life. This results in less conflict, more satisfying and happy lives, and students who are calmer and less distracted so they are free to learn optimally.

“The power of empathy and acceptance is immense and deeply transformative for both sides.” -JKZ