Becoming a Better Man Through Meditation | Huffington Post Every once in a while in life, you realize you’re stuck. You’re not evolving. You’re caught in a bad pattern. And you know you’d better do something about it quick or your life is going to be on replay for the next 30 years. A little over a year ago, that’s exactly what happened to me. The evidence was everywhere: I snapped easily when frustrated. It was getting a little ridiculous. I grew up as a competitive athlete, which cultivated in me very little tolerance for imperfection or inefficiency. And we all know how rarely that happens. My decision to try meditation was not one I came to easily. I had met a few people over the last few years who had mentioned to me that they meditated regularly. After talking to four or five people I knew, I decided to give Vedic Meditation a chance (the kind most were recommending). Even so, I plunged right in, worried I was just drinking the New Age Kool-aid. The results were uneven at first. Sure enough, in due time the results became clearer.
8 Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life | Huffington Post By Kristine Crane for US News Shrimati Bhanu Narasimhan, a petite Indian woman wrapped in a bright fuchsia sari, has a soft voice but a big presence. She holds the rapt attention of some 100 people who have come to learn how to meditate at the Art of Living Center in the District of Columbia. The type of meditation she teaches is called Sahaj, Sanskrit for effortless. It’s a mantra-based meditation she advises doing twice a day for 20 minutes — before eating. Meditation reduces stress. “Meditation is mind without agitation,” Narasimhan says. It improves concentration. It encourages a healthy lifestyle. “I tend to want more things that are better for me,” Robinson says, adding that she eats more fresh foods and has cut out nearly all alcohol. The practice increases self-awareness. It increases happiness. Meditation increases acceptance. It slows aging. Studies show that meditation changes brain physiology to slow aging. Also on HuffPost: 7 Fascinating Facts About Meditation
Using Your Senses to Gain a Richer Life Being present is the essence of a mindfulness meditation practice. When we think of meditation, we often think of sitting on the floor, eyes closed, legs crossed, chanting “om,” but you don’t have to begin here — nor do you have to chant om. Actual “sitting” practice is what we call formal practice. Our senses are the way we interpret and experience the world. The practice is simply to be more present to our five senses in this moment: What am I hearing? Seeing clearly. Keep your eyes open, pay attention, and watch your life become rich with experience. Related Articles
Find Out How You Can Ease Chronic Illness With Meditation and Mindfulness A novel study suggests that meditation and mindfulness can greatly improve the lives of people with chronic illness, particularly those with diabetes mellitus or coronary heart disease. Instead of worrying about the past or the future, patients begin to gently accept the limitations of their illness and focus on what is possible and beneficial in the present moment. The study, published in Behavioral Medicine, found that patients who practice meditation and mindfulness experience better sleep and relaxation patterns and have a more accepting outlook toward living with a long-term illness. Negative thought patterns, such as worry and thought suppression, are also greatly reduced. Thought suppression occurs when a person tries to stop thinking about a specific undesirable thought — often causing it to come back even stronger. For example, if a patient were to attempt to suppress thoughts of sickness and death, these thoughts would ultimately become more frequent and harder to control.
100 Benefits Of Meditation Did you know that people who meditate for a short time each day are much happier than people who don’t? Meditators are much healthier with greatly extended life spans, too. As a matter of fact, their health is so much better that a number of insurance companies have reduced premiums for people who meditate. Did you know that experienced meditators have developed many latent abilities that they never knew they had, abilities that exist within every person? They are much smarter, too. Were you aware that meditators produce immensely more pleasurable brain chemicals, the same chemicals that flow through your system on the days when you feel very good, and these pleasurable brain chemicals are produced constantly? Did you know that they also sleep much better? Also, meditators have far superior mental and emotional health. source
Meditation Techniques For People Who Hate Meditation It’s rare to go a week in 2016 without some new development or rumor coming out of the streaming music industry. But seldom are these tidbits as interesting—or potentially consequential—as the news this week that Spotify is in "advanced talks" to acquire SoundCloud, according to the Financial Times. The deal is by no means set in stone—Recode reports that it’s "more talk and less action" at this point—but it would certainly make a ton of sense. Such a deal would marry Spotify’s industry-leading music subscription service (which has over 100 million total listeners, 40 million paying) with SoundCloud’s massive, more social and uniquely artist-friendly service (which has 175 million monthly listeners and over 125 million tracks). Not only would it make for a big competitive advantage, but the pairing just makes sense: The two services are already quite complementary in terms of content and would fit together nicely if they were more tightly integrated.
