New School Year 2022 – 23!

It’s true. September 2022 and Class Relax gets to address pupils in 7th and 8th grades who actually choose to participate.
Is this a dream come true for a mindfulness teacher?

Day one of the year, and this teacher is one of a line-up of Facilitators presenting their workshops to an auditorium full of boisterous kids.
My presentation for the 8th grade was happily cheered. Kids approached me before the massive session and after. I was hugged and smiled at and in general made to feel that I was in the right place.
My presentation on week later for the 7th grade, all newbies to the school, also went well. They didn’t know me but they honored me by listening and following instructions as we all went through a Dry Shower, body tapping exercise. Those kids were forced to sit still, quietly for 90 minutes, and not withstanding a few time-outs for resuming quiet attention, were remarkable. (More than I was, who found myself doing push-ups on the stairs while listening to those who went on and on about their workshop).

Last Wednesday I welcomed my little class of Grade 8 kids and lo and behold, in walked a few of the absolute most impulsive, cushion throwing boys. (What? I thought). I gave instructions, we went over our rules including being mindful of who has the right to speak via the talking piece, how we listen respectively with an open mind, how we speak from the heart and how we keep the goings on of the class private amongst us.

Then the pillow sliding antics began. How did it happen? It appears that a few latecomers charging in after the rule review can totally upset the balance of a classroom, but I knew that.
There were two women there as companions for two kids, one of whom was special ed and another who was definitely in need of a personal coach.

The special ed child, filled with the joy of seeing me (although he’d hardly shown up in his weekly mindfulness class all of his grade 7 year), brought along the companion from Hell. She sat with her cellphone, and decided at one point to coach me in tossing out pupils (‘That’s how it’s done!” she advised). Her own wild charge was not deemed to be part of the outlaw brood.

To cut to the chase, a lot of nice things were done (but as usual, the brain ruminates on the negative – survival fight or flight wiring). For example, we each thought of what we’d wish for our friends for this new year, we wrote it down, and then in turn, we each held a lovely smooth quartz crystal to silently send our wish from our hearts to our friends. Some of those written wishes later transformed into paper airplanes which were lovingly aimed at the friend of their choice.

I gathered up a few of the planes and crushed paper balls after the dears cleaned up the cushion arrangement, and found some lovely messages. “May you be happy”.
“May you be successful in school”, “May you have lots of friends”, “May the teachers be nice to you”.

My brain was another story. How was I to handle the jumpers, the bouncers, the cushion throwers.
I deliberated for a few days then came to the conclusion that I’d deal with their homeroom teachers, telling them to find these dears another group, something more conducive to jumping around.

To my amazement, I was told that one boy really wanted to come to Mindfulness. It was his only choice. He didn’t want to join a sports group. The suggestion was that I call him and tell him that he’s on probation and if after this next class things didn’t work out, we’d revisit the subject of his exit from the class.

I called and we made a deal. He would make great efforts to be quiet and follow instructions. If he needed a few minutes to air out his brain, he could take them and then come back. If I felt he needed to leave for a few minutes, I’d use a secret code word that only we two would know, and he’d hear it and take a short break. He agreed, but since we did the negotiation by phone, I’m not really sure if the terms of the deal were clear. We’ll go over them this week before class.

Another boy was also on the phone call negotiation track. He also promised to take a time-out when needed, and he begged my indulgence since the most rowdy of the outlaws simply made it impossible for him not to join in. Since those 2 rowdies who had crashed the class will not be present this week, boy #2 believed that he would more easily be able to stay still.

To be seen! Here we go, 2022!

Thoughts After the 2021-22 School Year

Mandala Situations

This past school year was fascinating. Not only did I show up once a week to work with each of the seventh grade classes, but I also had the privilege of working with those in the eighth grade who chose to learn mindfulness each week.

