FUNDANEED.es
1. What is Mindfulness?
Meditation (mindfulness) is defined as the process through which the person observes and becomes aware of what is happening at every moment in his or her body and mind, accepting the experiences that are presented as they are. This practice is aimed at eliminating suffering and other destructive emotions (Rimpoche, 2000, 2006).
Through meditation techniques, the person can come to understand the aspects related to the true nature of things and therefore the resulting emotions that will occur throughout their experience. Each of these techniques is used for a particular purpose. Thrangu Rinpoche (2006) defines mindfulness as “having control over the mind and not letting it run around”.
2. Benefits of Mindfullnes in the educational context for students with ADHD
Evidence on the benefits of mindfulness in the educational context has increased and helped to reaffirm the improvements implied by this treatment and/or technique. The following are some of the benefits of mindfulness:
-
Benefits at the psychological level: reduced levels of stress, anxiety and depression, increased levels of positive affect, reduced levels of fatigue, pain and psychosomatic complaints (Metz et al., 2013).
-
Benefits related to increased feelings and positive constructs: feelings of calm, relaxation, improved sleep, reduced reactivity, increased self-care, self-awareness and a sense of interconnectedness or interdependence with nature (Wall, 2005), improved self-concept (Klingbeil et al., 2017).
-
Benefits in relation to emotional regulation: increased emotional awareness and clarity (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2015) and self-control of negative emotions (Broderick and Metz, 2009).
-
Benefits in cognitive function: increased levels of attention, self-regulation and executive function (Zenner, et al., 2014), improvements in other variables related to cognitive functioning, speed of information processing, practical intelligence and increased levels of verbal creativity, according to Franco (2009).
-
Benefits in the social and school environment: increased social skills and socially competent behaviour, improved social intelligence (Rosaen and Benn, 2006), reduced disruptive behaviour, reduced levels of aggression and increased levels of acceptance and improved academic performance (Klingbeil et al., 2017).
As we can see, the physical and psychological benefits provided by mindfulness respond to the symptoms of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Based on the above, we can corroborate that the practice of mindfulness could help students to reduce stress and increase their own well-being, in order to achieve and optimise learning while improving their interpersonal relationships.
Positive contributions for working with the mindfulness technique in the school context:
- Improves breathing coordination and good use of breathing control.
- It helps to understand emotions in a proper way.
- Strengthens self-esteem.
- Increases and improves concentration.
- Promotes conscious decision making.
- Social and emotional balance can be achieved.
- It helps to put oneself in other people’s shoes, encourages empathy.
Comments are closed.