CHAPTER 4: THE MINDFUL LEARNER • 69and care for yourself in the same way. For me, the Borysenko quote speaks to the inherent
self-valuing that occurs when we teach mindfulness in the classroom. In mindful practice,
we take a break from the external and allow time to notice, listen to, and see our own internal
workings. The process of mindful attention is an embodied valuing of our experiences. As
educators, creating these moments of self-valuing for students is an essential aspect of help-
ing them understand, in a felt sense, that they are worth the effort as well as a methodology
for developing their own set of self-regulatory skills in order to more effectively engage in
academic tasks.
This chapter explicates the definition of mindfulness and how mindfulness works in the
classroom to help increase self-regulation and active engagement in learning throughout the
school day. The basic characteristics of mindfulness are explored. Finally, the stage is set for
Chapters 5 to 7, which detail the formal mindfulness practices, informal mindfulness prac-
tices, and the school-based mindfulness protocols that have empirical support.
MINDFULNESS
There are many definitions of mindfulness, a complexity in the field that can be traced
back to the field’s origins (Lutz, Jha, Dunne, & Saron, 2015). Mindfulness techniques are
believed to steady the mind and help train attentional capacity, while increasing breadth of
focus (Weare, 2013; Zenner, Herrnleben, & Walach, 2014). Lutz et al. (2015) have reviewed
the literature in the field of mindfulness and psychology. They found that mindfulness is
generally used with three meanings. These are (a) a soteriological or spiritual path (i.e., a
story of salvation) contextualized in therapeutic health-promotion terms, (b) a mental trait,
and (c) a single cognitive process commonly trained across multiple human activities (Lutz
et al., 2015).
Mindfulness as a Story
First, in a broad sense, mindfulness has been referred to as a soteriological or transcendent
path from suffering to well-being (Lutz et al., 2015). Early Sanskrit references to mindful-
ness use the term smrti, which has semantic overtones with the English word memory, or to
remember (Lutz et al., 2015). I often think of it as remembering my practice or commitment.
When I am not being mindful (i.e., the state-like use of the term), I remind myself to recon-
nect. In a sense, mindfulness can be seen as a commitment to a way of being, or a stance
toward life that goes beyond any particular technique (Lutz et al., 2015). Many people, like
myself, view mindfulness and yoga practices as a key factor in a shift in our way of being,
bringing increased mental health and ease—and decreased suffering, bad habits, and/or
pathology. There is a body of research that tells that same story. That is, if you engage in
mindfulness practices you will feel, and be less addicted, depressed, dysregulated, compul-
sive, and so on (Cook-Cottone, 2015).
Along this line of thinking, Shapiro and Carlson (2009) provide a helpful distinction
between big /M/ Mindfulness and little /m/ mindfulness. According to them, big /M/
Mindfulness is the fundamental way of being, of inhabiting your body and moment-by-
moment experience (Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). Big /M/ Mindfulness is a path or journey.
Little /m/ mindfulness involves the practices, or the way in which one intentionally