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Why Mindfulness Is a Superpower: An Animation

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Do you savor life or let everyday stresses control you? In other words, how mindful are you?

The practice of mindfulness has been linked to happiness, health, and psychological well-being, but many of us may not know exactly what it is, let alone how to cultivate it.

The quiz below draws on a mindfulness scale developed by researchers at La Salle University and Drexel University, led by psychology professor Lee Ann Cardaciotto. Please answer as honestly as possible about how frequently you experienced each of the following 20 statements over the past week.

When you're done, you'll learn more about what mindfulness is, how much you currently practice it, and how you can promote more of it in your life.

Any responses submitted here will never be shared with any organization outside the Greater Good Science Center under any circumstances, ever. All responses are anonymized and only used in aggregate for evaluation purposes.

Source: Cardaciotto, L., Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., Moitra, E., & Farrow, V. (2008). "The Assessment of Present-Moment Awareness and Acceptance: The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale." Assessment, 15 (2), 204-223.

Embed This Quiz on Your Web Site

Copy this HTML code and paste it into your Web page wherever you would like the quiz to appear. Be sure to include the script tag -- it allows the quiz to resize to fit the space properly.

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Do you savor life or let everyday stresses control you? In other words, how mindful are you?

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Headspace | Mini Meditation | Let Go of Stress

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Stop, Breathe & Think | Guided Meditations & Mindfulness

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A friendly app to guide people through meditations for mindfulness & compassion. Download today on IOS, Android or Web!

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Mindfulness, meaning mental presence and reflection, is a popular practice across the U.S., incorporating tools to help people think clearly and critically, calm their minds, and be more productive.

Many teachers also believe mindfulness can help students feel more relaxed and focused, not to mention make them less likely to engage in disruptive behavior than those who don't meditate or undertake other mindfulness practices. Research shows that mindfulness practices can have a generally positive effect on students, though it's not yet clear whether those outcomes are caused by specific practices or simply giving students the chance to take a breath during a busy school day.

In one study, students said they spent one-third of their study time feeling worried, stressed, or stuck. A variety of factors could cause those feelings, but the decision to make your classroom a more mindful one could help students learn valuable stress management skills. Here are six apps that might help your students be more present, relaxed, and productive.

One of the advantages of Stop, Breathe & Think is that it gives customized meditations based on how you're feeling at that moment. First, users go through a brief survey about their current state, then receive meditations to match the results. Students can take part in the activity even if they only have about five minutes.

Depending on the age of your students, there is a kids' version of the app intended for young people from 5-10 years old. Also, the app creators offer educators a free lifetime membership that provides access to hundreds of activities, plus both the kids and all-ages version of the app.

Hundreds of schools use the Headspace app to introduce kids to mindfulness practices. Users get the Basics course for free, allowing them to determine if meditation is something they want to continue. If it is, subscriptions provide access to mindfulness exercises of various lengths and topics. Moreover, the content gets delivered in an extremely accessible manner. So, if you're not yet familiar with mindfulness, but want to learn along with the students, check out Headspace.

Featuring quotes, a visually pleasing interface, and helpful elements like a built-in timer, DreamyKid is another mindfulness app built for young people. However, individuals of any age can get something out of it. There are apps for specific needs, too. Some of them work well for helping kids wind down before nap time, and others can help them stay committed to tasks.

Also, schools and other organizations that work with children can get DreamyKid for no charge. One of the possible downsides is that it's only available on iOS for now, but an Android version is on the way.

Insight Timer claims to offer the most extensive library of free guided meditation content with more than 15,000 options available. Also, the "timer" part of the name relates to how you can choose from several sounds that signal to listeners when it's time to start and stop meditating. As such, learners could begin to associate a soothing noise with getting in the frame of mind to meditate. There is a specific section of content for beginners, too.

This highly-rated meditation app goes beyond the kinds of mindfulness that people typically associate with the term. For example, there is a section of material for mindful movement, plus exclusive music tracks to help users get engrossed in their quest toward mindfulness.

If you get the premium version of the app, it offers a daily calm, which is a new meditation for each day. It could be an excellent way to start the school day.

This app encourages people to make mindfulness part of their everyday activities, so it could help show kids that they shouldn't only engage in mindfulness when they're in your class. It can send up to five random reminders to people that urge them to meditate. There are also quotes and photos for users to share with their classmates on social media.

This app proves that although there are distracting ways to use smartphones in schools, it's also possible to depend on them to help kids learn something new that could benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Meditation Apps Offer Accessibility

As this list demonstrates, there are numerous apps to promote mindfulness in your classroom. Even better, some offer the content free for educators, meaning you can try meditation with your students without cutting into your budget.

Have you tried to introduce mindfulness into your classroom? What apps or other technologies have you used? What were the results? Let us know in the comments!

Kayla Matthews is an ed tech journalist whose work has been featured in InformationWeek, Noodle, InnovateMySchool and VentureBeat. To see more of her writing, visit ProductivityBytes.com or follow her on Twitter.

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Creating a Mindful Classroom with Six Helpful Apps * TechNotes Blog

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Mindfulness, meaning mental presence and reflection, is a popular practice across the U.S., incorporating tools to help people think clearly and critically, calm their minds, and be more productive. Many teachers also believe mindfulness can help students feel more relaxed and focused, not to mention make them less likely to engage in disruptive behavior than those who don't meditate or undertake other mindfulness practices.

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Why do people get so anxious about math? - Orly Rubinsten

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Emotions you Might Feel while Being Mindful

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Emotions you Might Feel while Being Mindful

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- thankful
- gracious
- at ease
- relaxed
- calm
- happy
- focused
- sleepy
- energized
- empowered

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- Headspace
- Calm
- Stop Breathe & Think
- Go Noodle

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What does this picture mean to you?

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(we will complete this during class)

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Bristow, J. (2018, October 31). 10 Ways to Define Mindfulness. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://www.mindful.org/10-ways-to-define-mindfulness/

Happify. (2015, December 07). Why Mindfulness Is a Superpower: An Animation. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6T02g5hnT4

Headspace. (2018, May 10). Headspace | Mini Meditation | Let Go of Stress. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Ndym-IsQg

Hendriksen, E. (2018, August 31). The 5 Biggest Myths of Mindfulness. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/the-5-biggest-myths-of-mindfulness

RelaxLikeABoss. (2019, June 23). What Is Mindfulness? The Ultimate Guide. Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://relaxlikeaboss.com/the-art-of-mindfulness/

Rubinsten, O. (2017, March 27). Why do people get so anxious about math? Retrieved June 28, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7snnRaC4t5c