Victoria Launches Mindful Minutes

William James, the father of psychology from the USA, said in "Principles of Psychology" (1890) that

The ability to bring dispersed attention 

back autonomously and

the ability to bring it back over and over again,

is the root of judgment, character, and will.

Without this ability

he or she would not be able to be his own master.

An education that enhances this ability

would be the most excellent education.

He added: But it is easier to define this idea than to provide practical guidance to achieve it.

Little did he know then that on the other side of the world, mindfulness has been practiced for over a thousand years, and that in the 21st century, globally, mindfulness is entering the mainstream of society, including the field of education, where it can provide practical guidance to help educators achieve the highest educational excellence.

Mindfulness education nurtures awakened, focused, peaceful, clear-eyed, creative and compassionate children, and is a precious gift educators can give to children, families and the world.

In the VUCA era, the introduction of mindfulness program in Victoria Education Group is an act of profound vision and love. I personally and the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine are honored to be a part of this expression of love and look forward to continuing to work with teachers to promote mindfulness, in and out of the classroom and in the soft hearts of children ......

Professor Tong Huiqi

Mindful Parenting Advocate 

Director, Mindfulness Program

Stanford Center for lntegrative Medicine

VUCA stands for volatility、uncertainty、complexity、ambiguity.

Victoria (China) Education Group has been following its mission for many years: To create a learner community by uniting professional strengths. Over the course of a year, 23 front-line teachers and administrative team members received mindfulness teacher training from the Stanford Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and after receiving their certificates from the Stanford mindfulness Program, they became Victoria Mindfulness Ambassadors.

Mindfulness 

refers to the awareness that arises 

When we learn to pay attention 

in a specific way by

Consciously focusing onthe present moment.

Without judgment

Seeing things as they are.

Sara Lazar, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, has used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of people who participate in mindfulness practice. The study found that, as the practice of mindfulness meditation increases, an active area of the brain actually grows. The main area of this growth is in the prefrontal cortex. The center of our brain that gives executive instructions is responsible for analyzing and thinking, and suppresses impulses from emotional influences. By understanding the emotions of the present moment, ethical and rational decisions are made, and through repeated and sustained practice, a more intelligent brain is shaped.

A child's brain is often compared to an energetic monkey that is constantly jumping from tree to tree, or a "monkey mind". What mindfulness does is help this little monkey pause in a tree for a while longer, consciously paying attention to the present moment with curiosity. When such a pause is professionally guided and practiced over time, it brings five benefits to the child: concentration, calm, clarity, creativity, and compassion.

Think about it,

When you ever come up with a good idea.

In the shower or before going to sleep?

Inspiration is more likely to come unconsciously when you are aware of external sensory stimuli during your time with yourself, rather than when you deliberately allow it to happen, a cognitive process that psychologists call "incubation.“ Students can also cultivate self-awareness and present clearer ideas in inquiry learning through mindfulness exercises.

Victoria has embedded mindfulness into our DNA since the launch of Victoria Mindfulness Day on December 16, 2021. The seeds of mindfulness in children can only be nurtured in an environment where adults understand mindfulness and understand how to take care of their emotions. In the conversation between adults and children, adults often use their left brain to communicate with the right brain of the child, while teachers who have practiced mindfulness for a long time not only have the ability to observe the emotions of their students but also have the wisdom to resolve those emotions.

The campus offers the perfect environment to help children to cultivate mindfulness. On campus, students participate in activities and curriculum, build their social relationships, and the richness of the program keeps the children's brains energized and the time to practice mindfulness is created. Frequent practice led by professional teachers gradually develops mindfulness into the ability to manage emotions on their own as they grow up. Under daily pressure, common reactions include "fight or flight" and may also be "freezing", where the body, mind, and inner self are all constrained. Practicing mindfulness can help clarify and choose suitable response patterns, cultivating a more mindful "response ability".

At Victoria, our teachers are always on the lookout for opportunities to incorporate mindfulness. Whether during mealtimes, in the classroom, before nap time, or during outdoor activities, mindfulness can be seamlessly integrated into campus life through enjoyable activities such as exercise, art, and more.

Mindfulness is not a quest for results, but a way of life that helps us continue to learn, grow, heal, and transform throughout our lives. At the beginning of the training program, Dr. Maggie Koong, the Chief Principal of Victoria (China) Education Group, had many email exchanges with Dr. David Spiegel and Dr. Alan Louis, the associate chairs of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Stanford University and Dr. Huiqi Tong, the director of the Mindfulness Program, about the current concern for children's physical and mental health development and the importance of introducing mindfulness in early childhood for brain development and physical and mental health. We are proud to be pioneers in this field.

Finally, we would like to share with you some of the insights of Victoria's Ambassadors of Mindfulness.

In the Victoria IB Lifelong Learners Community, we often receive a lot of questions concerning how to practise mindfulness in the early childhood stage. (The Victoria IB Lifelong Learners Community aims to provide valuable educational information for parents and teachers, and parents or teachers are more than welcome to propose educational issues for discussion. Victoria teachers will utilise their experience and knowledge to discuss with you. Together, let's make progresses!). 

Scan the QR code below to add Victoria Assistant on WeChat and join the community.

In the early childhood stage

How to practice mindfulness in a way that your child enjoys?

Can mindfulness practice help improve concentration?

Please click on the image below to read previous articles from Victoria to learn more