Breathing Lessons

By Julie Rasicot

. . . . .At McLean School in Potomac, students say practicing mindfulness is as much a part of the school day as going to class. The private school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade began incorporating mindfulness techniques and yoga into the day about four years ago as part of its comprehensive wellness program, and now offers a six-week series of mindfulness classes for parents twice a year.

By incorporating lessons ranging from “mindfulness minutes” at the start of class to morning yoga exercises and activities taught by a part-time mindfulness educator, McLean hopes to instill the practice in its students so that it becomes as natural as breathing, says Frankie Engelking, the school’s director of student and community wellness. Beginning in kindergarten, she says, students “may have as many as four or five opportunities in any given day to do some form of mindfulness exercise, whether it’s breathing, visualizing, a gratitude exercise or mindful coloring.

He also appreciates when his teacher takes a few minutes for mindfulness before a test, asking students to think positive thoughts, such as focusing on something they might be looking forward to. “It’s a way to relieve all your stress—and during mindfulness, when everyone’s quiet, you can hear the quietest sounds, like the clock ticking,” he says. . . . .