I found patterns of behaviour in the classes that showed up as those respecting one another, and able to listen and accept another’s point of view, to those who did what they could to make noise, to deliberately cause torment to others.
The wonderful kids from the small Special Ed class found themselves enjoying the creation of meditation cushions. Other classes enjoyed the challenges of making origami lotus flowers, or working on a special dance challenging their coordination.
But the very favorite exercise in every one of my classes involved mandalas.

The exercises took various forms.
The first exercise involved the following: choosing only one coloured marker, and one mandala outline and then listening to the instructions. They were to start colouring until the sound of the tibetan singing bowl. Upon hearing it, to put down the marker and pass their drawing to the pupil sitting on their right. I encouraged them to add their own personality to the drawing and/or to inject a little beauty if they wished. After the initial shock of hearing the bell and being told to stop working, even if they found themselves in the middle of a vital piece of the mandala, the kids accepted the format and got on with the exercise. At the end they’d receive the drawing that they’d begun with, come to terms with what had become of it, and then add their own final touches.

Then we’d share how it went.
One of the most dramatic versions of this exercise occurred with the Eighth Graders. I put on Zubin Mehta’s version of Ravel’s Bolero, and I had them work for the duration of each musical phrase. As the music rose in drama, my voice would remind them to pay attention to the contact of the pen in their hands, of their feet on the floor or of their shoulders. I’d remind them to breathe.
By the end of the famous climax to the piece, I’d cheer them to embrace their own drawing, having been through the attentions of the rest of the class, and add their own stamp.
It was marvelous and I was in happy disbelief that the number of participants in that day’s class fit perfectly with the number of phrases in Bolero (They were 18 that day? or 17?).

The mandala exercise. Such a delightful personal yet community activity. My drawing graced by the efforts of others. How does it make one feel? Was there a touch of possessiveness? Or anger? Or other emotions? Each one who wished to share, did so, no pressure, but there were many utterly in favour of doing it again.

I felt that this year’s Mindfulness Course offered a bonding opportunity that had been missing in their lives due to the Covid quarantines and the lack of socialization with their peers. Here was an opportunity through exercises of paying attention, of challenging oneself, of attempting to hold silence or to deliberately play with another, for the kids from their various backgrounds and experiences to join minds and work on self-attention and how to stay calm instead of immediate and uncontrolled blurting out or even smacking their neighbour.
For me, it was an opportunity to attempt to make a difference in their day, to offer them a small pocket of time in which they weren’t being yelled at or criticized.

I received a beautiful letter from one pupil, written in Hebrew and I’ll attach it here with a translation.

To Judih:
Thank you very much for the wonderful year filled with relaxation.

Thank you for making us believe in ourselves and to feel that there’s no one like us. And most importantly, the dry shower that helped to wake us up in the morning.
With love,
The pupils of 7-8 and there’s no one like you!
Super Jody (looks like I’m radiating energy!)

Radiating energy! Helping them believe in themselves! I’d say that it’s a letter worth keeping and this teacher’s dream.
May the summer resume more quietly and with less intense heat and other distractions.

The Day We Attempted Sitting in Silence

In these times of uncertainty, omicron, vaccinations, discovery of those infected, our students seem to rejoice in simple communication, physical and vocal. This week’s challenge in our Wednesday mindfulness lessons to 7th grade classes: to sit in silence, paying attention to breath and body.

I told them that I was timing them and that the class with the ability to stay silent the longest would win a prize.

_{Photo by Magicbowls on Pexels.com}

First class: 1 minute (after 3 tries)

Second class: 3 1/2 minutes (after 3 tries and they wanted to try a 4th time)

Third class: only a few seconds elapsed before one started signaling another – non-verbally but quite expressively. Laughter ensued. We tried again several times, and each time someone else began the circuit of eyebrow raises, finger gestures (not always the most polite) and then little ventures, silently and stealthily across the room.

That third class’s effort to remain silent culminated in the creation of faux rude noises and at the sound of the singing bell signifying the end of the exercise, they burst into a raucous orchestra of noises accompanied by peals of laughter.

