Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way of keeping a moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing perspective. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we are sensing in the present moment rather than thinking about the past or imagining the future.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness, but firstly, there are three basic components that can be understood. Intention, attention, and attitude to observe our thoughts and feelings without judgement.

Your intention is what you hope to get from practicing mindfulness. You may want to relieve stress, gain emotional balance or  discover your true self. The strength of your intention helps to motivate you to practice mindfulness and shapes the quality of your mindful awareness and it is important to pinpoint what that is.

Mindfulness is all about paying attention to your inner or outer experience in the present moment. Your mindful attention is mainly developed through various different types of meditation from observing an object, to participating in a group exercise, and more! The key is to not allow your focus to drift from what you are doing in that exact moment.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to certain attitudes, such as curiosity, acceptance and kindness – both towards the practice itself, as well as the exercise that you are participating in.

At The Link School mindfulness comes in many shapes and forms with the purpose of the basic components being highlighted throughout.

Creative mindfulness is all about being involved in a creative process rather than the finished result. Here the time involved will be an enjoyable experience and seem to go quite quickly with feelings of calm being held throughout.

Mindful breathing is a very basic yet powerful mindfulness practice. The idea is simply to focus the attention on your breathing, to its natural rhythm and flow and the way it feels on each inhale and exhale.

Mindful gardening is a caring way to garden and can be a great form of mindfulness meditation. By connecting with the earth you can cultivate a healthy mind, feeling calm and relaxed.

Meditation is a practice for calming the mind and body, it can be as simple as listening to a piece of music or relaxing to a visualised script. There is a no pressure rule here as every student is different and will arrive at their meditation journey at their own pace.

Mindful communication gives, an opportunity to hear ourselves and “listen” to ourselves. It gives us an opportunity to adjust our thoughts and feelings also involving using nonverbal cues with kindness, compassion and attention all within a non judgemental environment.

Mindful 1-1 appointments give ownership to the student to seek support in regards to their wellbeing.

Mindful massage is a blend of therapeutic gentle strokes to the hand or head which promotes deep relaxation for the student which releases endorphins enhancing the feelings of wellbeing.

Mindfulness helps The Link School community to feel safe not only in their learning environment but within themselves. This is shown as students become more aware of their emotions, social and family interactions, positive problem solving, growth mind-set and their overall wellbeing.

Comments from students such as –

“I am grateful that mindfulness has taught me that it is ok to talk about things”

“Mindfulness has helped me so much, especially when feeling angry”

“Meditation has really helped to calm me down especially before going to sleep”

“Mindfulness is a place where I don’t feel judged”

“During mindfulness I feel free”

See Me Project

Please enjoy this video from phase one of the “See Me” Project undertaken by a number of our learners across the school. More to come so watch this space for news on the development of this project!  Click the link below to play the video.

See Me Phase One