Mindfulness and Yoga in Schools A Guide for Teachers and Practitioners

140 • PART II: MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATING FOR SELF-REGULATION AND ENGAGEMENT

or aversion to what you are allowing to let be (Grabovac, Lau, & Willett, 2011). Development
of this skill, the mindful competency, to allow what is with nonjudgment, facilitates freedom
of choice and the ability to stay in your intention no matter the circumstances (Brach, 2012;
principle 7: I choose my focus and actions).

Investigating With Kindness

After recognition and allowing comes the opportunity to investigate what is happening
(Cook-Cottone, 2015). Brach (2012) suggests that this step is especially suited for the thera-
peutic relationship. It involves asking deeper questions: “How am I experiencing this in my
body?,” “What does this feeling want from me?,” “What am I believing about myself?,” or
“What does this mean for me?” (Brach, 2012, p. 42). This line of inquiry goes beyond a notic-
ing and allowing and digs into our personal narrative, the truths or untruths that we hold
about others and ourselves. Through this step, we can get ourselves and our students closer
to the truth and the authentic experience of self.

Realize Nonidentification: Rest in Awareness

Brach (2012) explains that nonidentification means that your “self-sense is not fused with,
or defined by, any limited set of emotions, sensations, or stories about who you are” (p. 44).
Nonidentification leads to an awareness of simply being. Nina is a seventh-grade student
who experiences a lot of anxiety. She has been working on her anxiety with the school’s
social worker, Miss Lolly, and they have partnered with her classroom teacher to help her
bring her anxiety remediating skills into the classroom. Her teacher, Mrs. Curry, has been
cultivating a mindful classroom for a few years now. This is the perfect setting for Nina,
who gets overwhelmed when she thinks about her mother. Her mother is fine now, after
treatment and recovery from breast cancer when Nina was in second and third grade. Since
her mom’s illness, Nina’s anxiety gets in the way of her ability to attend to and engage
in schoolwork. She is using the RAIN method to explore her experiences with anxiety
(see Figure 7.3). Nina is able to deconstruct her worries when she breaks them down

Allow

“Can I let this

be, as it is?”

RAIN

Recognize

“What is

happening

inside right

now?”

Investigate

“What

meaning lies

here?”

Non-

indentification

Natural

Awareness

“I am

feeling

anxious

right now.”

Answer:

“I am going

to breathe

into the

feeling.”

Answer:

“I fear that I

cannot

handle

emotions.”

Answer:

“I am not my

emotions.

I am stronger

than I realize.”

Notes:

FIGURE 7.3 Nina’s RAIN example.

Source: Cook-Cottone (2015); used with permission.