We solemnly ended with a “Dry Shower” (one day I’ll film it, I promise) and after 3 deep body breaths and a pledge to be well until next time, two sweet girls (7th graders, I must emphasize) stayed behind and apologized to me for the outcome of the lesson. I thanked them, thinking it might be best not to confess that it had been the funniest lesson ever!

Class Relax considers a new rule!

Grade 7, 2021 in the midst of post-Covid-19, mid Covid variants, and the crazy life we’re leading. Sometimes, you just have to laugh together.

Back to school, Class Relax 2021-22

Yes, we’re back.

I’m Judih (exhale on the final ‘h’) and have resumed face-to-face mindfulness lessons in the 7th grade. I get to meet with all eight classes, and with a group of 8th graders who have chosen to continue learning mindfulness for a 90-minute session.

Covid-19 and all the variants might also be amongst the pupils, so mask wearing is a mandatory condition inside our room.
It’s not easy. I need to remind kids constantly to adjust their masks, but mask-wearing also helps us gain awareness of our breathing.

In fact every year with the seventh graders, I crave to know about them.
I peruse the data available to me: their places of residence, their parents’ names, and perhaps a connection to an older brother or sister, previously in my classes.

Our opening activity is to draw an outline of our hand, write our names, our expectations of the lessons and if they have a phone and are willing to share, their phone number. Once I have numbers, I can send them digital questionnaires to find out more about their past experience with mindfulness, and if they have questions. I want a way to encourage questions outside of the 40-minute group lesson. Of course, we do a listening meditation and a breathing meditation, just to give a taste of what we’ll be doing.

Tibetan Singing Bowl

Some classes are heaven, others are a challenge. We’ve been able to meet in the Relaxation Room, equipped with cushions and large bean-bag chairs. Cushions serve as comfy resting places or portable weapons, depending on the whim of the pupils. Some classes gravitate to relaxation while others prefer the more aggressive option. Soon we’ll be in a more standard classroom, which usually proves to encourage more standardized behaviour. To be seen.

Cushion fort, time investment of 10 minutes during the break

The eighth graders are from one of my favourite classes from last year. There are only a few of them and I hope to find a way to offer them ways to detach from tensions, and get comfortable with themselves. Two of them built a marvelous fort out of the cushions, surrounding themselves with a kind of padded, dark cell. (Not the first time, students have done such things, and it’s fascinating to see which of them only want to build such an environment.)
Others flow with me, responding, cooperating. An interesting group.

I’ll keep you all informed.

De-stressing!

the pause

There are days in a student’s life when all that is wanted is a chance to disconnect from stress.

Life on Zoom

Our students are studying hour after hour via zoom. The internet connection works or doesn’t work. The teacher freezes mid-sentence. The student loses connection mid-explanation. Then comes a test. You get the idea. Stress!

Class Relax to the Rescue

So, yesterday, a much needed guided imagery session was offered. After our initial check-up of how they were feeling at that very moment and doing a breathing/movement exercise, I invited them to get comfortable lying down or sitting, Making sure that my voice was audible, I began to lead them into another sphere.

We began with a gentle body scan and then accepting an invitation to imagine a place that they loved, with its sights, smells, sensations. I led them down an imaginary path, over a bridge to their special place and offered them opportunities to look around, see what they could see and get comfortable.

To make a lovely story short, after leading them back home and counting to 10 to bring them back to more energetic functioning, we gave ourselves a dry shower, patting our faces and bodies into a condition enabling us to resume our lives.

It was like watching flowers bloom.

In the follow-up feedback form, they asked for more such sessions, so simple to provide, within the mindfulness lesson framework arranged by our school, Nofei Habsor. Our weekly sessions, one per class, offer a safe environment, and many of these teens are showing their trust in the process. I hear them as they speak up, asking for they need.

May we all find nourishment by entering within, allowing our own imaginations to feed us emotionally.

(pic from my M.Ed end of course self-dance, Lesley College, circa 2003)
It still brings me to a state of relaxation remembering the use of the arts and movement to express my innermost calm.
Thnx to the sweet photographer who sent me the image.

