I Just Need a Minute: Practical Mindfulness for Teachers

Reset your mind and reclaim your classroom with these quick and effective mindfulness techniques.

GREGORY PETERSHACK
Professional Development Coach
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It’s sixth period. You didn’t get done nearly as much as you’d hoped during your planning period. In second period a student made a ruler helicopter (where did he even get that ruler from anyways?) and sent a pencil flying across the room and almost hit another student. Your fourth period went well, even if you did walk into that unfortunate pun. Lunch came and you snagged a few bites in between listening to your students tell you about who’s beefing with whom and why. Now your students have decided they’d prefer not to pay attention today and it feels like you’ve spent more time corralling than covering actual material. How are you going to get through the last few periods? 

If that sounds familiar, know that you aren’t alone.

Working with young people who are growing and changing is, by nature, overwhelming at times. Overwhelm is fought not by just ignoring it, nor by pushing it way down, but by rephrasing and reframing. Instead of fighting fire with fire, we can choose to focus on rooting and remaining in the present moment: Where am I right now? What is happening now? How is my body feeling right now? 
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Mindfulness techniques are easy and quick ways for us to refocus ourselves on our bodies and the present moment, giving a quick reboot to get through the last few periods — or honestly even the next five minutes. Not only are these useful for you, they can also be used for resetting a classroom as well! Here are four mindfulness exercises you can use to reset, both for yourself and your classroom. 

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Sensory lists

A great way of brushing off the past and rooting ourselves in the present moment is to make sensory lists. To-do lists help us with framing and breaking down tasks, grocery lists help us stick to only getting what we need, and sensory lists help us take stock of what is, right now.

The 5-4-3-2-1 technique is a set of lists that helps us remember where we are and what is right in front of us. First, take a moment to take in your surroundings. Name 5 things you can see — your stapler, a computer, coffee mug, etc; then, name 4 things you can feel — the AC/heat, your favorite socks, the hand sanitizer residue; 3 things you can hear — the bell, the students in the hall; 2 things you can smell — cleaning supplies, crayons; and 1 thing you can taste — the cold coffee in your mug. Be as descriptive as you can be.

You can write them down if you need to, but you can also just think and notice. The goal is to root yourself in your physical area and break the spin cycle of getting carried away with the day. 

Using for yourself: Use this in-between periods as a way of getting out of your current headspace and rooting yourself in your classroom. What is physically around you? How can we interrupt these mental cycles?

Using for your classroom: This technique works great when you notice a whole class is stressed — whether that’s about regents, essays, or just life. This also is a great individual tool to give students who are having trouble focusing or sitting still. You can even make this into a handout when students need the extra physical activity.

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Bodily awareness

Besides rooting ourselves in our physical location, we can break daily anxieties by centering ourselves back in our bodies. This is best done sitting down, though any comfortable position works.

​If you can, sit up straight with both feet on the floor and your hands in your lap, and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, and out. Again, in… and out… continuing to breathe slowly, drawing your attention to your feet. What do they feel like right now? Wiggle your toes if you need to. When was the last time you did that? Slowly move your attention up your legs, your torso, your arms, your neck, and your head, tensing your muscles and relaxing, focusing on each part of your body as you go. End with a couple deep breaths before you open your eyes again.

Using for yourself: This works well as an exercise you can do in a free period, before your day begins, at the end of the day, or even on a bathroom trip! Bodily awareness can help you both physically and mentally relax, getting you loose and ready for whatever comes your way.

Using for your classroom: You can do this with your whole class if you can’t find other time! It can be a great opener for a class that has a lot of energy, and also a great reframing device for a class that is getting out of hand, has trouble sitting still, or needs some help focusing. Interrupting the daily monotony by refocusing on their bodies can help them — and you! — be more fully present.

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Writing for full presence

​Sometimes our heads are spinning so much that we can only get out of them by, well, getting out of them. For this exercise, all you need is something to write with, be that a pen, a laptop, or whatever you have around your classroom.

​Set a timer for five minutes, then just write. Don’t judge. Don’t cross out. Don’t worry about doing it “right.” The point is to write down whatever is on your mind so that it gets out of your head and down on paper. You can expand this task as long as you like, but even just five minutes can do a world of wonders for your presence of mind.

Using for yourself: This activity is particularly useful for days when you have lots to do, whether in your private life, work, or both. I find that when my mind is racing, taking five minutes, whether that’s in a free period or before school starts, to write what is on my mind really helps me refocus on what is going on in the here and now.
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Using for your classroom: Just like with the bodily awareness activity, this can easily be done with your whole class if you need to do it in the middle of your day. Have them do it with you! This is also a great tool for transitions between classes — you can frame the activity as giving students an opportunity to move from their prior class to the current one, or from lunch to now, etc. An excellent moment to get the mental wiggles out!

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Circular / box breathing

Easily the most scientifically backed mindfulness technique, this is also one of the quickest and easiest to do, anywhere, at any time. By focusing in on our breathing, we can force our bodies to move from a neurological state of sympathetic (alert/on edge) to parasympathetic (normal activity, relaxed). It slows our heart rate and naturally helps us be in the moment by focusing only on our breathing. 
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Take a moment to focus on your body; you can close your eyes if it helps. Then, focus on taking a deep breath while counting to 5-7 (depending on ease/comfort). Try to breathe with your diaphragm — with your tummy, like babies breathe. Then hold that breath for 5 counts. Breathe out for 5. Repeat 2-3 times until you feel your body slowing down. This can be done in 30 seconds, or over several minutes.

Using for yourself: This is easily the most adaptable and quickly usable tool. Use it in the all too fast passing period to recenter yourself, a trip to the bathroom, or even in the middle of a lesson when students are getting on your nerves/doing free work/etc.

Using for your classroom: Like the other tools, this can be a great reframing/refocusing/transition tool. It can be easily done as a whole class without stealing much instruction time. Additionally, teaching this skill to students can become a tool both for themselves to calm down — they can use this on their own in class if it is normed, or with your direction (“You seem frustrated. Want to do circular breathing for a moment?”).

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All of these tools, both for yourself and your classroom, work best when they are built into your classroom routines and norms. If students are aware and expecting that they will be using or engaging with these tools, they will be much more open to taking them seriously. While there is no way to stop chaotic days from happening — unless you know of one, then please tell me! — these tools can help both you and your students calm down and, if nothing else, get to that final bell.