Mindfulness is a proven way of improving wellbeing for people of all ages. Developed in the US in the 1970s to help people living with chronic pain, mindfulness is now used by sports people, musicians and business leaders to help them focus and perform at the highest level.

Mindfulness is currently being adopted by schools in the US and UK to help children to enjoy better mental health and get better results.

I have been trained and certified by the Mindfulness in Schools Project to teach their well-established .b for teens course, for young people aged 11-18, and the recently developed Paws.b course for younger children, aged 7-11.

The courses use film clips, group discussion and mindfulness practices to help children train their attention help them learn skills to cope with difficult thoughts, feelings and situations.  The courses explore different parts of the brain, learning to be in the present moment, coping with worry, anger and introducing children and young people to ways of recognising thoughts and the effects of thought on the body sensations, feelings and actions.

Schools can use mindfulness to help students to cope with stressful situations, like exams (from SATs to GCSEs) and sporting events. Or they can offer it to students to help boost resilience and wellbeing – giving children a vital life skill.

For more information about mindfulness training and its benefits visit:

http://mindfulnessinschools.org/