MindUp



Practicing Conscious Awareness in the Classroom
At the beginning of every class, I would take a few minutes to do a brain break with my students. As demonstrated in the video, students would take a moment to focus on their breathing. This helps students connect with the present moment.

 After a brain break, students are in a calm and relaxed state of conscious awareness. I found students focus and attention improve overtime. Initially, when I started doing brain breaks with my class, some students were skeptical and not keen on trying it. However, overtime, most students tried the brain break and started enjoying how it made them feel. In fact, one of my students asked for a brain break before a test because it helped her stay calm during the test. 


One of the most rewarding elements of incorporating certain pillars of the MindUp curriculum into my daily lessons such as a brain break is that it teaches students to practice being present in the moment. Practicing being present in the moment can help students in every aspect of their lives. When our thoughts are not occupied with the past or with the future, then our anxiety reduces and we are consciously aware of the present moment. 

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