Mindfulness for Women LeadersZhanna Preston, Ed.D. / email: dosy2801@gmail.com

ACSA / WOMEN IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE/September 30, 2016

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• Welcome• Introductions• Presentation Structure

• Time: 1 hour for the presentation & questions

• Structure: PPT, meditation, and reflective activities

• PPT: we will not cover all slides today; the rest of the slides are there for your as a resource

• Resources: links to research studies, videos, and a list of apps; additional handouts

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Learn about:

1) Practice of mindfulness & its benefits;

2) Meditation exercises and strategies for mindful living;

3) Leadership with compassion, self-compassion, and resilience (handouts).

Presentation Outcomes

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Cultivating mindfulness

Leading mindfully

Living mindfully

MINDFULNESS

How do I do it?

Whyshould I do it?

What is it?

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WHY?

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Like never before our lives are:

In the middle of the digital revolution Historical change for the role of women in society

Multi-facetedMulti-layered Choices

Long To Do listsWork Family Friends

Working out Renovating Shopping Cooking

Entertaining Hobbies

WHY? Do Women Need Mindfulness?

Are we the only humans in our households who can:

• Handle two full-time jobs (work and home) • Organize play dates

• Assist with homework• Coordinate vacations & renovations

• Plan entertaining• Manage extended family

• Grow professionally and personally• Change the toilet paper• And look amazing?

Reflection:

Pick any day during the last week …

• How many times did you multi-task

during that day?

• How many emails did you respond to

during that day?

• How many texts?

• How many interruptions did you have?

• How many items on your To Do list?

• How many people you talked to

received your undivided attention?

Reflection: A Happy Moment

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How to use technology?

How to manage stress caused by technology?

Reflection: How have the expectations changed in the past 20-30 years?

24/7

“Problems cannot be solved

at the same level of

awareness that created

them.”

Albert Einstein

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WHY?

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WHY?What Does Research Say?

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Mindfulness-based approaches with Children and Adolescents: A preliminary review of

current research in an emerging field. Burke, C. (2009).

http://www.mindfulschools.org/pdf/burke-child-adol.pdf

Nurturing Mindfulness in Children and Youth: Current State of Research. Mark T.

Greenberg & Harris (2012).

http://itp.wceruw.org/documents/GreenbergHarris2011NurturingMindfulnessinChildrenandYout

h.pdf

The Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Education Program on Pre- and Early Adolescents’

Well-Being and Social and Emotional Competence. Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor (2010).

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kimberly_Schonert-

Reichl/publication/225878804_The_Effects_of_a_Mindfulness-

Based_Education_Program_on_Pre-_and_Early_Adolescents_Well-

Being_and_Social_and_Emotional_Competence/links/00b4953449be481284000000.pdf Developing Mindfulness in College Students through Movement Based Courses: Effects on

Self-Regulatory Self-Efficacy, Mood, Stress, and Sleep Quality. Caldwell, Harrison, Adams,

et al. (2010). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879280/

Integrating Mindfulness Training into K-12 Education: Fostering the Resilience of

Teachers and Students . Meiklejohn, Phillips, Friedman, et al. (2012). http://www.mindful-

well-being.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Meiklejohn-et-al-2012.pdf

Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation.

Davidson, Kabat-Zinn, Schumacher, et al. ( 2003).

http://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Abstract/2003/07000/AlterationinBrain%20an

dImmuneFunctionProduced.14.aspx

School mindfulness and faculty trust: Necessary conditions for each other? Hoy, Gage, &

Tartar (2006).

http://www.plcwashington.org/cms/lib3/WA07001774/Centricity/Domain/38/school-

mindfulness_hoy.pdf

Mindful Instructional Leadership: The Connection Between Principal Mindfulness and

School Practices. Dissertation. Sharp-Rodriguez, J. (2015). Available through ERIC.

http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED550908

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2679512

Study: Mindfulness Research Update

Objective: To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the

mind, the brain, the body, and behavior.Methods: Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003–2008) using the terms “mindfulness,” “meditation,” “mental health,” “physical health,” “quality of life,” and “stress reduction.”

A total of 52 exemplars of empirical and theoretical work were selected for review.

Results: Both basic and clinical research indicate that cultivating a more mindful way of being is associated with less emotional distress, more positive states of mind, and better quality of life. In addition, mindfulness practice can influence the brain, the autonomic nervous system, stress hormones, the immune system, and health behaviors, including eating, sleeping, and substance use, in salutary ways.

