Changing Perceptions of Mindfulness and Mental Health? It seems everywhere you turn these days, there is yet another influential celebrity or athlete claiming they are comfortable with addressing their mental health. We are trying as a society to have anyone struggling to simply seek help, but for various reasons, that can certainly be challenging. Women are twice as likely to meditate as men, adding to the stigma we are always trying to overcome.
At Fitbit we have pushed holistic solutions for wellness, and mindfulness was always a priority for our clients. I spent a few weeks receiving my online certification in teaching meditation for beginners, since I thought too many programs out there were a bit too complex for the average employee who started using a Fitbit. We found that optional lunch n’ learn sessions with meditation to be the most effective. The objective is always- understand the turnout will be a bit slower initially, but word of mouth will hopefully grow the sessions to make people more comfortable. We also tried to have employees jointly share progress on personal meditation, specific details about guided meditations that were found helpful, and to voice frustrations and complaints too. I reminded clients often that it is extremely common and natural to have drifting thoughts while trying to meditate, and the whole goal is simply to shift your focus back to yourself. It gets easier!
When it comes to schools, a few minutes of quiet concentration throughout the day can certainly go a long way to achieving desired goals of more restful, attentive and empathetic children. The beauty is: 2-3 minutes a few times throughout the day is all that is needed. Anything longer will be wasteful. As we have learned, an open and nonjudgement approach works best. We encourage schools to be firm with students disobeying or disrupting the others, but if students do not wish to participate, they simply can put their heads down. Imagery, such as pretending to be an animal, always works best since kids have such vivid imaginations. Headspace has a free catalog for teachers on how to lead meditation. You do NOT need to be a trained professional. Our clients that have utilized Fitbit in the classroom have had encouraging results. Certainly not all children were interested, but there always seemed to be more children interested in giving it a try than initial projections. We found it vital to educate parents how to keep it up at home, which is paramount to continued success for the child!