It's back to school and back to practice!

Students in all groups of the IEP have had their first session of meditation this week and it was very successful.

I find that each year it becomes easier to teach the new groups of students, students respond well to these basic meditation practices. Like any new subject I start small, scaffold the learning, and as the year moves on we progress on to more complicated, advanced mindfulness practices. It's essential to go easy so as not to overwhelm students. The goal is to foster a deep love and appreciation for the practice in students, which makes the beginning phases crucial so as not to confuse students.

The curriculum I use with the students is from Mindful Schools and it's a fantastic way to introduce young people, and old, to the practices of meditation in a secular way. As we move through the year students are taught more complex Vipassana and Samatha practices (please see links for more info.)

Over the past two years, I've been fortunate enough to be able to incorporate a range of mindfulness practices into the IEP curriculum. Through the teachings of meditation, over time, I've observed students gain more self-control, improved concentration, reduced stress and overall improved self-confidence which not only leads to higher academic performance but enriched extracurricular and life-skills as well. The practice teaches us that with one-pointed concentration we can take on the world and accomplish anything we put our mind to, without a lot of unnecessary distractions.

As always parents, community, teachers, and students are encouraged to drop in on our mindfulness meditation classes, whenever schedules allow. For more information about classes during school hours please email Ajarn Casey, or if you're free on Tuesday afternoons, welcome to join the weekly ACAM meditation group in the PREM VSP rooms, 3:15pm – 4:15pm.

With a little bit of effort, you can learn how to meditate and change your life! 

IEP group B students, locked deep in meditation! Lotus posture comes naturally to these kids.	IEP group A students practice with strong concentration skills, impressive!