Conclusion: The application of cutting-edge technology toward understanding mindfulness—an “inner technology”—is elucidating new ways in which attention, awareness, acceptance, and compassion may promote optimal health—in mind, body, relationships, and spirit.

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Using Mindfulness to Build a Transformative School Culture: A Phenomenological Study of Elementary School Principals Who Create an Atmosphere of Academic Rigor and Teacher Effectiveness. Dissertation.FitzGerald, S. (2012)

This study focused on the motivations and discernment leading to the transformational leadership approach and showed there is continuing momentum in the area towards mindful engagement to build trust in a school culture. The purpose of the study was to investigate how transformational leaders build a culture through trust and commitment within a social network of the school. Once established, how do principals use research based practices to model a rigorous academic culture. This qualitative study identified ten elementary school principals' attitudes about transformational leadership. The principals were given two survey instruments and interviewed about how they developed academic rigor and teacher effectiveness. The results revealed a consensus of the emerging transformational leaders towards the necessity for risk-taking to build staff trust and commitment. By respecting the whole person and monitoring individual growth, the principals modeled rigorous academic expectations based on research-based practices. The emerging transformational leaders demonstrated how a proactive approach to building relationships with staff allowed teachers to model the same relationship building with their colleagues and students. This model of mindfulness proceeds from personal relationship skill building to professional skill building. Further research exploring how to translate mindfulness consciousness to best practice was recommended http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

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Mindful Leaders in Highly Effective SchoolsA Mixed-method Application of Hoy’s M-scale. DissertationKearny, Kelsey, & Herrington (2013).

This article presents a mixed-method study utilizing teacher ratings of principal mindfulness from 149 public schools in Texas and follow-up qualitative data analysis through semi-structured interviews conducted with the top 10 percent of principals identified as mindful. This research is based on the theoretical framework of mindfulness as established by Langer, refined by Weick and Sutcliff and applied to school settings by Hoy. For the quantitative methodology, OLS regression analyses were employed to measure the relative effect of principal influence on student achievement. The results of these analyses indicate that principal mindfulness made a statistically significant independent contribution to the variance in student achievement. For the qualitative interview data, a grounded theory approach was used to develop a conceptual framework for how mindful principals do their work. Three themes emerged endemically from these interviews, the results of which are presented in a concept map at the end of this article.

Available at ERIC: http://ema.sagepub.com/content/41/3/316.abstract

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Study: School-Based Mindfulness Pilot Study for Ethnically Diverse At-Risk AdolescentsBluth, Campo,Pruteanu-Malinici, Reams, et al. 2017.

Mindfulness (N Y) Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 Feb 1.Published in final edited form as: Mindfulness (N Y). 2016 Feb; 7(1): 90–104. Published online 2015 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s12671-014-0376-1PMCID: PMC4809539Related Manuscript ID: NIHMS652885

Reason: This article has a delayed release (embargo) and will be available in PMC on February 1, 2017. An abstract of the article is available in PubMed, which may also have a link to the full text at the journal site.

Article will be released in Jan. 2017http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4809539A

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What is Mindfulness?

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Moment to moment awareness

In the here and now

Non-judgmental attitude

Detach from unhelpful thoughts

Forgive and be grateful

Unconditional acceptance

Learn with child-like mindset

Source: Our Mindful Journey?

http://www.imgrum.net/user/our_mindful_journey/213

6446789/1020786117564955467_2136446789

Mindfulness

Consistently bring non-judgmental attention to the present moment

Control over our

thoughts

Control over our

reactions

A greater

understanding and

appreciation of

what is around us

Improved Self-

Awareness

Improved Self-

Management

Decision-

making

Improved

Equanimity

Improved

Relationships

Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

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“Mindfulness allows youmake choices and act

with relaxed and purposeful awareness,

help life unfold in a creative way rather in a

limiting, reactive, stressful way.”

Source: Burch & Irvin

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Mindfulness allows you to see things as they are in the present moment

instead of reacting automatically by

resorting to harsh judgments of self and others. It is creating

“heartfulness” or compassionate/kindly

awareness.

Source: Burch & Irvin

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Mindfulness

• Has a calming effect on your nervous system, which in

turn has a powerful impact on your physical and mental

state.

