1. Mindfulness Powerpoint Presentation assembled by Jana Buckle
What is MINDFULNESS?
Discuss – small group, class share out
Watch
Mindfulness Powerpoint Presentation assembled by Jana Buckle

3. Mindfulness
An Animation – Why Mindfulness is a Superpower  2:43

4. Just Breathe….

5. 4 – 7 – 8 Breathing Exercise…
a 3:39 animation by GoZen that teaches the art of breathing to calm the mind and return the brain to a clearer, relaxed and more focussed state. 

6. Marvellous Mindfulness apps…
Here are some more useful resources for mindful teens:
Mobile Apps
Stop, Breathe, and Think: Free web and mobile app for youth, with meditations for mindfulness and compassion
Calm.com: Free website and mobile app with guided meditation and relaxation exercises
Insight Timer: Free mobile app with virtual “bells” to time and support your meditations
MindShift: Free mobile app for teens developed by AnxietyBC, with mindfulness and other coping skills for anxiety
Smiling Mind: Free mobile mindfulness app for young people, from Australia
Headspace: “Meditation made simple.” This app has a free introductory period, after which it requires a paid subscription to continue to use.
Breathr: This mindfulness app for youth is currently in development by the Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre (British Columbia, Canada). Dr. Vo is consulting on the development of this app. Learn more here, and stay tuned!

7. How Mindful Are You?

8. 4 Minutes To Relaxation…
A breathing exercise to nurture Mindfulness

9. Rainbow Walk Nature Sketch Template

10. Noticing the 5 Senses… A Daily Mindfulness Log Weekly Log template

11. Mindfulness Basics (3:36)
Reflections on mindfulness and meditation from musicians, artists, athletes, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. From Mindfulness Without Borders.

12. Getting To Know Your Brain

13. Why learn about the BRAIN?
The human brain is wired to respond to stress as if something were immediately threatening, often placing us at the mercy of our physical and emotional responses.
We CAN train our brain to respond reflectively, rather than being ruled by our emotions!

14. The Scientific Power of Meditation ASAP Science video 2:59

15. The BRAIN - 3 Key Players…
The way you use three key players in your brain determines how you’ll respond to everything that happens around you. They are:
The Amygdala
The Hippocampus
The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
*Hand out “Brain Power” WORKSHEET

17. The AMYGDALA The amygdala… Pair of almond shaped structures that
reacts to fear, danger and threat
Regulates emotional state
programmed to keep us safe at all costs, “security guard”
Automatic reflexive response “fight, flight or freeze”
The limbic system controls emotions and motivations from deep inside the brain. A key player of limbic system is the amygdala. The amygdala regulates our emotional state by acting as our brain’s “security guard,” protecting us from threats. *When a person is in a positive emotional state, the amygdala sends incoming information on to the conscious, thinking, reasoning brain. When a person is in a negative emotional state (stressed or fearful, for example) the amygdala prevents information from passing along, effectively blocking higher-level thinking and reasoned judgment. The amygdala processes incoming stimuli and signals as an automatic reflexive response of “fight, flight, freeze”

18. “FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE”
This fight-flight-freeze thing is pretty cool. It’s like having superhero powers that you can activate when you need to protect yourself.
This automatic response helps you cope with danger. For example, you may yell at your mom for pushing you to take your driving test when you don’t feel ready (fight). You may avoid going to a party or leave early because you feel uncomfortable around people you don’t know (flight). Or, you may freeze and hope the danger doesn’t notice you, like when your mind goes blank when the teacher asks you a question.

19. The HIPPOCAMPUS The hippocampus… Twin crescent-shaped structures in
central brain area, one behind each
ear, in the temporal lobes
Creates, stores and processes all important facts and memories that the PFC passes on to it (i.e. texting shortcuts, your class schedule, the delicious smell of freshly baked bread, etc..)
Storage vault of memory and learning
The hippocampus is another limbic system structure. It assists in managing our response to fear and threats, and is a storage vault of memory and learning. Information from the limbic system is fed to the prefrontal cortex – the learning, reasoning and thinking center of the brain.

20. The PREFRONTAL CORTEX The prefrontal cortex (PFC) …
The learning, reasoning and
thinking center of the brain
Controls decision making
Focuses our attention
Allows us to; learn to read, write, compute, analyze, predict, comprehend and interpret.
PFC only gets info when amygdala is calm
PFC passes on to the hippocampus anything that is worth remembering
Learning about these three key players – amygdala, hippocampus, & prefrontal cortex – helps people to understand how their brains respond to stress and prepares them for creating a calm mindset for thoughtful decision making, led by the PFC (prefrontal cortex).