Class Relax in Groovy Zoom

first semester Zoom

this semester new groups, Zoom

online mindfulness

and the verdict is in. We like it! Of course we like to look into the eyes and sense the sparkle of pupils, yet we like this option of each one in their own space. They style their environment with cushions or little knick-knacks, their favourite colours or fragrances.

I like that I can seamlessly include digital aids like clips or online tools. I like that I can create my virtual classroom and play “Did you notice what’s different?” games. I can turn off my camera and ask them who remembers the colour of my shirt, or how many plants are on the shelves.

I can play a wonderful background kalimba tune.
I can teach a mindfulness exercise and ask for reactions vocally or in chat, either public or private.

I can send links and see who responds via google forms and google classroom.
I like Zoom.

I like how I can teach guided meditation with their mics on mute and how only the sounds in my own household, familiar sounds are part of the experience.

Now, I need to ask: do the pupils like it?

first aid and other ways to smile – A list of 8 discoveries made during this unusual semester.

a beautiful mosaic ball, artist unknown

It’s been over a month of zoom mindfulness sessions with pupils of Nofei Habsor here in the Western Negev of Israel and what have I discovered?

One – If I, the teacher, love and am grateful for the opportunity to teach mindfulness, it translates well over zoom. The fact that there is budgetary allowance for these lessons, and that I started to teach even before it was officially okay, also adds to the authenticity of the need for these lessons. The fact that I was able to bring sincere enthusiasm to my pupils is something they’ve responded to.

Two – pupils ask for what they need. I am asked for specific exercises, showing me that the kids know what helps them these days. “When will we do guided meditation?”
“I love the music you played at the beginning of the lesson, it calmed me.” “I am doing the five-breath meditation and like doing it with you or the clip you sent us.” They are sharing from the heart, without coercion!

Three – Pupils are observing themselves. After the 5-breath meditation we do together, we all look within to discover if there have been any noticeable changes. Many have been noticing an altered state of being – either more energized or more relaxed or sometimes feeling a temptation to sleep. “Good”, I can respond. “We see that the same exercise offers different results to different people and to ourselves depending on our personal situation when we practice it. Remember that the best time to practice is daily and when a time comes when you feel you need to detach and focus within, you’ll remember how to do the exercise.”

Four – Using the technique of smiling. Smiling at the end of an exercise serves to activate the facial muscles, and then relaxing them and smiling again (like a maniac I say) to come back to a complete relax is enough to alter the physical and emotional mood. Smiling is something you can do, even if we don’t feel like doing so, yet the body responds to the feel good gesture.

Five – Exhaling! Exhaling is first aid. I tell them that I write my name with an ‘h’ at the end – Judih= so that upon being asked my name I can exhale – something that immediately relaxes me. I then suggest that we can all use this technique to relax. I tell them that upon the count of 3, we’ll all exhale together through the mouth or the nose, whatever they choose. Open invitation – even now you who are reading this: “Let’s all do it: 1 – 2 – 3 – exhale. Notice that fresh air comes in automatically, you don’t have to do a thing. One more time, all of us! 1 – 2 – 3 – exhale! And fresh air comes in and we can sit for a moment and allow our breathing to come back to its regular rhythm.” First aid for when things are tough – too many thoughts in our head, or too many distractions, or nervousness before a test, or an overwhelming situation. First aid for treatment on the spot: feel the sensations of the body wherever it is situated and then exhale.

Six – In teaching I need to diversify sensory impressions and experience of the self. Music, breathing, knowledge about what mindfulness is and how it changes our brain – all these things make lessons fun. Each pupil responds to a different form of input, may we never forget all those years of studying Learning Styles! I receive much feedback after lessons, and some kids are stating via questionnaires that they look forward to the lessons, that the lessons are fun. This is valuable feedback.