Source: Burch & Irvin

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The Nervous System

• Is a network that sends messages back and forth

from the brain to different parts of the body

• ANS, the Autonomic Nervous System controls breathing,

digestion, sweating, shivering, etc.

AN

S

Sympathetic

(flight, fight, freeze)

Parasympathetic

(rest-digest/calm-connect)

Mindfulness

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What is Mindfulness? Jon Kabat-Zinn – thinking turns into perseverating–

5.17 minhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

HmEo6RI4Wvs

Being in the Present Moment / Jon Kabat-Zinn –Operational Definition of Mindfulness /Define Non-Judgmental

and Definition of Awareness as a different faculty of attention -Jon

Kabot –Zinn 4.32 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

wPNEmxWSNxg

Life is right now – Jon Kabat-Zinn –7.13 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU7vKitN4Ro

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How to Practice Mindfulness?

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Cultivating mindfulness

Leading mindfully

Living mindfully

MINDFULNESS

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Cultivating mindfulness

MINDFULNESS

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Mindfulness is the quality of awareness

you are seeking to experience in your

everyday life.

Meditation is the process of cultivating

such awareness.

Source: Burch & Irvin

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Med

itat

ion Relaxed

Alert

Sense of CalmEasiest way:

attract attention to your breath

A broad variety of mental training practices that includes techniques

designed to develop clarity of seeing what goes on inside our minds and around us, equanimity, internal energy, compassion,

patience, generosity, gratitude, and forgiveness.

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Meditation

Focused Awareness

Open Monitoring

Loving Kindness

Helps your mind and heart to become fit

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Meditation Myths

• It is not a religious practice• Will not turn you into a social

recluse or make you passive• It is not positive psychology• It is not complicated to

understand• It is not easy to implement• No special equipment, space• Various lengths and types

Source: Burch & Irvin

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Breath

• Simple focus on awareness• It is always with you

• It immediately develops awareness

• Anchors awareness in the present moment

• Helps manage reactions to stress and difficulties

• No two breaths are the sameSource: Burch & Irvin

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Cultivating Mindfulness

Five Foundational Meditations

Eating Meditation

Walking Meditation

Body ScanSitting

Meditation

Loving Kindness

Reflection: Steps to a Sitting Meditation

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Seven-Point Meditation Posture

1) Sit down2) Elongate the spine

3) Rest your hands4) Relax your shoulders

5) Tuck your chin in6) Open your jaw / relax your face

7) Rest your gaze

Source: Yoga JournalLODRO RINZLER | JUN 2, 2015

Sitting Meditation

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Eating Meditation Tips

Eat slower.Savor the silence (no TV, phone, music).

Pay attention to flavor, texture, smell.Develop a relationship with your food.

“Mindfulness is really about rekindling a relationship with our food. From planting a veggie garden through baking bread to visiting a farmers market, many of the things we locavores have been preaching about for years are not just ways to cut our carbon food print, but also connect with the story behind our food. Even when you have no idea where the food you are eating has come from, try asking yourself some questions about the possibilities: Who grew this? How? Where did it come from? How did it get here? Chances are, you’ll not only gain a deeper appreciation for your food, but you’ll find your shopping habits changing in the process too. ” (J Grover / Huffington Post)

http://www.yogajournal.com/food-diet/meditation-mindful-eating/12 Minute Mindful Eating Meditation

Source: Yoga Journal

Eating Meditation

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Walking Meditation

1) Before starting to walk, spend a little time while still standing still. Allow your awareness to be with your body.

2) Walk at a relaxed, fairly slow but normal pace. Pay attention to the sensations in your body as you walk.

3) Notice how the soles of your feet feel 4) Keep bringing your awareness back to

this experience when the mind wanders in thoughts or distractions of the environment.

5) Appreciate every move and your body.

http://www.meditationoasis.com/how-to-meditate/simple-meditations/walking-meditation/

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Loving-kindness, or metta, as it in called in the Pali language, is unconditional,

inclusive love, a love with wisdom. It has no conditions; it does not depend on whether one “deserves” it or not; it is not restricted to friends and family; it extends out from

personal categories to include all living beings. There are no expectations of

anything in return. This is the ideal, pure love, which everyone has in potential. We begin with loving ourselves, for unless we have a measure of this unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves, it is difficult

to extend it to others.

