Movement & Mindfulness 102

Skills for Healthier Kids & Teachers

Leah Kalish, MA: leah@move-with-me.com
www.move-with-me.com
818-667-3689
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TEAM

Leah Kalish, MA, a recognized expert in movement, yoga, and socialemotional education, has created many successful products/curricula for
companies, such as Barefoot Books, Yoga Ed. and School Specialty. She
founded Move with Me to support young children in being physically
fit, emotionally stable and learning able.

Wendy Piret, BS, is a Developmental Movement Education Specialist

with years of experience teaching children. She is a licensed Brain
Gym Instructor, a certified Yoga Ed. Instructor, and a cranio-sacral
practitioner specializing in pediatrics. With her collaborator, Liz Bragdon,
she is the co-creator of the Movement & Mindfulness Curriculum and the
instructor in the Scooter & Me movement adventure series.

Liz Bragdon, MA, is a certified Yoga Teacher and veteran early

childhood educator. She leads assemblies for Young Audiences and
teaches at schools, libraries, gyms, and studios. With her good friend,
Wendy Piret, she is co-creator of the Movement & Mindfulness
Curriculum, and the writer of the Scooter & Me movement adventure
series.
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Objectives
Understand entrainment and why selfregulation skills / mindfulness is essential
for teachers/parents.
Learn 5 Adventure Skills and when to use
them.
Understand and utilize the benefits of
cross-lateral movement.
Explore the basics of self-regulation skill
building.
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Overview
Entrainment - Coherence Mindfulness
Self-Regulation
Pause, Reflect, Slow, Center, Self-Care for
YOU
New Adventure Skills for Your
Classroom/Home

Cross Lateral Movement Tools

3 Mindfulness Games
Mirroring - Support Self-Care & SelfControl
Resources
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Entrainment
Quantum physics everything is a vibration / wave
The principle of entrainment - tendency for two
oscillating bodies to shift to vibrate in harmony
Universal - appearing in music, chemistry, biology,
medicine, psychology, sociology, education
You influence everyone around you children,
students, employees non-verbally
Heart reads vibration sends messages to your
brain you react
Coherent Waves & Incoherent Waves
Even, smooth, organized, regular = relaxed & able
Uneven, static, chaotic, irregular = stressed & less
able

BE DO - HAVE
BE your mind-body state/ vibration
DO infuses how you think / act
HAVE influences your experience
According to brain /educational researchers, including Eric Jensen,
Carla Hannaford, and HeartMath, our mind-body state dictates the
quality of our choices and the intentions of our actions.
When you are stressed, what kinds of foods do you choose?
When you are tired or frustrated, how present or kind are you?
When you are worried, how careful or caring can you be?

Conscious Coherence
Fact - we live, learn and love through our bodies & to do
well socially, cognitively, professionally and academically,
we need to feel well.
Entrainment is the basis for naturally occurring socialemotional learning and self-regulation.
You are the model & the music in the room
Choose to prioritize your WELL-BEING over your TO
DO List
When you sustain coherence, children magically learn to as
well.
When you take time to help children grow their selfawareness and practice self-care, they learn how to
consciously manage their emotions and impulses. This.
The ability to self-regulate increases empathy and resilience
, and improves behavior and academic achievement.

Mindfulness
Maintaining awareness of our thoughts,
feelings, sensations, and environment.
Cultivating presence in relationship
Observing what is without interpretation
Allowing what is without judgment
Aligning with a bigger, vertical
intention health, empowerment,
kindness as your beingness & your
filter for how you respond
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Self-Regulation
Mindfulness practices with the intention to sustain coherence
Reset button on your CNS sympathetic to parasympathetic
Soothe, shift, calm, integrate or energize your mind-body
state
Become more present, aware, reflective = executive function
Takes practice & tools
Imagery MT / Rainbow/ Ocean

