I had always been someone that worried. I worried what other people would think of me, of what I had done or said. I would wake up in the middle of the night and stress about some unknown outcome that may or may not happen. I was unable to stop the thoughts so that I could return to sleep. This in turn added more stress and worry to my life. I was always tired and constantly concerned about things that might happen because of my actions or words.
I knew this needed to stop. It was affecting my life, my health, my work and even my relationships. I spent so much time up in my head stressing about things that hadn’t even happened that life was passing me by. My mind was scattered and was I unable to focus on a task for any length of time.
They say the right teacher turns up exactly when you need them and that definitely was the case for me. The perfect teacher showed up. To give credit where it is due, her name is Tracy Secombe and I enrolled in her course, From People Pleaser to Soul Pleaser.
In one her lessons she taught me that in order to gain clarity and focus and to stop worrying about what the past and what the future may hold, to stop concerning myself with what others think, is to be present in the here and now. She taught me that yoga and meditation are great ways to focus the mind and be present in the moment.
As my practice grew into a daily routine I began seeing the benefits. I was able to focus on tasks for longer periods of time. I stopped worrying as much about what others thought of me and I stopped worrying about what might happen in the future. I started to realise that if I turn up as me in every single moment, I will always try my best, AND if I am trying my best then there is nothing to fear.
As I began to transform I realised that many children were similar to me. Children worry daily about what others think of them. They worry about assessment and how well they are doing in comparison to “Johnny” sitting beside them. Children are stressed and anxious and student well-being needs to be a priority in our society.
It made me wonder, what if I taught these children to do yoga, meditate and journal. I created an opportunity to test out my theory. My theory being that children would become calmer and have more focus if they practiced mindfulness, gratitude and journal writing.
So I commenced KalmKids. Well, the impact was pretty instantaneous. Children began noticing things that they hadn’t noticed before. They began to appreciate the other children around them and could see qualities in others that they hadn’t seen before. The most surprising thing for me was the children’s desire to keep the practice going. They enjoyed it. No, they loved it. During the lessons they lit up, completely consumed and completely focused. Of course this spilled over into their daily lives. They reported that they were more focused during class times and calmer and in more control at lunch. Children starting becoming more aware of each other and could see the benefit of our differences.
In summary, I realised that in order to be calm, in control and focused, a practice of looking within was necessary. This practice allowed the children and I to realise the beauty that was around us. We learnt that we are all unique and magnificent and most importantly that if we turn up and be the best that we can be that is enough.