Source: The Center of Contemplative Mind in Societyhttp://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree/loving-kindness

Loving Kindness

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May I be free from inner and

outer harm and danger.

May I be safe and protected.

May I be free of mental

suffering or distress.

May I be happy.

May I be free of physical pain

and suffering.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I be able to live in this

world happily, peacefully,

joyfully, with ease.Source: The Center of Contemplative Mind in Society

http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree/loving-kindness

Loving Kindness

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obYJRmgrqOU

10 Minute Body Scan Meditation

http://elishagoldstein.com/videos/3-minute-body-scan/3 Minute Body Scan

Handout: 15 Point Body Scan Meditation

Body Scan

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Meditation Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yZrJh5YrdE - 5 Min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIIEI33EUqI – 15 min of meditation music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HYLyuJZKno - Jon Kabot Zinn – Guided meditation – 10 min – focus on breath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unX4FQqM6vI Matthieu Ricard Leads a Meditation on Altruistic Love and Compassion | Talks at Google / 39 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSYny7fTZP8 Body Scan Meditation – Jon Kabat-Zinn – from the MBSR program – University of MA / Medical Center - 45 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unX4FQqM6vI Matthew Ricard leads a meditation on altruism and compassion – 40 min

Meditation Videos Cont.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t70V__bnds Walking meditation guiding video – 5 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSOKte6TeMI 5 Thich Nhat Hanh - Simple Mindfulness - Mindful Walking – 7 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2vX4Wr-5I Walking Meditation: Instructions and Benefits Explained –7 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUWMrKZ9VSU Walking Meditation Tutoring Video – Mindfulness is not a To Do List – 6 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdO1vZJgUu0 Walking Meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh – 6 min

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Living mindfully

MINDFULNESS

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Living Mindfully

Applying Benefits to Personal Life

Form Intention

Without Judgment

Calm Your Mind

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Mindfulness is hard work – Radical Change to Carve out time in your life for Non-Doing

- Jon Kabot Zinn – 1.37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqcJx

TpTqaA

Attunement: Tuning your instrument before playing – Jon Kabat-Zinn – How Live Life Moment to Moment – tuning into your

life - 3.36 minhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCH-

6XrTgDA

Living Mindfully: Form Intention

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• Attitudes, feelings, thoughts and actions(conscious and unconscious) directly impact every single one of our experiences.

• Intentional living involves taking responsibility for our mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being and freeing ourselves from self-limiting conditioning.

Source: http://www.beintentional.com/what-we-do/live-powerfully-be-intentional/

Living Mindfully: Form Intention

• RAS

– Located in the brain the reticular activating system –the gatekeeper

– Screens out most of the incoming data from the environment

• People are surrounded with 2 million bits of data.

• Our brain can process only 147 bits of data at any given time.

• Why does the RAS screen out information? And how does it know what to screen out?

Living Mindfully: Calm Your Mind

The Wandering Mind • Ruminative response style

–A tendency (sometimes due to genetic / biochemical contributors to over focus for prolonged periods of time on negative material

– The negative emotional state maintains or increases

Living Mindfully: Calm Your Mind

ANT Species:

• Always/Never

• Mind Reading

• Fortune –telling

• Labelling/judging/self-criticizing

• Blaming

Living Mindfully: Calm Your Mind

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Without Judgment

"In the beginner's mind there are many

possibilities,but in the expert's there

are few."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssqclf52ZpY 3 Minute Jon Kabat-Zinn

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Mindfulness Strategies for Women Leaders

Use your daily routine to find time to meditate (skincare, dying your hair, waiting for the tea kettle to boil) .

Mindfulness Strategies for Women

After work treat your feet to a bath with salts/essential oils & your mind to a body scan meditation. Let this be the first thing

you do for 15 minutes when you come home.

ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME BORED.

Be mindful of your reaction when you see a long line.

Welcome it as an opportunity to align your posture, and observe

your breath. Here are a few minutes to practice mindfulness.

Start your morning or end your day with a 15 minute mindful stretching

http://www.innerhealthstudio.com/body-image.html (body acceptance meditation)

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How to lead mindfully?

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Leading mindfully

MINDFULNESS

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How to lead mindfully?

Applying Mindfulness Benefits to Leadership

Leading with Compassion

Leading with Resilience

Leading with Self-Compassion

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• To lead with compassion, we

need to train ourselves to create

a space between our trigger and

response.