Slow down
Ground/center
Attend to your own Sensations
Rest back Widening focus
Align with Intention
Breathe easily
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Belly Breathing calms your

body and soothes your mind.
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
As you breathe in your nose, feel your belly rise first and your
chest expand second. As you breathe out your nose, feel your
belly empty and then your chest soften. Repeat 4 5 times
slowly and smoothly
When?
Before a new activity to pause & focus
Anytime you want to relax or center yourself
When you feel upset, confused, or frustrated
To slow down for sleep
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These foods provide vital nutrients and antioxidants

to every system of the body. They also contain
phyto-nutrients which help lubricate the body
and act as cleansing agents.
When?
With every meal
At snack time
Instead of sugary or junk food

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Gently rub your ears. With your thumb on one side

and your first finger on the other, massage your ears
from top to bottom. The tingling warmth of this
simple massage promotes calm, relieves anxiety,
and can heighten your feelings of alertness.
When your are calm and alert it is much easier to
listen and understand.
When?
You feel sluggish and tired
Your head feels heavy or thick
You are not able to listen well
You want to really tune in and pay attention
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With one thumb at eye level, the other hand relaxed

at your side, draw your thumb through the air, tracing
a large 8 lying on its side. Follow your thumb with
just your eyes as it moves counter-clockwise for the
first loop and then clockwise for the second loop.
Follow the sideways 8s with just your eyes several
times to relax & strengthen eye muscles so you can
see, read & write more easily & clearly.
When?
You cant focus
Your vision is blurry
Your eyes feel tired
You have a headache
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Sit on a padded floor or surface and

lean back onto both hands. Bend your
knees half-way and lift both feet,
keeping them off the floor. Gently rock
on your seat/bottom from side to side,
massaging one gluteus muscle, then the other.
When?
You feel stormy and out of sorts
Your boat has been rocked and you feel upset
You feel overwhelmed or out of control
You want to focus and remember
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Cross-Lateral Movement

Energizes body and mind

Releases tension
Activates both sides of the brain
Prep for fine motor skills
reading & writing
Enhances thinking, comprehension &
learning
Developmental stages of cross-lateral
ability
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Monkey Wisdom Chant

I am healthy
I play every day
I drink lots of water
I dont float away
I rest when Im tired
I breathe when Im mad
I eat fruits & veggies
Monkey Wisdom Video
Cause they are rad
http://vimeo.com/68339892
Red, orange, yellow, green
At every meal and in between!

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Humming Breath Chant

One hand on my belly, I let it rest
The other, I bring up to my chest
I find a pair of buttons beneath the shelf
And Huuuuuummmmmm
To calm myself
I move my eyes slowly
Humming Breath Video
From the left to the right
Heart calm, mind clearhttp://vimeo.com/68339890
Body strong, eyes bright!
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Benefits of Self-Care

Increased self-awareness
Situational insight
Clarity of thought (cognition)
Impulse control
Physical coordination

YouTube/MwMAA Channel Demo Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-1f5i15QhI&feature=c4overview&list=UUWgg5XvT3iuAnVAZRpMhVqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utsDv3y-Qrc&feature=c4overview&list=UUWgg5XvT3iuAnVAZRpMhVqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdqnxs51Oc&feature=c4overview&list=UUWgg5XvT3iuAnVAZRpMhVqw
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TIME TO PLAY MORE,

