Welcome to the Cambridge English Mindfulness

Challenge #4!
 Welcome to the Cambridge English Mindfulness Challenge #4!

Out of your head, into your heart.

Use this song as background music for the exercises included in this challenge… Even
when it's in Spanish, it contains a powerful message of the power of connecting to our
feelings in a Mindful way.

The way of Mindful Education has a lot of connection with being a more compassionate, aware teacher.
Moreover, Mindfulness is the best gangway to access social and emotional wellbeing. In terms of Social and
Emotional Learning, Self- Awareness is the first and one of the most important domains to be developed.
Mindfulness offers us great tools to develop self-awareness, which will contribute to our students' self-
regulation and later help establish healthier and more positive relationships with the world outside.

Mindfulness creates a positive atmosphere in the classroom, where we not only `think the
way out of things´ but invite ourselves and our students to the `feel the way into´ things.

Students nowadays need, more than ever before,

tools that can help them regulate their emotions,
establish positive connections with others,
develop empathy and embrace tolerance.
Mindfulness is a great way to achieve better
levels of emotional intelligence in the classroom.

Firstly, by being able to connect with themselves

and consequently boosting their self- awareness,
which is absolutely necessary to generate a more
compassionate view of the world.

Secondly, Mindfulness allows students to be

present, helping them remember the joy of
learning. Last but not least, Mindfulness helps
our students focus better on their tasks, by
sharpening their attention.
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Challenge 4
The mind jar
Life skills: focusing, connecting
Target ages: young children
(and not so young! Adults have reported great results too)

Before the challenge

For this challenge you will need a small, transparent jar or bottle, and some glue with glitter.
You can prepare one mind jar for your classroom, or invite your students to make their own!
Watch this video before the practice, or share it in class with your students:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg
·
To prepare you mind jar, simply pour some water into the jar, then drop some glue
with glitter in too, close it, and then swirl it around gently.

During the challenge

'Remember the video we watched together? Now it's our time to set up our own mind jars!'

After you finish preparing them, ask your students to shake the jar, and while all the glitter starts to settle down,
they should practice their conscious breathing. It may take some minutes.

The first time you use the mind jar, do it for example when they get back from the break or when they feel nervous
or angry for some reason.

Focusing on the visual elements while breathing will help them calm down and relax.

After the challenge

Invite your students to reflect on how they felt before and after the exercise. Did they notice anything different?
How was their breathing when they started the exercise and how did it feel by the time the gritter settled down?

If the technique works for them, remember to have one mind jar ready and handy in your classroom so they can use
it whenever they feel the need.
Life skills: focusing, connecting, sensing
Challenge 4
Target ages: 9 to 16 years old The vacuum breath
Before the challenge

This exercise will help your students connect with their emotions. Remember to create a safe atmosphere of
acceptance, respect and non-judgement before inviting them to practice.

During the challenge

Follow this script:

We all feel stressed sometimes. Some things may happen and they trigger emotions inside us. When we feel
stressed, our whole body might tighten up, you might feel a quick breath, you might feel your palms sweating. It is
easy to see these reactions in the body, right? Every time something that is not so good happens to us, our body
reacts. When we feel angry, you might feel tightness in your tummy, or heat in your face. When you feel sad you
might feel it in your heart. Today we will use our vacuum breath to suck those feelings away.

First get comfortable, and let's take three big mindful breaths together.

Good! Now let's scan our bodies to see where we may feel any stress or difficult emotions. As you scan your body,
see if there is any tension or uncomfortable feeling anywhere. Right now we are not trying to get rid of those
feelings, we are just trying to notice them. Starting at your head, see if there is any stress, any sensations like a
headache. Then move down through your shoulders and arms and notice if there is any tightness. Then keep
scanning down through your heart and belly, feeling any emotions or painful sensations. Slowly, keep scanning
down the rest of your body, through your legs, all the way down to your feet.

Did anyone feel any uncomfortable feelings or emotions?

If you spot a negative emotion, keep your attention there because we will use our vacuum breath to clean it up!
When you breathe in, you can imagine there is a vacuum in your belly that will take them away. Inhale deeply, and
hold the breath in your belly for 3 seconds: 3-2-1, now let the air come out of your body: the hard feeling going away
with it. When you let the air out, let your body relax, just let go. Practice your vacuum breath a couple more times to
dust away your tensions!
After the challenge
Invite your students to a 'circle of reflection'. Ask your students to write down
the answer to the following questions:

What uncomfortable emotions did you notice in your body?

How did the vacuum breath affect your body?

What connections can you see between your emotions, your body
and your breath?

Extra! Mindfulness before

Cambridge tests!
This has surely crossed your mind already, but have you considered
the benefits of Mindfulness for your students before the examination
takes place? They feel nervous, anxious, insecure… We teachers feel
the same! It's like we are all going to sit the test!
What if you use some of the Mindfulness techniques to help your
students relaxation before the test?
What if you help them connect to their inner power, reassuring their
capacities and helping them visualise how they can succeed?
Take any of the exercises we've been practising and invite your
students for a little 'relax time' before the test. Guide them to
connect to their breathing, and to visualize themselves being calm
and focused during their exam. You can even invite them to see
themselves receiving the great news that they have passed the test!
Scientific studies show that if we help our students relax before all
types of assessment, their results show considerable improvements
in contrast to students that didn't have that relaxation time before
being evaluated. Time to use your Mindfulness exercises before
exams too!