How to Meditate - Well Guides Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum | Second Step Preschool (PreK) Second Step SEL for Early Learning helps your youngest learners benefit more from preschool and prepare for kindergarten. They’ll learn skills to help them pay attention, remember directions, and manage their behavior. Learn More Elementary With age-appropriate lessons, Second Step SEL for K–5 features catchy songs, fun games, and other engaging activities that develop social-emotional skills. Learn More Middle School The new Second Step Middle School Program is SEL that brings together today’s technology, the latest in developmental research, and feedback from actual classrooms. Learn More Middle School (2008 Edition) Our previous edition of the Second Step Middle School Program is still available. Learn More
CSEFEL: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Promoting Social and Emotional Competence: These modules were designed based on input gathered during focus groups with program administrators, T/TA providers, early educators, and family members about the types and content of training that would be most useful in addressing the social-emotional needs of young children. The content of the modules is consistent with evidence-based practices identified through a thorough review of the literature. Preschool Modules (English and Spanish Versions) Infant Toddler Modules (click here for Spanish versions) Modules last updated: May 2006 View Module Archive for Modules from 2003. Click here to see the Teaching Pyramid Article View Ordering Information (PDF)
UBC SEL Resource Finder - SEL Resources An Online Gratitude Journal Zest is a free downloadable app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that helps you to remember and appreciate the … Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies This volume, edited by Dr. Multi-lingual brochures for parents These brochures were developed as part of the “New In Canada” Parenting Support Series, created by Childminding Monitoring, Advisory and … Caring for Syrian Refugee Children Caring for Syrian Refugee Children: A Program Guide for Welcoming Young Children and Their Families, developed by Childminding Monitoring, … How do you handle explosive kids? In their 2006 book, Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Approach, Dr. An Australian SEL program The Ripple Kindness Project for Schools is an Australian, universal, social and emotional curriculum for the whole school that is … Reading with Dogs AARF! A pinterest board for teaching SEL Edutopia’s SEL Pinterest board- a curated board of creative, SEL-related “pins” submitted by educators.
21 Ways Teachers Can Integrate Social-Emotional Learning Kids have a lot to learn, in and out of school. In addition to knowledge and skills in areas like reading, writing, science, and math, students need social-emotional learning (SEL) too. SEL teaches soft skills like communication, self-awareness, regulating emotions, and more. New to social emotional learning? Jump to: Self-Awareness and Self-Management SEL Activities These social-emotional learning activities help kids recognize their own emotions, thoughts, and values. Put up an emotions bulletin board Little kids have big feels, and they need to learn the words to match their emotions. Set up a calm-down corner These have become really popular in elementary school classrooms, but older kids and teens can also benefit from a safe space to sit apart and get their emotions and behavior in check. Use transition times for mental and emotional health check-ins School kids spend a lot of time getting from one activity to the next. Introduce the Zones of Regulation Create calm-down jars
Overview of the SEL VT Platform | Agency of Education As part of Vermont’s COVID-19 education recovery efforts, the Agency of Education (AOE) is providing educators and stakeholders with SEL VT, a virtual platform of free materials for understanding key elements of healthy social emotional learning (SEL). Strengthening students’ SEL skills and well-being are an important focus of Vermont’s statewide recovery plan. SEL VT contains a series of professionally developed modules to help educators easily incorporate materials into their lesson planning. In addition, classroom teachers can provide a link to their students so they can directly access materials for lessons. Finally, this platform also provides parents and caregivers with free access to these materials so they can facilitate continued learning at home. Please visit the SEL VT Platform to register and gain access to the tools and content. The videos below provide an overview of the platform how to use it. SEL VT How to Videos SEL Tutorial for Educators SEL Tutorial for Parents