STRESS LESS

ADVENTURE SKILLS

Drop Of

Water
Breathe /Humming Breath/Ocean Wisdom
Deep Down Wisdom

Transition to Circle

Monkey Wisdom
Infinity 8s
Deep Down Wisdom

Transition to Active Time

Monkey Wisdom
Elephant Wisdom

Transition to Clean-up

Breathe /Humming Breath/Ocean Wisdom

Elephant Wisdom
Water

Transition to Quiet Time

Water
Breathe / Humming Breath/Ocean Wisdom
Deep Down Wisdom

Academic/Detail Work

Monkey Wisdom
Infinity 8s
Rock the Boat

Conflict

Rock the Boat

Breathe / Humming Breath/Ocean Wisdom
Deep Down Wisdom

Emotionally Triggered

Drink Water
Breathe /Humming Breath/Ocean Wisdom
Deep Down Wisdom

Confusion

Monkey Wisdom
Elephant Wisdom
Infinity 8s

Active Play / Games

Body-mind regulating and integrating
Over-rides the bodys physiological response to stress.
Invites whole child participation. Organizes whole-brain
function for optimal learning.
Raises chemical messengers levels that balance mind/
body.
Triggers BDNF, a neuro-tropic factor required for thinking.
BDNF decreases after 20 min. of sitting

Strengthens key areas of the brain basal ganglia,

cerebellum and corpus callosum by building brain cells
and connections.

Improves mental focus & concentration

Enhances memory, creativity, and academic achievement.
Develops eye muscle fitness and helps with reading.
Helps 85% of students who are kinesthetic learners

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Force vs. Finesse

Give each child a knotted scarf. Ask them to untie the knot.
Notice who is using force discuss what happens to their
bodies & the knot
Point out anyone using finesse what is the quality of their
actions, focus, breath?
Help kids summarize the diferent physical experiences
Struggling, pulling, tense, frustrated, holding breath, knot
tighter
Focused, specific, relaxed, breathing, knot loosening
Force = working against
Finesse = working with
Name some other activities in which you would want to
use finesse instead of force shoes, containers, friends,
using your body

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Wind in the Trees

Children stand in a circle shoulder to shoulder
and count off 1 2 1 - 2. All 2s to step out;
all 1s do Tree Pose with their arms up so
fingertips lightly touch to make a Forest.
All 2s become Wind and move in and around Trees
without touching them. Wind can blow, sway, wave,
and try to distract Trees. The forest and all its trees
stay steadfastly rooted & focused letting the wind do
whatever because it doesnt bother them.
After 1-2 minutes, switch roles. Repeat until children
have practiced Trees/Forest on both legs.
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ABC Hugathon
Everyone partners up and then each couple
picks a letter from the alphabet and thinks
of a type of person or an animal that begins
with that letter. One at a time, each pair
shows how their person/animal would hug. Example:
The rest of the group, only knowing the first letter,
tries to guess who they are from how they hug.
Example
Examples: a couple might do Astronaut, Aardvark
or Alien HUG, the next might do the Bear, Brute or
Bat hug and so on. (Just imagine how tricky it would
be for two porcupines to hug!)
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Model & Schedule

Self-Regulation = Managing thoughts, feelings & behavior

= Self-Discipline

Use mindfulness / self-regulation to empower you to:

Sustain coherence
React/interpret less & allow/observe more
Respond in a respectful, compassionate way to
self/others
Support children to build self-regulation & self-discipline:
Practice self-care and regulation daily
Teach techniques and use a variety of tools
Drink water, Play, Move, Eat Well
Acknowledge children choosing to use self-care/reg tools

Mirror vs Manage
When children are triggered, stressed, mis-behaving
Help them be with what is really going on for them
Observe & MIRROR - name the behavior you see
Give space to soothe, calm, re-redirect themselves:
Feel and allow sensations, breathe, slow down, ground
Name what they feel
Choose tools to SELF soothe, re-direct, build resilience

Only problem-solve once children are able to hear and

listen
Use self-care techniques then help kids discuss what
happened
No right/wrong just what we want/agreed and what we dont
All learning how to be/do/have more of what we choose
Builds self-esteem, self-confidence, empathy & resilience
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Resources
InnerKids.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=LpMvTTIr2p4
Beck Baily consciousdiscipline.com
Mindfulschools.org
Mindful.org
Brain Gym
Dr. Bruce Perry
Dr. Dan Seigel
Dr. Daniel Goleman
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