xiPREFACE
It is that openness and awareness of sorts that I try to cultivate...
to be aware of the poignancy of life at that moment.I would like to feel that I had, in some way,
given them the gift of themselves.—Martha Graham (1991, 1998)Mindfulness and embodiment can give students the gift of themselves. It is in the present
moment, completely embodied and engaged, and full of intention that our lives happen
and futures are made. It is in the present moment that real learning occurs. No matter how
sophisticated, research based, and wonderful your curriculum is, if your students are not
present, they will not learn. Yes, presence and embodiment are crucial factors in educating
our children and youth. Unfortunately, it is getting increasingly difficult for us and our stu-
dents to be in the present moment and embodied. We chronically leave ourselves. We check
out. For adults, it shows up as a not-quite-noticing that we have been spacing out for the last
few minutes (i.e., dissociating), or it is a few drinks, a Netflix binge, Facebook distraction,
compulsive shopping, overeating, or a whole host of other distractions. For students, it’s
not much different. Maybe it is a never-ending group text message, Twitter drama, binge-
watching shows, or, unfortunately, drinking, using, self-harm, and worse. Why are we doing
this? Why is it so hard for us to just be present?
We have good reason. Technological advances are happening faster than we can
effectively adapt to them. Media has become increasingly sensationalized, grabbing our
attention at every turn. We have real stress. The United States has been at war since many of
our students were born. We are climbing out of recession, yet many are still feeling financial
hardship. There are regular terror attacks and mass shootings, leaving few places seemingly
safe (e.g., movie theaters, clubs, schools, universities, large gatherings, and malls). Even if
your neighborhood or city has been spared violence, you see violent images roll across your
newsfeed and repeated on headline news almost daily. These images of violence can come
unexpectedly and be extremely graphic. Innocently scrolling through your newsfeed, you
see a puppy, children laughing, and then, without warning, a shooting being streamed live.
Being humans, with brains designed to keep us safe, we focus on the threats and negative
news. It is our nature. It feels like we can’t help it and many of us are not even aware that
we have a choice. More, school systems have their own set of challenges as we try to keep
students safe, include families, and teach the curriculum of the day. We are stressed and the
students are stressed. In all of this stress, it is easy to lose yourself.