I wanted to share this video of my FAB Strategies Mindfulness Movement activities to improve student’s behavior https://www.facebook.com/educationresourcesinc/videos/943257499082558/ It was recorded by ERI at their Therapy in the Schools Conference. Mindfulness movement activities are simple to do and can improve attention as well as enhance behavior by reducing student’s anxiety and giving them a break from seated work.
Mindfulness movement activities help all students yet are especially helpful for students with developmental disabilities, anxiety, sensory processing challenges, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, ADHD, and/or other behavioral challenges. Brief five minute mindfulness movement activities can help students attend better and promote the processing of academic learning when done between academic subjects (e.g., after math before proceeding to language arts). Mindfulness movement activities can also be done in conjunction with teaching Positive Behavioral Support Interventions and used as a pre-correction before challenging school activities (e.g., lunch, playground, assemblies, and transitions).
In this video I demonstrate Touching the head-shoulders-stomach for sensory body awareness, Belly breathing, Hand opening and stretching to prevent hand cramping from writing (while breathing in) followed by thumb fisting as a mudra for relaxation (while breathing out)
Bird breathing, and Mindful Clock Sitting (righting reactions moving forward-back and laterally).
Mindful clock standing activities can also be used, particularly to help students with sensory irritability gain basic body awareness of the anterior-posterior portions of their body through forward-back balancing movements
as well as sensory awareness and stability of the bottom (feet) and top (head) of their body through squatting then moving on their toes.
I hope more early childhood and special education teachers as well as occupational, physical, speech/language and mental health therapists will begin using basic sensory mindfulness movement activities with their students. Mindfulness movement activities offer a great opportunity for teachers and therapists to integrate and co-teach the academic and developmental curriculum areas. As we continue to integrate the regular and special education curriculums, mindfulness movement activities can benefit students while promoting transdisciplinary interactions between teachers and therapists.
