According the an Akron BeaconJournal reporter, “Warstler Elementary School in Plain Township began a recent
school day” with a focus on mindfulness.
“This is the morning routine at
Warstler where the school practices mindfulness, a form of meditation that
involves using techniques like “belly breaths” and “mindful movements” to
improve students’ focus and help them better cope with their emotions. The
Stark County school district piloted mindfulness in Warstler last year and was
so pleased with the results that it started the practice in all of its
elementaries this year. The district hopes to expand the method to every school
by next year.
Plain is thought to be the only
district or one of the few in the Akron-Canton area using mindfulness, though
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, who recently wrote a book about the practice, has
helped get it started in several schools in the Youngstown area.”
Finally, there might be a growing connection between the ‘play well with others’ we learn in kindergarden and how our elite work together in Congress. And to the degree this is true it will benefit our kids and communities, country and leaders.
According to the Akron BeaconJournal,
'U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, began
practicing a type of meditation called “mindfulness,” and even wrote a book
about it. He thinks the technique should be used more in schools, corporations,
the health-care industry and by his colleagues in Congress.
“I think it could help,” he said in
a recent sit-down interview…..
Ryan wrote a book called A Mindful
Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance,
and Recapture the American Spirit, published in March, that details his
discovery of mindfulness as well as the research behind it and how it’s being
used in schools, the health-care industry and by first responders and the military.
“I believe I would be derelict in
my duty as a congressman if I didn’t do my part to make mindfulness accessible
to as many people as possible in our nation,” Ryan says in the book.
Ryan was able to secure $1 million
in federal funds to start mindfulness programs in schools in Warren and
Youngstown. He said the effort has showed promising results and is being
expanded from kindergarten through second grade to kindergarten through fifth
grade.
“Growing up, I remember two phrases
being drilled into my head from my mom, the nuns, and my other teachers: Pay
Attention! And Be Nice!” Ryan wrote in his book. “Well the most frustrating
part of growing up and hearing that was that no one ever showed us how to pay
attention! It’s not something you do automatically. It needs to be taught and
practiced.”'
Leadership, from the heart and head, works.
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