See What Happened When This School Replaced Detention With Meditation
I don't know about you, but my school's detentions were filled with a bunch of chatty kids forced to sit silently, while trying desperately to find a way to communicate with their neighbors. In other words, not a whole lot of "learning from our mistakes" was happening.
But, a school in Baltimore, MD, is trying to change that. The Mindful Moment Room at Robert W. Coleman Elementary School is a meditation room that is the alternative to sending kids to detention or the principal's office.
Kids who have misbehaved are simply encouraged to sit still in the mindful moment room to meditate or do breathing exercises to help them calm down, in the hopes that they'll begin to learn how to deal with stressful or rowdy moments—instead of acting up.
The meditation room was created in partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a local nonprofit that offers after-school programs for children to focus on mindful practices—from meditation to yoga. "It's amazing," Kirk Philips, the Holistic Me coordinator at Robert W. Coleman Elementary, tells Upworthy. "You wouldn't think that little kids would meditate in silence. And they do."
Just like adults use meditation to reflect, help manage stress, and even keep their mind sharp, these programs are helping give kids other options when dealing with restlessness, anger, or even stress (school is stressful no matter how old you are). Plus, Philips says that there have been zero suspensions since the program started over a year ago—can't argue with that statistic.
Sounds like the kids may even be better at meditating than Lena Dunham?
If you're a newbie like these mini-meditators, these 7 apps will kickstart your practice and help it stick, for good. And take advice from the pros—these nine meditation hacks from wellness-savvy gurus are seriously solid.
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