22. Boot Camp For Your Brain!

23. The Brain – key players recap
Amygdala
Regulates emotional state
Programmed to keep us safe at all costs, “security guard”
Automatic reflexive response “fight, flight or freeze”
Hippocampus
Creates, stores and processes all important facts and memories that the PFC passes on to it
Storage vault of memory and learning
PFC (Prefrontal Cortex)
The learning, reasoning & thinking center of the brain
Controls decision-making
Focuses our attention
PFC only gets info when amygdala is calm
PFC passes on to the hippocampus anything that is worth remembering

24. “Doom or Dud” activity taken from MindUp Curriculum manual, page 33
Purpose: to help students recognize when their amygdala is overreacting.
Task:
1. Students will be given two strips of paper & asked to write down two situations that might prompt their amygdala to signal danger – one situation in which the danger is real and one in which it is not.
Ex. Rustling sound in bushes (could be bear or could be bird); an unfamiliar car is driving slowly, following me home.
2. Fold scenario strips of paper and place in bag/hat

25. “Doom or Dud” cont’d… What is the worst thing that could happen?
What is the best thing that could happen?
What is most likely to happen?
Listen carefully to student assessments of the situations. Link responses to the role of the amygdala, hippocampus & PFC
Why is this important?
Recognizing real danger quickly is critical to student’s safety. However, being able to put aside anxieties and worries, which negatively impact health and learning, is also an important skill.

26. Daily Reflection…
Once a day, take a break to self-assess; 1. *Do your responses to situations reveal the dominance of your amygdala (reaction) or your PFC (reflection)? 2. *If your amygdala is being activated, what is triggering its response? 3. *What would you like to change about your style of reaction?

27. The Teenage Brain – Understanding Teen Behaviour
Here is a crash course in teen development, and will hopefully explain how some adolescent behaviours are completely normal and happen as a result of brain changes, which include attention, motivation and risk-taking behaviour.
There are 23 slides in total - Invite students to comment and respond to the information being presented on the slides.

28. “Alone Together” TedTalk by Sherry Turkle

29. Reflection time…
You are now asked to write a reflection in response to the information explored in  Sherry Turkle’s TEDTalk “Alone Together.”
Remember, reflections are meant to arouse deep thinking, explore emotions, challenge the status quo and ponder the possibilities of “what if?” I am after quality reflective thinking/writing – more does not always mean better, but too little often equates to less. Be brave, be creative, and have a little fun with it. Go ahead, pour your hearts out!

30. Mindful Device Practice… Is It Possible?!

31. Look Up… A spoken word poem by Gary Turk (4:59)

32. • There is research suggesting that using cell phones for only a half hour a day for ten years doubles one’s risk of brain cancer.
• The soreness in our fingers and wrists from texting too much is so prevalent that the term “text claw” has entered our lexicon.
• “Problematic Internet Use” (PIU) is now considered a behavioral addiction, with almost half (48 %) of participants in one study considered “Internet addicts.”
• In her remarkable book, Reclaiming Conversation (2015), MIT professor Sherry Turkle discusses research pointing to how a quarter of teens in the US are connected to a device within five minutes of waking up each morning, and that most teens send at least one hundred text messages per day.
• Most alarming to me is Turkle’s citing of another scientific finding: That over the past 20 years our society has seen a 40% decline (most of it occurring over the past decade) in indicators of empathy in people, and that researchers are linking this trend with the rise of digital communication technologies.
Cell Phone Addiction – Is There Cause For Concern? I Forgot My Phone Charlene deGuzman (2:10)

33. Despite what some may think, smartphone addiction is a very real phenomenon.
It has been found that female college students spend an average of ten hours a day on their cellphones, surfing the internet and sending 100+ messages. That’s more time than spent with friends.
Another survey found that three out of five smartphone users can’t go more than 60 minutes without checking their phones.
So what makes us so eager to play with our phones instead of engaging in real life?
Experts say our brains get a hit of dopamine and serotonin – the chemicals linked to happiness – when our phones beep or ring. These are the same chemicals that give drug users their ‘high’!
We aren’t oblivious to our very real problem either – a recent opinion poll shows that 82% of the Canadian public believe that smartphone addiction exists.
In factnomophobia (the fear of being without your mobile device) is now recognized as a serious issue – with rehab facilities available to help you deal with your problem!
A Serious Addiction

34. A Mindful Cell Phone Practice:
Take out your phone now (if you don’t have it in your hand already).
Don’t turn it on.
Just notice how it feels in your hand.
Notice your emotions, your urges, your body’s response as you hold it—its familiar size, shape, and weight, suited to your hands.
Now find someone near you.
Turn on your phone and mindfully notice how you feel as the screen lights up.
Hand your phone to your partner.
Ask yourself these questions and be honest with your answers:
1) How did it feel when you were asked to hand your phone to someone else?
2) How did it feel to actually hand it to them?
3) How do you feel when they are holding your phone?
After a moment, get your phone back.
Take a moment and reflect with your partner on this practice. What happened for you, and why do you think it did?
A Mindful Cell Phone Practice:

35. If you don't like something, change it
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou

36. Change 1:30

37. Embracing Change Mindfully Lin McDowell – AwakenedLives
Read through the linked article with students.
How do YOU face change?

