Learning to Relax, Relaxing to Learn

We spent last month sharing stories of learning and describing a new paradigm of learning, conscious learning. Thank you to all who joined us.

This month we will be going back to the basics by discussing the foundation of learning and providing activities that promote relaxation (not anxiety) in learners.

Without adequately feeding our brains and bodies, without feeling safe and secure enough in our environment to begin exploring who we are, without relaxation as a foundation for learning, how can any growth take place? What are ways to lay the groundwork for learners to take root and reach their potential?

If you have any activities or ideas for lessons related to nutrition, relaxation, breathwork, self-care, growth and exploration of identity, please share them with us this month.

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We enter the world as pure and present beings. Learning is not separate from personal growth and awareness is our natural state of being, not something we try to do. However, by the time we enter school, this is no longer the case for most of us. Whether we have or haven’t already been contaminated by stress from the outside world, school gradually prepares us for the “real world” by increasing the workload grade level by grade level. For some learners, it is much more traumatic than this; by their first day of school, they are carrying a lot more than backpacks on their shoulders.

Simply put, students are stressed out. So are teachers and parents… and everyone else living in this unbalanced, fast-paced world. Though, playing the game of who is more stressed out or if it is school or home life that is causing children to develop all sorts of aversions, disorders and illnesses is a futile battle. Increasing standards and incorporating more technology is counterintuitive and creates more stress, further hindering the thought process, brain development and overall wellbeing of the learners.

We all need to relax. We need to learn to relax. We need to relax in order to learn.

Learning begins with a breath.

ARCHIVE

February 2015

• FREE PDF! Stories We Share: Nature Stories, Myths & Fairy Tales
• Learning to Relax, Relaxing to Learn
• A Spiritual Education
• Allowing (Triple Welcoming) from Scott Krayenhoff
• May All Learners Feel Safe (with May Henry)
• How to be a Mindful Teacher
• How to be Free: Breathe, Stretch & Solve All Your Problems
• Compassion for the Bully Campaign
• How to Practice Poetry Writing with Children
• Tree of Life
• Who am I if Not a Teacher?
• R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Find Out What it Means to You
• The Relaxation Response
• Our Beliefs Separate Us