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What We're Reading Now

What is Mindfulness?

21 June 2016

Allison watched a video about the Compassionate Schools Project and appreciated a child's explanation of mindfulness.

Tags: allison read, allison watched, health care, healthcare, mindfulness, physician leaders, uva

Last week, I got to do some of my favorite work. I taught physician leaders how to communicate effectively. I tried to inspire pharmacists to get excited about upcoming changes in healthcare and hopefully helped them learned how to be good bosses. I facilitated a retreat for a longtime client with a mission I admire. It was an incredibly rewarding week, but it was also beset with lots of travel trouble, and I'm really, really tired this week.

This week, I'm doing all I can to rest and restore, but when I get to this place, I find myself having a hard time using all my best tools. Yeah, yeah, I should sleep, exercise, and double down on my mindfulness practices. I know these things. I teach these things. But when I get tired, even I get a little cynical about all of it and then I loathe that cynicism so it's a bit of a vicious cycle until I get my equilibrium back.

In the midst of this state of mind, I often look to the kids in my life to help me get back on track. I don't know the kids in this Compassionate School Project video below, but I do know about the research that they are participating in. “It’s a comprehensive study and implementation of the K-5 portion of a wellness curriculum being developed at UVA.

The Compassionate Schools Project researchers will determine if the curriculum – which includes integration of mindfulness practices, nutrition, and interpersonal skills training – has the effects it is designed to provide, namely improved physical health, mental wellbeing, and academic engagement. The curriculum is being implemented over seven years (2014-2021) in 25 Louisville, Kentucky classrooms in the Jefferson County Public School system.”

Whether you don’t know what mindfulness is and why it matters or if you just need a feel good moment, watch this video. I’m feeling better already.



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