Seven – I’ve been blessed with a personal battery recharger. I love meeting the pupils from the seventh grade classes and returning pupils of the 8th and 9th grades who have chosen to learn mindfulness. For me it’s energizing to present the exercises of mindfulness as well as being a constant challenge to offer a diversity of experiences to intrigue the human beings sitting on the other side of the screen. Love is something that transfers over the net.

Eight – Lest we forget: gratitude for Zoom. Gratitude for the internet connection (never taken for granted). Gratitude to the school scaffolding to support this online learning.

This online teaching is continually offering new challenges which help me grow in my own practice. I’ve discovered that teaching mindfulness online offers an energizing and uplifting opportunity to those pupils who are open to it, and most definitely to me.
Class Relax is ready for more!
I offer this invitation: Would you or your school like a guest teacher? Be in touch via the comments.

Judih

Class Relax online

Class Relax on Zoom

Preparation has been ongoing with my colleagues in the Non-Profit ‘Safat haKeshev‘ (Language of Attention) since last March, but truly, I’d hoped that it was a skill that would remain on the back burner. However, there I was, creating WhatsApp groups, google classrooms and and intro clip all leading up to my first Zoom sessions yesterday with more to come this week.

You might wonder what sort of preparation goes into a mindfulness lesson. Well, this teacher of mindfulness is hoping to offer a feng shui experience to pupils overloaded with Zoom-learning.

With welcome bits of digital decoration via bitmojis and tutorials (like EZ Ed tech or Digitally Yours with Adele) on tricks to make zoom life easier, how to use virtual backgrounds, combing through sundry suggestions of apps that might work for mindfulness, and then constant experimentation to discover what suits me, my well-known propensity for creating and then re-doing powerpoint presentations has filled up these busy few weeks.

Judih bitmoji breathes out, breathes in

And then Class Day arrived!

The zoom invitation having been issued, I re-issued it and then witnessed questions like “What?- is it today?” and a few last minute joiners needed to receive private invitations and finally, I anticipated my first Grade 8 mindfulness 2-hour workshop to begin at 8:40 a.m. (a little early for these kids, I thought). Yet of the 9 who had signed up to participate, I welcomed 15. This was to be a continuing trend as I saw with the grade 9 class which followed at 10:20. The original group of 18 magically became 27 names in the Zoom room.

Tech info: The hours of preparation resulted in my being able to use my powerpoint slide presentation either as a background (during which I appeared as a small screen in front of the slide) or via ‘shared screen’. During both scenarios I had a few surprises. My ‘wheel of names’ an app offering a wheel which upon clicking rotates until stopping at a given point, didn’t work as background, but did as I shared my screen.

Note to self: annotation only works in ‘shared screen’ mode (which I guess I could have guessed beforehand).

However, in favour of ‘sharing powerpoint as background’, I loved that presenter in front of the slideshow look. I felt almost pro, as if I knew what I was doing.

Surprises that had nothing to do with me: Kids turned off their cameras which apparently is their go-to way of Zooming. Truthfully, my University daughter had informed me that of course they would zoom that way. My asking for feedback several times indicated that a majority of the participants were, in fact, present!
During the second half of the lesson when I divided them into breakout rooms to discuss their expectations for our mindfulness semester, I saw who was actually present, so that helped me as a teacher.

Good points? I had fun. I was feeling the first day of school excitement, and I was interested to see what worked and what didn’t. Also, I knew beforehand that hearing their expectations would focus us all on how to use this platform to fulfill their needs.
Points for improvement? Deciding if I can adjust to feeling more at ease with those black screens with names (like masks over the masks in a way) or if I need more visual information and if so, how to get it. I have a few ideas involving sending me private whatsapp images of a task which I’ll assign during the lesson.

Thoughts? I wonder how many other mindfulness teachers are working with Junior High students via Zoom. How are they finding things?

This week, I’ll meet the 7th grade students for the first time. I have 3 classes to experience but only of one hour each. Then we’ll slowly move through a semester that will last till the end of January.

Ohm and may we enjoy our time to use Zoom to relax and focus within.

