CHAPTER 3: THE MINDFUL AND YOGIC LEARNER: 12 EMBODIED PRACTICES FOR SCHOOLS • 57medical residents as we do for pressured high school students. The residents are working
so hard to be effective practitioners, that they are not willing to take a break for self-care.
The results? In their highly cited study, Shanafelt, Bradley, Wipf, and Back (2002) found that,
among the medical residents surveyed, 76% met criteria for burnout and, among those, a
significant portion reported engaging in suboptimal patient care. Without a commitment to
balance and sustainability, people get hurt.
Balance, or equanimity, is a key principle of yoga practice originating from the early
traditions of yoga (Cook-Cottone, 2015). Equanimity is an even, steady presence with what
is—without the default to rumination, emotional overwhelm, or attachment. Hanson and
Mendius (2009) describe equanimity as the mental mudroom, the entry room of the house
where people place their muddy boots, rain coats, and lacrosse sticks. It is with equanimity
that your initial reactions to things (e.g., I like that, I don’t like that) are left in the mudroom
so that the inside of your home, your mind, remains clean and of peaceful clarity (Hanson &
Mendius, 2009). In yoga class, I remind students, “After great effort, take great rest.” By let-
ting go of the extremes and finding equanimity, a sustainable practice and way of being can
be found. Teaching this skill is critical for our students today.
Mindful Development
Mindful development builds on mindful embodiment and embodied self-regulation. The
focus is on creating a growth trajectory that is built on the principles of compassion, kind-
ness, and possibility. The metaphor of a kind and compassionate coach comes to mind. This
type of coach sees the student with an eye for the next possibility in the student’s develop-
ment. The words the coach uses are kind, no matter the performance of the student. When
the student fails, the coach uses compassion. Despite failure and unsuccessful attempts,
the coach still sees the possibility in each and every student. This is the essence of mindful
development. The goal is to work toward students internalizing this kind and compassion-
ate coach as a companion for life effort.
Principle 10: Compassion: “I honor efforts to grow and learn”
Embrace all that arises (Cook-Cottone, 2015; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009); compassion for self
and others—these are key teachings of mindfulness and yoga. Compassion has to do with
understanding the cause of human suffering. This dates back to the traditional texts and
the origins of mindfulness practice. In mindfulness traditions, it is believed that we suffer
not from what is happening but from our relationship with what is happening (Shapiro &
Carlson, 2009). Teacher Shinzen Young (1997) created a mathematical equation to explain the
relationship between suffering and resistance (Bien, 2006; Cook-Cottone, 2015; Shapiro &
Carlson, 2009):
Suffering = Pain ́ ResistancePain is all that we cannot control. It can be many things—a physical sensation, a rela-
tional loss, or a material loss. Pain can be small (a delay at the grocery store, a friend in
trouble) or overwhelming (the loss of a loved one). The resistance to the pain is what we,
and our students, can control. As the equation illustrates, if the resistance is ours to manage,
so is the suffering (Cook-Cottone, 2015). For example, if a student misses the bus and must