How to be busy and mindful.

 New job is now a couple of weeks in and I am getting used ( slowly) to being the newbie at work. Plenty of opportunities to practice mindfulness!

I'd be lying if I said I was feeling on top of everything; and why would I be anyway?! So many things to take in. But taking a mindful approach and, perhaps most importantly, catching myself when I start to overthink/overplan is what I have been, and intend to carry on doing.

The standing posture when waiting for the photocopier or in the staffroom waiting to get to the coffee, the walking from one classroom to another, the time between, before and after the lessons. Coming home and really enjoying the cup of tea in the garden ( thank you late summer sun) or inside are all times to stop and just be. All of these are manageable during the busy day. Why is there so much emphasis on being busy all the time. I have gone down that road. I choose the path of taking more time to notice and act, to think and reflect, to respond not react - and when I take an unexpected turning I'll go with it and see what occurs and deal with it at the time. 

Back to the title- how to be busy and mindful; be a little less busy and a little more aware of the taste of the cup of coffee/tea, take time in a queue to breathe and just be in the moment, go outside ( even in the rain- have a coat!) and be kind to yourself and those around you.

This is one of my favourite quotes and I will unashamedly keep sharing it. 

What is mindfulness?

Read an interesting piece this morning Here

Interesting to read views around the monetisation of mindfulness. Also some examples of businesses using it in a non mindful way 

Currently, mindfulness is unregulated in the UK as it's not a medical service in the way that seeing a psychiatrist or a counsellor is, but it's still a service that can support vulnerable people and therefore a mindfulness teacher has a duty of care to ensure the safety and confidentiality of participants.

I'm hoping to develop my practice and ultimately take classes/sessions and would ideally provide at no cost.  Employers have to take care of their employees ( well I'm not sure they HAVE to, but the good ones do) and money is put aside for CPD in many organisations. Wouldn't it be great for mindfulness to be recognised as a great way to support people . Prevention better than cure and all that. 

Rather than pay lip service and offer a one hour mindfulness/yoga session every now and again or just as a one off so that it can go into the HR folder, why not investigate providing regular sessions for staff to support their wellbeing . Within the working day.

Being part of a group of around 80 mindfulness teachers nearing completion of the MTTC run by Christopher Titmuss and his daughter Nshorna with support from mindfulness teachers from the US, Germany and India is a real.ptivilige and I'm excited to see where we all take our mindfulness practice moving forward. 

What is mindfulness? Something worth exploring.

"Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it."

- Sharon Salzberg

August Wordcloud

 This is the wordcloud for this month. I will be interested to see how these change moving forward...

Reflections on working part time.

So, four weeks into the new year and my new part time role.

What have I learnt so far ? Well, I know that I am far too much of a control nut and need to work on that! Last week some resources of mine had gone walkabout and I felt panic levels rise as I searched like a woman possessed. For goodness sake, it was only a box of pins, not the crown jewels! The classroom  is not MY classroom anymore and I must strive to remember that and keep persepective when things aren't where I left them.

It has been fantastic to have time to myself during the week, and I have been able to catch up on things which I wouldn't normally have been able to do. Going to the gym in the morning, having extended lunches with friends, having time to decorate, do the gardening, sit and read, play the guitar, chat on the phone when I would have been at work in the past. Great! Have I managed to switch off from work when I am not there... not yet; I suppose I am still at the stage where I want to prove to myself that I am still a key member of the team. The days I am in seem to whizz at an almost alarming rate as I try to pack everything planned in.  That is something I need to work on to ensure that I leave time within the days I am in for the children to reflect on their learning and not have overly high expectations; I am not trying to do 5 days in 3 after all!

The good things are having a way better work life balance than I have had since I can remember. Of course I am still tired at the end of the week, but feeling that I can keep on top of things has been hugely empowering. Having a job share partner who is a fabulous communicator has made the start to the year a lot less stressful than previous year starts have been.

I can't think of anything that I would want to change at the moment. Being part time doesn't make me any less dedicated  enthusiastic or committed. Ultimately I hope it will make me a better teacher as I have  time to reflect upon my practice and have professional dialogue with a partner who knows the class as well as I do.