The Mindful Brain
By: Katherine Kimerling Bromberg
Yoga and Mindfulness Teacher
This month in Yoga and Mindfulness, the Upper School students have been exploring THE BRAIN — How does it work? What role do different parts of the brain play? How can understanding our brain help us — both in school and in life? So far we have focused on three parts of the brain: the Amygdala, the Prefrontal Cortex (or PFC), and the Hippocampus. We also discussed the “Fight, Flight, or Freeze” response and explored how our brain reacts in stressful situations.
The discussion expanded as students began to draw connections between what we were learning and stressful moments they had experienced in their own lives, reflecting on how their brain reacted, and what actions (or reactions) had followed. Students shared experiences from many different parts of their lives, from testing anxiety to social worries, and everything in between.
We then split into groups, and the students worked together to choose a real-life scenario and act out how the brain might respond to that situation (
Left
). After each group had a chance to share their “Brain Skit”, we came back together to discuss why all of this is important and
how can we use mindfulness and yoga to help our brain respond differently to stress
.
Throughout the trimester, we will further explore how the brain works, as well as delve deeper into real-life applications of the mindfulness skills we practice each week.