Growing into Mindfulness-CAP
Calm, Aware, and Present for Schools
Resilience and adaptability to the stressors of life begins at an early age- through awareness and the development of self-regulation skills. The CAP training program teaches a set of simple mindfulness based practices providing teachers, staff, parents, caregivers, and students the skills they need for effective management of stress and anxiety while increasing connection and effectiveness in the classroom and at home. Mindfulness is the practice of ‘present moment awareness’ achieved by focusing on the breath, simple body movements, and the senses, while providing students, teachers, parents, and caregivers lifetime skills for successful navigation through chaos and stress.
Calm, Aware, and Present- CAP
WHY CAP? We all want our students to:
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Be able to self-regulate, manage big emotions, and focus attention on learning
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Engage in expected behavior and be socially responsible and uplifting
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Know how to manage their stress and anxiety
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Perform at school to the best of their potential
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Live happy, healthy, resilient lives with life-long practices of self-empowerment and self-control.
HOW: CAP training is designed to create self-sustaining school- based and familiy support programs through:
CALM: Children are more attentive and more likely to focus and learn more when they are calm. Adults are better able to respond, rather than react to situations when they are calm. Relationships and choices are most fulfilling when we are calm. Calm parents and teachers are better able to provide the needed ‘anchor’ for children in the home or classroom environment. Simple ways to calm an anxious nervous system and overactive mind are:
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Use of calming breathing techniques
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Simple body positions and movements (kid’s yoga)
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Imagination and Imagery
AWARE: “Where attention goes, energy flows”. Paying attention and noticing the chaos or frenzy going on around you will contribute to feelings of chaos. Whereas the simple step of being aware of your breathing and your feet on the ground will shift your awareness to a calmer environment -your body. Paying attention to:
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YOUR THOUGHTS
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YOUR EMOTIONS
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YOUR WORDS
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YOUR ACTIONS
will result in a responding rather than reacting to situations. Being aware and paying attention to your own thoughts, emotions, words, and actions is the first step to modifying them to create a more balanced and calmer environment for everyone.
PRESENT: Both children and adults can quickly be guided to shift attention from frustration, anxiety, upset, and worry with simple presence practices. Presence is simply being in the NOW moment which is most easily achieved by experiencing sensations of our physical body. This may include:
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Looking
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Listening
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Touching
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Tasting
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Moving, Sitting, or Standing in a particular position.
Anytime we are aware of and experiencing our body- sensations and breath- we are in the moment and present. Only our ‘worry mind’ moves into the future or past, while our body is always here and now!
Call or email Carol LaRue for more information and to discuss how CAP can be integrated into your day care, school, or home.
913.341.6607
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