38. Coping With An Ever Changing World 3:33

39. How To Embrace Change! *Stop video at 6:52*

40. Why Change Is So Hard?
4:02

41. The CHOICE is yours..
“…And I choose to believe the fluttering I feel in my stomach is excitement, not anxiety. That my future will be bright, because ultimately we get to choose how we feel and today, I choose to be happy. How about you?” Louise Jensen

42. The Farmer And the Horse (origin unknown)
 A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbours heard about it, they sympathised with the old man over his bad luck. “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.  

43. A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.
Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, “Bad Luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

44. Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they let him stay. The neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.
 And on it goes….

45. EMPATHY

46. Empathy – What is it?
Empathy is, at its simplest, awareness of the feelings and emotions of other people. It is a key element of Emotional Intelligence, the link between self and others, because it is how we as individuals understand what others are experiencing as if we were feeling it ourselves.
Empathy goes far beyond sympathy, which might be considered ‘feeling for’ someone. Empathy, instead, is ‘feeling with’ that person, through the use of imagination.

47. Brené Brown - Empathy Defined 2:53

48. EMPATHY Can Change The World
This video was dreamed up, scripted, and acted out by 8th grade students from Kalispell Middle School. The vision was to create a thought provoking short film that instills a challenge to the viewer to look at their own life, their own relationships, and their own sphere of influence, and see where a little empathy could help change the world around them.
2min23

49. UNDER THE SURFACE
Empathy Film
3min45

50. What does kindness get you? 4min06

51. INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BAD DAY
Shane Koyczan and Vanier Secondary students collaborated on this short film in 2012 as a way to support a community grieving over the loss of peers.

52. “Together We Are Invincible” Highland Legacy Project 2012 (4min.04)
This video was created by Highland’s graduating class of This video is a handbook of messages and ideas that we think will help create a positive community. Now it's up to you to mix these ideas with your own and lead the way each day you set foot on campus. Every person matters and when we help each other, when we stick together, we are invincible.

53. If You Give A Little Love… 4min19**stop film

54. “I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town. When you think like this, when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers; it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help. “
Barrack Obama

55. Practice Neuron Pathways
What to Do:
Have students demonstrate how practice forms pathways in the brain. Tell students that they are going to line up in alphabetical order so that they can pass an object (book, pencil, whiteboard marker, etc..) from hand to hand. Their fingers represent dendrites, bringing in information. Their hands represent the neural cell. Their arms represent the axon taking information away.
What to Say:
1. First we’ll line up in first name alphabetical order. 2.Then we’ll line up in birthday order.
3. Then we’ll try both again. Each attempt will be TIMED.
READY?
4. Line up from A to Z. Record time.
5. Now line up from January to December. Record time.
6. Now let’s see if practice makes a difference when we do the same activity again!
Why It’s Important
This modeling of how practice changes the brain will help encourage students who find the Cora Practice difficult. By showing them a model of how practice can make big improvements, students may be more motivated to continue through difficulties if they feel confident that they will see results.

56. This is how your BRAIN works.. Asap SCIENCE video 4:40

57. Fun Brain Facts…

58. Weight. The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs.
Cerebrum. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and makes up 85% of the brain’s weight.
Skin. Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain.
Gray matter. The brain’s gray matter is made up of neurons, which gather and transmit signals.
White matter. The white matter is made up of dendrites and axons, which create the network by which neurons send their signals.
Gray and white. Your brain is 60% white matter and 40% gray matter.
Water. The brain is made up of about 75% water.
Neurons. Your brain consists of about 100 billion neurons.
Synapses. There are anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for each neuron.
No pain. There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
Fat. The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consist of at least 60% fat.

59. The TEEN BRAIN slides

60. “Brain, Brain The Magical Fruit” Neuroscience terminology flows better in rap form. Timothy Warlow, Jr. – Rap video 3:13

61. “Changing Your Mind” The Nature of Things – Documentary 44:10