100 Days of Practice

Recently I reached a milestone in my meditation practice. 100 days of practice! I remember sitting down for my first guided meditation through the Headspace app. Through the guidance, Andy said, set your intention for your practice. So I did. I had so many intentions or outcomes. I wanted to be more in the moment, I wanted to be less anxious, I wanted to live my #OneWord and appreciate more, I wanted my thoughts to be less frequent. The list goes on and on. The truth is through these daily mediations I wasn't getting the results I was looking for. The results that people claim come out of mediation. I was actually more anxious and frustrated at first and I didn't understand why.

I now realize in the beginning sessions I didn't have an intention for growth or practice. I had an expectation, an end product that I was looking for. I expected to sit down and through meditation, all of a sudden this product would come about. The problem with this was that I wasn't starting from where I was. I had very little experience with mediation, yet I wanted to be an overnight expert. My intentions were good, however, I was ignoring the process and making it all about attainment or an end product. This is the complete opposite of what both meditation and mindfulness are about. In fact with resistance and wanting to change things as they are, comes more resistance.

Over the course of the 100 days I've grown in my practice. I let go and now meet each practice with an open mind. I'm still practicing and always will be because there is no final product. Each day I sit, I allow the mediation to be as is. There is no good or bad mediation. I sit down for the daily guided mediation and remind myself this is a practice. This a process that I'm building on each day.

As I reflect on my meditation at Day 100, I can't help but relate this experience to teaching and how children learn. Teaching needs to be more about the process and less about the end product. We need to meet the children where they are, find the hidden gems in every student and then lift them up from that point. This is the only way students will be successful.

When we meet and accept where the students are, it is only then that we can meet their individual needs. Take out the end product and each child will amaze you in their own way. Similar to mediation and mindfulness, children need space. Space to grow, space to learn, space to make mistakes. In an environment where space is provided students will feel more comfortable and take more risks.

Teaching children the process in all subjects is important. Allowing for practice and space where they can try out the strategies taught in mini lessons is necessary. Provide space where they have the drivers seat and be their co-pilots. I know in my guided mediation practice I look forward to those moments where there is less guidance. The silence where I'm free to try out the techniques. It's not always perfect, but it is always my own practice and each time I get up, I'm proud I tried. Our students deserve these opportunities. Opportunities to try. Times where they can show us what they can do on their own. Then we can guide them from the place of where they can, instead of from where they can't.

After these opportunities we can teach students to use growth mindset and ask themselves, "Where am I now and where do I need to go? What do I need to do?" This too is part of the process. Guiding students to knowing themselves best as learners.

Whether your into mediation or not, I ask that you think about your classroom and students. Be mindful of the process that comes along with learning. Provide your students with more space to grow and learn through the process. Opportunities where the product is not the same for each child because each child is not the same. Give them the space and they will amaze you.