Mindfulness Blog for Educators: Taming the Toggling Mind.

We take the mindful moments where we can find them. Every moment we catch with our attention brings us to the present.

ServeWithWisdom.com

When I was first introduced to mindfulness, I was immediately intimidated. Calming my mind? Finding a balance? That seemed an impossible ask for my anxious and overwhelmed mind. I know that my reaction wasn't unusual. When I try to talk about my practice over dinner with a friend, their response goes something like, "I wish I had time for that; I can barely eat dinner."

I get it. I said the exact same thing until my 24 hours a day, nagging mind forced me to find some sort of relief. I said it to myself though, because the person who first introduced me to mindfulness was my boss. Greg.

As a therapeutic teacher who spends their day having difficult conversations with adolescents and their families, the last place I wanted to be was in my mind. My focus was on trying to forget my day. I would come home and become distracted by taking care of my family and then spend the 30 minutes before I fell asleep thinking of all of the horrible things that could befall my loved ones AND a detailed plan of how to avoid them. That left me with, maybe 2 hours of "me time" that I spent not thinking. So, thanks, but I passed.

I believed that I was controlling my mind by avoiding it. I had it right where I wanted it until I realized that I was not really taking charge. The 30 minutes of anxious thoughts at night started to seep into my evening and then my day. As so often happens, my mind and my body had let me know that things were going haywire way before I was finally aware that the feelings of anxiety were rising to the top and needed a different kind of solution.

When I first heard about being "centered and balanced" I imagined it required having to sit and stare at a candle for hours. It wasn't until I heard about the concept of past and future thoughts, that it started to make sense to me. My mind is just like a Weeble Wobble toy that never falls down. It toggles from one side to another because that's how it is built. Our minds are the same way. They're built to drift from thought to thought, but when that movement is constant and abrupt, we feel unstable and more importantly, uncomfortable.

The starting place is recognizing how much time our minds spend toggling between the future and the past.

Catch it. Here and there. Label it.

“Remember when I tried to have that difficult conversation and it got away from me?”

Mmhmm. "Past".

“What if my childcare shuts down and I can’t get to work?”

Oh. "Future".

I have learned to take the mindful moments where I can find them. Every moment I catch brings me to the present.

The thoughts don’t stop. I have to make plans, and we have to reflect. The toggling will still happen, but every chance I take to pay more attention, the better I get at catching them. Kindly. Gently moving my attention to the feeling of my feet in my shoes or the gentle sigh of my out-breath.

Then, the bell rings. The kids shuffle in the classroom. And I am back. A little more calm and ready for what comes next.

Serve With Wisdom was created to help educators and providers find peace and calm where you’re at in each moment of each day. Solace can be found in your office, car, or classroom.

Greg and I wrote the Mindful Educator Resource Guide to offer 16 accessible self-care mindfulness practices that speak to the challenges that come with finding space for ourselves. You can keep it in your car, school bag, or at your desk. You deserve to allow yourself at least 10 minutes to be first on your to-do list.

We also include space for journaling so that you can reflect on the impact that taking time to balance yourself is having on your nervous system and quality of life.

You’ve got this, and we’ve got you!

Sending you love and appreciation for all you do while serving others.

-Amy and Greg