From restlessness to post-war to usual routine – this last week of February

This past week’s Class Relax experiences:
1. Sunday – regular class, end of day, 7th graders’ attempt to allow their bodies to relax
2. Monday and some of Tuesday – Schools, roads shut down.
3. Wednesday, post-war – grateful 9th grade pupils surrender their bodies to relaxation
4. Thursday, story-telling – 7th graders noisiness subsides as puppets retell a story

The last week of February is always an interesting time of year as the anemones blur into the delicate narcissus blooms and yellow mustard flowers carpet the fields. As I met the pupils this week to facilitate Class Relax, I knew to expect fresh energies of springtime. And we enjoyed those energies Sunday afternoon.  I didn’t know, of course, that the week would suddenly change gears, with a barrage of rocket fall on our area Sunday night, requiring us to stick close to safety. It took 2 days until a true ceasefire allowed us to come back to our usual routines. I felt exhausted and I could only guess the condition of my pupils. Wednesday’s pupils wanted to indulge their need for relaxation. Then along came Thursday, and it was business, noisy business, as usual!

Monday, Tuesday, we were all at home or away from the area.
During times of war, when I can’t speak to individual pupils, I send out recorded meditation guidance as first aid. What’s App is my fastest vehicle to reach past and current groups of pupils as well as to their Homeroom teachers. There is also an open invitation to call or write me for individual guidance. I often receive thank you notes and comments that the recording helped. Sometimes a reminder that focusing on breathing can help quieten the mind, even for a minute or two, is enough to help.

Back to Class Relax in school

Wednesday’s school schedule was disrupted to allow for in-class conversations and time to play chess, volleyball and allowing for opportunities to let out steam and reunite with friends. The hour for the 9th grade Mindfulness class, however, saw us all back in the Relaxation Room of the Dream Building. The couches were quickly dismantled to allow for stretching out. Some chose to sit, one wished to stand.

After a few minutes of allowing ourselves to be still, we took time to assess our current states of mind, body and feelings, and shared with the group. I assured them that as we went through the body scan, and then guided meditation, as we noticed tensions, thoughts or sensations we were to treat ourselves kindly: to accept what we observed and to open our hearts to ourselves.

Self-compassion.

Some pupils asked for permission to draw rather than lie back – and this they did. This active self-exploration is a wonderful calming tool and good that they recognized their personal need.

And then we began, noticing our body breathing and directing the breath to our body parts from our feet up to our waists, then torsos and arms and finally allowing the breath to energize the head. We used a long cleansing breath, exhaling out all remaining worries or thoughts and refilling, refueling with fresh energy-filled air.

We allowed our body to come back to normal breathing and then I began the guided imagery: starting at their front doors earlier this morning when they had gathered everything they needed and set out on their way to school. I asked them to retrace their steps slowly as they got to their bus or car, closing the door, sitting down and driving to school. I asked them to carefully recall one thing they’d seen on the way that caused them to smile. It might have been a flower, a pet, a person, or anything at all. When they’d found that image, I asked them to signal me by raising one finger. I then asked them to continue their journey to school until they reached the front gate. I asked them to allow themselves to re-visit that image, to allow themselves to experience it in their minds, sensing the sensations, giving in to the smile. This, then was their positive image to hold within their hearts, always there for the nourishment it offered.

As usual, I mentioned that shortly we’d hear the sound of the Tibetan Singing Bowl which would indicate time to move our hands, our fingers, our arms. To come back to our bodies, opening eyes last and then stretching ourselves back to the current reality.

Relex (sic) love yourself always

After a short break, we re-entered the zone of relaxation and this time, I led them through a short self-compassion meditation. We used the repetition of phrases of self-nurturing as our anchor of attention. I suggested offering ourselves peace, safety and happiness or any other phrases that might suit them. After a few minutes, I asked them to think of someone who inspired them, who caused them to smile when they thought of them, and when they had someone like that, to signal by raising and then lowering their fingers.  That person was then invited to appear fully in their imagination and then the same nourishing wishes were offered to them. Afterwards, we came back to ourselves wishing ourselves another round of self-compassion. Slowly, we came out of the state, with the sound of the bowl.

