When you were in school, how were you disciplined? Detention, usually. You would have to stay at school after school. Sometimes with in- or out-of-school suspension, too. However, most schools wouldn’t let you do your homework in detention. You just had to sit there and stare at the wall for an hour.
The Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, has started having children practice meditation instead of detention. They have a Mindful Moment Room. It is filled with nice lamps, and pillows, and other decorations.
Children who are misbehaving are encouraged to practice meditation and breathing exercises.
The meditation room at Robert W. Coleman Elementary was created from a partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation. At their Christmas party, the kids got gifts, but they were expected to meditate first.
Kirk Phillips, the Holistic Life person and Robert W. Coleman Elementary said:
“As a little kid, that’s got to be hard to sit down and meditate when you know you’re about to get a bag of gifts, and they did it! It was beautiful, we were all smiling at each other watching them.”
The Holistic Life co-founder, Andres Gonzalez, said:
“We’ve had parents tell us, ‘I came home the other day stressed out, and my daughter said, “Hey, Mom, you need to sit down. I need to teach you how to breathe.”‘”
What Is Meditation?
Mindful meditation has been around for thousands of years. Meditation is a form of thoughtful awareness. It’s not really an act of “doing things.” It is taking you to a state of “awareness.”
It is not about “concentrating” on something, or exercising, or losing control. Meditation is a great way to reduce stress. It can potentially lower health costs.
Authentic meditation will help you stay focused on the present. You don’t need to focus on the past that you can’t change, and the future you can’t know.
You can get music and other tools to use for a guided meditation.
Here is a news story about the elementary school and their breathing exercises:
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