Stimulus ResponseStimulusMindful Moment

Response

Leading with compassion

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• You can lead with compassion only if you have a mirror-like approach to life

• A more accurate reflection of what is happening

• Taking the present moment as a primary direct

experience, not as a secondary, or

conceptualization of the world, when you start

categorizing and judging

Leading with compassion

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Self-Compassion

1. The tasks leaders currently face are very hard.

2. Mistakes and failure are not unique. Others make mistakes too.

3. We are not entirely in control of all the necessary parts required for a

successful project.4. Achievements is not everything. You

are more than your achievements.5. This too shall pass. Find rest. Take

one moment at a time.

Source: School of Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kfUE41-JFw

Kristin Neff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcLExq9t_M

Leading with self-compassion

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Concept of Gratitude

• You have to be strong to be weak: show vulnerability

• Don’t be afraid of mistakes• Being grateful not for things that are

in our preference zone• Being grateful the experience• Being grateful for our mistakes

What you think about when you are falling makes all the difference

(Duckworth, 2016)Leading with resilience

Develop a habit of asking yourself: Am I in the present moment?

Leading with resilience: have gratitude for the present moment

How: Discipline #4Reflect Upon Your Experiences

• Write every day – this could be a routine before you go to bed

• Write for a specific amount of time (set a timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes)

• Write for a set amount of pages, for examples 4 pages in your journal

Prompts1) Things I are grateful for today.

2) Things I want to remember from today3) Meditation notes

4) Write a letter to someone (yourself in the present, past, future, your hero, your role model, someone you know)

5) What is the present moment like right now?6) Quieting your mind: how did you do today?

Resources:http://www.ebay.com/gds/Four-Meditation-Practices-to-Quiet-Your-Mind-/10000000204777104/g.html?roken2=ti.pTGl6IExhbW9yZXV4

Four practices on quieting your mindhttp://www.mindfullivingnetwork.com/start-a-mindful-journaling/ Start a mindful journal – mindful living

Leading with resilience: be a reflective life-long learner

Mindfulness Strategies for Women Leaders

1. Create a mindfulness shelf in your office (books, objects).

2. Educate your staff on mindfulness/start a mindfulness

support group.

3. Set up a Mindfulness Room.

4. Model mindfulness.

5. Begin meetings with a few deep breaths or a stretching

exercise.

6. Avoid multi-tasking.

7. Give your full attention when speaking to someone.

8. Relax your face when interacting with someone.

9. Speak in a collaborative tone.

10. Welcome any idea or concern brought to your attention with a

beginner’s mind.

1. Consistent time and placeProvide an overview, purpose, and structure for meetings.

2. Share that mindfulness is hard work.It takes persistence and commitment, just like working out. Set aside a time to meet (20-30-60 minutes/ weekly or monthly)

3. Choose a topic for each meeting. Ask each person to share about a topic (gratitude, compassion, self-compassion, forgiveness, nine attitudes of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, etc.)

4. Start with a guided meditation.Use on-line resources, apps, scripts from other sources.

5. Conclude with a silent sitting meditation.Set a timer. Come out of the meditation gently and allow for time to take a few moments before getting back to other things.

To Start a Mindfulness Support Group

Our brains are wired to think, worry,

remember, predict, plan, and regret.

Mindfulness asks us to wrestle with our mental

habits.

We need to spot t with individual practice and

collective group support.

Apps

Mindfulness Daily $1.99The Mindfulness App: Meditation for Everyone

(In App purchase)Headspace: Meditation and Mindfulness

Mindfulness CoachInsight Timer

The Now - Practice MindfulnessCalm: Meditation techniques for stress

reductionMindfulness –Everyday guided meditation

Chill- daily mindfulness quotes and remindersRelax melodies: sleep zen sounds *white noise

for meditation, yogaMemorado brain trining for memory &

mindfulness7 second meditation: daily mindfulness

reminders and affirmationsOMG. I can meditate!

VGZ Mindfulness Coach

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Additional Trainings:

• Mindfulness Foundational Concepts & Assistance in Starting a Monthly Mindfulness Support Group

• Mindfulness for Leaders: Leading with Compassion and Resilience

• Mindful Communication and Interactions with Stakeholders

• Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence for Leaders, Teachers, and Support Staff

• Mindfulness for Teachers: Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Instruction

Zhanna Preston, Ed.D.Email: dosy2801@gmail.com