Tibetan Singing Bowl

I guided them through stretches, asking them not to talk, not to expend the energy they’d collected. (It sometimes happens that they actually refrain from talking). Those who were in comfortable sleep, needed encouragement to shake themselves out of it. (Which I offered, instead of the typical peer-style clonk on the back).

All such guided meditation sessions need careful transitions back to the waking state, to allow for enough clarity to navigate their way back to class! And so we stretch, doing some moves to encourage blood flow. We end with a Dry Shower to lightly drum on the body, in a regulated pattern, and then deep breathing with sounds on the exhales and a culminating self-hug with “There’s nobody like me!”  and a thank you to all for coming together.

Thursday

Grade 7 was a different story. First lesson of the day – 18 pupils (which is half of the class), sitting in a circle. I welcomed them by asking them to listen to the Singing Bowl. Quiet was attained, and I passed around the Talking Piece asking them to give their names and how they felt at that moment.  In a very short while, noisy nodes appeared in the room: two groups of chattering boys. I noticed and proceeded with the go-to physical equalizer of the Wonderful Waiter. Most participated, except for a few of the noisy boys (hints of Murphy’s Law at play).

The Wonderful Waiter hang drum/harp

Back to our seats, I asked one of the chattering boys in confidentiality if he’d yet heard the story of the wanderer and the village. He said he hadn’t and so, I brought out my story-telling persona.

The story is a beautiful example of how mind-set operates. It’s an ancient tale, brought to my attention by the good folks at Mindfulness Without Borders. I told the tale of how long ago, people explored the world on foot, and how one day, a wanderer reached the stone arches of a village. As the story goes, he meets a very old woman sitting on a bench outside the gate and they converse. The next day, a second wanderer appears and re-visits the same conversation with a very different point of view.

At the end of the story, which clearly I have not spoiled for you here, I asked what the story signified. This time I received three similar answers, each pupils insisting that their way of phrasing was unique and demanding to be heard. The chattering boys were unconvinced. I offered them the free card of escape – back to their classroom if they felt they couldn’t keep quiet. They didn’t accept, but some of them moved to different places.
Convinced I had hope of continuing, I asked for 3 volunteers, and lo and behold, the same ones who had spoken up about the message of the story jumped up to accept the challenge. I pulled out 3 puppets and told them how to wear them on their hands and to select who would be the very old woman, and who would be Wanderers 1 and 2.

Then the story was re-told. We improvised an afterward and then with the ringing of the Singing Bowl, we collected the puppets and indulged in a Dry Shower to end the lesson.

This teacher was grateful to be able to leave our totally fortified building to venture out into the pastoral sunshine. The week was draining, the pupils demanding and my personal reservoir insufficient to brush it off. I needed a Thursday to bike ride and commune with the budding flowers and green carpets of wheat.

Class Relax is pleased and privileged to be able to serve – yet, this weekend came just in time!

Second Semester of Mindfulness

Nofei Habsor, Western Negev, Israel

Second Semester of Mindfulness lessons has begun.

In meeting my new group of 9th graders, I discovered that 9 of them are those who participated during the First Semester!

Total enrollment of 21 pupils, even though I set a maximum of 15. The room has limitations and so does the harmony of a group. But 21 pupils were chosen out of many who wished to sign up. What’s a facilitator to do?

I know how this facilitator feels: gratitude for interest in what is being offered, appreciation that Nofei Habsor and Keren Karev (an educational fund that allows for informal education within the framework of regular school hours) are sponsoring these sessions, and humility that I may open some doors to cultivate more awareness of self in these teens.

We shall see as the lessons unfold and we delve into self-acceptance, mindful listening, mindful speaking and compassion. Many of the pupils have asked for calming down techniques, and these exhausted kids aren’t kidding.

May we be healthy, happy and live in peace.

birth of a butterfly, judih circa 2005