Mindfulness & Education Conference 

Mindfulness is a technique that fosters inner calm, increased awareness, and a sense of well-being. Over the past three decades, the practice of mindfulness has been taught to adults in hospitals and clinics to assist in pain management, stress reduction, and healing. Now mindfulness is being introduced into school curriculums.

The new field of teaching mindfulness in our nation’s schools is a profoundly beneficial development for the education of children from grades K through 12. Research shows that mindfulness decreases stress, attention deficit issues, depression, anxiety, and hostility in children, while benefiting their health, well-being, social relations, and academic performance. Children can easily learn these techniques, and when learned young, they become lifelong tools.

Omega has drawn together several leaders in this important, emerging field to offer educators not only practical techniques for teaching mindfulness, but also instruction for teachers, administrators, child care providers, family therapists, and parents who want to cultivate their own mindfulness practice for greater stress relief, presence, and emotional balance.

During the weekend we enjoy our own mindfulness retreat, as well as talks and demonstrations from cutting-edge researchers in the field, instruction in practical application, question-and-answer sessions, and guided movement.

In panel discussions we also explore:

• Introducing the value of mindfulness to public and private school administrators
• Mindfulness in education policy
• Working with diverse student populations
• Leading mindfulness movement and yoga

Recommended reading: Kabat-Zinn, Coming to Our Senses; Lantieri, Building Emotional Intelligence; Greenland, The Mindful Child; Biegel, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens; and Siegel, Mindsight and The Mindful Brain.

Faculty

Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he is a co-investigator at the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development, and codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. He is also executive director of the Mindsight Institute, author of Mindsight and The Developing Mind, and coauthor of Parenting From the Inside Out. drdansiegel.com

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is perhaps the nation’s leading pioneer in exploring the connection between personal well-being and mindfulness meditation. He is the author of several books on the subject, including Coming to Our Senses.

Linda Lantieri, MA, has 40 years of experience in education as a former teacher, administrator, and faculty member at Hunter College in New York City. She is coauthor of Waging Peace in Our Schools, editor of Schools With Spirit, and author of Building Emotional Intelligence. Currently, she serves as the director of The Inner Resilience Program. innerresilience-tidescenter.org

Daniel Rechtschaffen, MA. teaches mindfulness in K-12 classrooms and trains teachers and organizations to institute mindfulness curricula. He works in the San Francisco Bay area as a marriage and family therapist intern, offering mindfulness-based therapy for children, adults, and families.

Susan Kaiser Greenland is creator of the Inner Kids mindful awareness program for children and families and author of the book The Mindful Child. She teaches and consults on teaching mindful awareness in an age-appropriate and secular manner.

Jennifer Cohen, MA, is founder and director of Little Flower Yoga for children. She has experience teaching students from pre-school to high school and working with children with physical handicaps, and developmental and learning disorders. littlefloweryoga.com

Spring Washam is a meditation teacher known for bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to youth and communities of color. She is a founding member and core teacher of The East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California. springwasham.com

Cosponsors

Joining this program is Laurie Grossman from Mindful Schools, a program of Park Day School (mindfulschools.org),and Gina Biegel.